Cashing in on 'higher form of sexiness'

Liu Xiaolu, 33, the soft-spoken founder and chief executive of Neiwai, a lingerie maker in China, jokes that the firm's products are meant for frigid women.

The Neiwai brand of cotton lingerie are known for their muted colors and near absence of accessories - plain, if not boring.

But for Liu, of Shanghai, creating the polar opposite of "what the likes of Victoria's Secret have been offering" is an exciting, sexy and profitable business.

She initially worked as a strategic analyst, spending five years helping multinational companies such as Coca-Cola and Estee Lauder study the China market. The finance graduate says the birth of her first child in 2012, however, changed her outlook and she decided to start her own business in an area she deemed best for her.

She eyed the lingerie industry not only because her grandmother and mother worked for Xinguang, once a popular Shanghai underwear manufacturer, but also because most of the lingerie available in stores was "like the old her", meant for pleasing others.

"It would be a little bit of an exaggeration to call it feminist. But I wanted to create a brand that doesn't twist, suppress, or objectify women's bodies. Instead, it makes them comfortable and happy, which I think is a higher form of sexiness," she says.

With her own savings and, later, an investment of tens of millions of yuan from China's leading investment capital, Zhen Fund, Liu started Neiwai, which means "inside outside" in Chinese. Neiwai, she says, expresses as much about one's inside as outside.

The firm's products include sports underwear and pajamas, priced at around 200 yuan ($30.69; 28 euros) to 300 yuan, almost 100 yuan more than many comparable products.

Business has been brisk. Up to 80 percent of buyers are women, mostly above 25, well educated and with a good-paying job. The other 20 percent are "mostly husbands shopping for their wives, instead of bachelors for girlfriends or lovers".

There is not yet a bricks-and-mortar Neiwai store, which would be a challenge for Liu and her small staff of 15 women. Neiwai sells on e-commerce websites, including Tmall.com and JD.com. Late in 2014, Liu expanded her sales outlets by working with Journelle, a luxury lingerie store in New York.

Xu Xiaoping, founder of Zhen Fund, says China has been missing brands that please women. Neiwai helps fill that gap, he says. According to RTG Consulting, China's lingerie market is estimated at $20 billion, and remains dominated by domestic brands. But Liu noted that major brands' market share was less than 15 percent.

Liu's ambitions have grown, and she hopes to bring Neiwai to more cities in the US and Europe.

xujunqian@chinadaily.com.cm

(China Daily Africa Weekly 03/11/2016 page27)