In April of this year, the appearance of well-known American female singer Taylor Swift at the Coachella Music Festival undoubtedly brought unprecedented exposure to the cross-border e-commerce brand Halara from China. On that day, Taylor Swift wore a Halara pleated short skirt, which complemented Gucci’s black sneakers and Stella McCartney’s black shoulder bag, instantly bringing this young brand into the international spotlight.
Halara， This brand, established in May 2020, is backed by a talented woman named Zhang Xiaopei, who holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Computer Science and Technology from Tsinghua University. As the co-founder of Melon Seed Used Car and Maodou New Car, Zhang Xiaopei has accumulated rich experience in overseas Internet factories and held senior management positions before switching to cross-border women’s clothing.
From ‘Shein Apprentice’ to Independent Brand
The birth of Halara coincided with Shein’s trend of fast fashion brands going global. Like other brands such as Cider and Fommos that emerged during the same period, Halara has also been labeled as a “Shein apprentice”. However, Zhang Xiaopei is not satisfied with simple imitation. She utilized her advantages in technology, traffic distribution, and supply chain management to quickly build Halara’s supply chain management system and personally went to Guangzhou to cooperate with clothing factories.
Despite facing many challenges in the early stages, Zhang Xiaopei led the team to persist in exploration and ultimately chose to focus on the sportswear field, especially the yoga clothing market. She utilized high-quality domestic supply chain resources to create the cost-effective “Lululemon Flat Replacement” product, laying the market foundation for Halara.
TikTok’s assistance
Halara’s rapid growth is inseparable from the help of TikTok. Between 2020 and 2021, TikTok’s global download volume surged, becoming an important channel for brand promotion. Halara not only signed up a large number of internet celebrities and KOLs for promotion, but also attracted users through various methods such as buy and give, discount promotions, etc. At the same time, Halara actively laid out TikTok Shop and achieved significant results in the UK and US markets.
According to statistics, Halara’s sales performance on TikTok Shop in the United States is particularly impressive, with multiple stores accumulating sales exceeding tens of millions of dollars. These achievements not only demonstrate Halara’s success in product design and marketing, but also highlight TikTok’s enormous potential as an emerging e-commerce platform.
Impact high-end
Despite achieving impressive results in the mid to low end market, Halara is not satisfied with this. Starting from 2023, Halara has taken solid steps towards brand high-end development. Zhang Xiaopei has hired Jia Yin She, who previously served as the Global President at Diane von Furstenberg, as the Global President of Halara, responsible for brand building and marketing promotion.
Under the leadership of She Jiayin, Halara not only adjusted the style and content of social media marketing, but also increased investment in brand building. Through a series of initiatives such as hosting Pickleball court media events and opening SoHo pop-up stores, Halara has successfully enhanced its brand image and influence. At the same time, Halara continues to optimize the design of independent websites, enhance user experience, and further consolidate its market position.
Diversified development
Entering 2024, Halara has also achieved diversified development in its product line. In addition to traditional sportswear, Halara has also launched casual clothing products including “Work Pants” and jeans. These new products not only enrich Halara’s product line, but also meet the needs of more consumers. At the same time, Halara continues to expand its user base and enhance brand loyalty by inviting pregnant mothers and other female groups to serve as brand ambassadors.
epilogue
From selling cars to cross-border women’s clothing, Zhang Xiaopei used her wisdom and courage to create a TikTok version of “Lululemon” – Halara. This young and vibrant brand not only stands out in the international market, but also demonstrates strong strength in brand building and market expansion. In the future, as Halara continues to explore and move forward on the path of high-end and diversified development, we have reason to believe that it will create even more brilliant achievements.