Why are China’s sneakerheads choosing to go local?
REPORT
17 May 2024
Why are China’s sneakerheads choosing to go local?

Chinese sneaker brands are rising in demand, while those abroad are trying to adapt to shoppers' shifting (and increasingly nationalistic) preferences. Some have even gained worldwide recognition, while international giants like Adidas and Nike struggle to keep the interest of young local shoppers.

Babette Radclyffe-Thomas

Babette is a fashion academic, journalist, and consultant who specialises in the Chinese fashion and beauty industries. She is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of the most influential fashion and style publications in Asia and Europe, including Vogue China, Prestige, and Design Anthology. She was the editor of S Style Magazine, published by Macau's Sands Casino, and wrote fashion and beauty columns at China Daily. Babette speaks, reads, and writes Mandarin Chinese. In 2023, she obtained her PhD specialising in Chinese fashion media, and is the only person in the world to have a PhD in Vogue China.

Juliette Duveau

Juliette Duveau is the co-founder of The Chinese Pulse, a boutique trend and marketing consulting agency specialising in contemporary China. She previously studied Chinese language and civilisation, business, and marketing, and she specialised in fashion and creative industries at IFM Paris.

She started her career in trends agencies with a specialisation in the Chinese market. For 15 years, she has accompanied fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands on their business and communication strategy journeys. In 2016, she co-created The Chinese Pulse to help brands keep connected and stay highly relevant to the new expectations of Chinese consumers.

Kevin Ng

Kevin Ng is a Chinese-Indonesian digital journalist, researcher, and marketing and public relations strategist based in Indonesia and Australia. His work has previously been published in the LA Times, Vice News, The Jakarta Post, and other publications, mainly focusing on human rights, sexual abuse, trauma, race, culture, and society. He obtained an Honours degree from the University of Western Australia, researching social media's role in labour union movement.