The longest Double 11 shopping festival in history is coming to an end, and while many businesses are making their final push for sales, the American "old money style" fashion brand Ralph Lauren may be struggling with "selling too well".
Recently, there have been media reports that Ralph Lauren's GMV (total merchandise transaction value, including cancelled and returned orders) during Tmall's Double 11 period exceeded 1.6 billion yuan, but the return rate was as high as 95%, mainly because Ralph Lauren was used by some consumers as a "brainstorming tool".
'Crowdsourcing' is a strategy used by consumers to maximize discounts by utilizing cross store discounts and coupon usage rules on the platform. Taking Taobao and Tmall as an example, in addition to the regular coupons of "over 300-50", 88VIP consumers can also receive large coupons such as "over 5000-400" and "over 1500-120". When some consumers' order amounts do not meet the full discount conditions or the price threshold for coupon use, they can place an order together for an unnecessary "additional item" to meet the threshold, and after enjoying the full discount, apply for a refund for the additional item.
However, no public reports have mentioned the source of data for Ralph Lauren's GMV and return rate during the Double 11 shopping festival. Multiple informed sources told Interface News that the relevant data is not true. Both Tmall and Ralph Lauren brand owners have not responded to Interface News regarding this matter.
Collecting orders has become a routine operation during the e-commerce promotion period
However, based on discussions on social media platforms, it is not uncommon to see Ralph Lauren being used as a promotional item, nor is it a new phenomenon this year. At least, consumers have been doing this since the Double 11 period in 2023. At present, a knitted sweater priced at 1250 yuan in Ralph Lauren's Tmall flagship store has been added to the shopping cart by 20000 people, but there are only 52 post purchase reviews for the product.
The reason why Ralph Lauren is considered by netizens as a target for bidding is mainly because its products have a relatively high overall unit price and span multiple price ranges, from towels priced at 190 yuan to clothes priced at several thousand yuan, making it easy to bid flexibly. Secondly, as a brand store, Ralph Lauren does not impose purchase restrictions or other measures on consumers who engage in such behavior, while other small-scale brand stores or individual stores may do so.
The impact of "being rounded up" on Ralph Lauren stores is not about wasting costs, as many consumers apply for refunds immediately after payment without incurring packaging, logistics, and other expenses; Its main impact is to disrupt the store's inventory system and hinder normal sales. For example, on the evening of October 21st, the first day of the final payment for Tmall Double 11 this year, multiple Ralph Lauren products were temporarily taken off the shelves.
Ralph Lauren delisted products on the night of the official launch of Double 11 this year
Ralph Lauren has a good development momentum in the Chinese market. The recent financial report released by Ralph Lauren Group shows that in the second quarter of the 2025 fiscal year ending September 30, the company achieved low double-digit growth in the Chinese market, marking the 17th consecutive quarter of growth in the Chinese market - starting from the third quarter of 2020.
Thanks to the growth in the Chinese and Japanese markets, Ralph Lauren Group's revenue in the Asian market increased by 9% year-on-year in the second quarter, and the overall revenue of the group increased by 6% to $1.726 billion (approximately RMB 12.4 billion).
Against the backdrop of the impact of the pandemic and the cooling of luxury consumption in recent years, Ralph Lauren has been able to achieve continuous growth in the Chinese market, partly due to the popularity of the "old money trend". Ralph Lauren has gained recognition from Chinese consumers for its American luxury concept, especially among young middle-class people who are sensitive to fashion trends. Ralph Lauren has multiple product lines ranging from Volkswagen to high-end, among which Polo Ralph Lauren, positioned at the mid-range, is its main force in the Chinese market.
On the other hand, Ralph Lauren has only started to expand its presence in the Chinese market in recent years, and its layout is not yet saturated.
Although Ralph Lauren entered China as early as the 1990s and was initially operated by agents, it was not until 2011 that it fully transitioned to direct sales, which was later than its peers such as Coach. Afterwards, Ralph Lauren was distracted by dealing with counterfeit goods and trademark infringement issues in the Chinese market, and it was not until progress was made in related cases in 2021 that Ralph Lauren was able to expand into the Chinese market. One of the important measures is to successively open flagship stores of "Ralph Lauren Home" in core cities in China such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, etc. from 2021, to revitalize the brand's voice and image.
At present, the Chinese market accounts for a relatively small proportion of Ralph Lauren Group's entire business landscape, accounting for about 8% of total sales. In its latest financial report, Ralph Lauren Group has also raised its full year performance expectations, expecting revenue to grow by approximately 3% to 4% in fiscal year 2025, ranging from $6.83 billion to $6.9 billion. Based on this estimate, Ralph Lauren's annual revenue in the Chinese market is approximately 550 million US dollars, equivalent to 4 billion yuan.