Ride on the coattails of KKV's overseas expansion: Over 100 Chinese brands have entered the prime commercial areas in Southeast Asia!
As the global consumer market格局 accelerates its reconstruction, a new wave of Chinese retail power is quietly emerging in the Southeast Asian market.
The "Snow King" has focused on the Southeast Asian market and opened approximately 5,000 overseas stores, becoming the "happy water" that young people can't do without. Pop Mart's Labubu has become popular for its "ugly - cute" style, captivating the world.
Recently, on overseas social media, there has been a new trend among young people to invite friends to go shopping. From the Philippines, Malaysia to Singapore, the numerous photo albums and Vlogs shared by local young people showcase their novel shopping experiences. They wander and take photos in vividly - colored retail spaces, among the "product walls" and "pyramids" composed of cosmetics, accessories, stationery and other products sorted by category, and select high - cost - performance Chinese goods.
Based on the location tags in the latest batch of Vlogs on social media, we located the first flagship store of KKV, a refined lifestyle brand, which opened in May this year at Tiong Bahru Plaza in the core business district of Singapore.
This Chinese refined lifestyle brand's entry into the prime business district of Singapore, where international luxury brands gather, not only attracted a large number of local young people to queue up for check - ins but also caught the attention of Market Watch, a professional media focusing on the capital market under The Wall Street Journal. It was reported that "this move further strengthens KKV's strategy of accelerating expansion in Southeast Asia."
(Reports on KKV by foreign media)
Digging deeper into the "accelerated expansion in Southeast Asia" mentioned in the article, we found that as a refined lifestyle collection brand originating from China, KKV is playing the role of a "pioneer" in going global. Counting Singapore, which it newly entered this year, KKV's parent company, KK Group, has opened more than 50 stores in the markets of 5 countries including Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia in just over a year.
How did this new wave of Chinese consumerism rise in Southeast Asia? With doubts and curiosity, the author visited several KKV stores in Singapore and Malaysia, and talked with local shopping mall operators, suppliers, consumers, and market analysts to understand the situation and tried to outline the expansion trajectory of this Chinese retail enterprise.
01 The Quiet but Steady Expansion of Chinese Retail Brands in Southeast Asia
In Manila, the capital of the Philippines, KKV officially entered SM Mall of Asia, the largest shopping mall in the country, in June 2024. Covering an area of about 600,000 square meters, it is one of the largest single - body shopping malls in Asia. Its status in Manila is equivalent to that of Wangfujing in Beijing, and Lujiazui and Nanjing West Road in Shanghai.
Filipino fashion blogger Lenie Aycardo - Alejandr posted a video guide of her visit to KKV on TikTok. The bright colors, highly - designed stores, and visually - impactful shelf displays are all very popular among young people. A single video easily got over 100,000 likes, "planting grass" (recommending) for young people.
At Tiong Bahru Plaza, a prime shopping district in Singapore, 23 - year - old local college student Lily Wong and her friends had been waiting in front of the KKV flagship store for nearly 40 minutes but still remained enthusiastic.
"I saw a lot of videos about this store on TikTok. I finally had time today, so I came to have a look." Lily scrolled through her phone screen while queuing, showing several short videos related to KKV that she had saved. "Many products in it are really great. There are few collection stores like this that are both good - looking and cost - effective in local malls."
(Actual photos of the Philippine store)
According to a report by Market Watch of The Wall Street Journal, when the KKV store in SM Mall of Asia in the Philippines opened, not only were products in categories such as beauty, snacks, and fashion accessories very popular, but it also attracted more than 20 million views on social media.
Local young people are not only willing to queue up for check - ins offline but also like to share their fresh and unique consumption experiences on social media.
The popularity both offline and online has driven the store's revenue to soar. It is understood that in terms of single - store sales performance, KKV's overseas stores generally perform well.
(The global flagship store in Malaysia. Photo taken by a Xiaohongshu user)
As a new retail brand that has been popular in China in recent years, what on earth is KKV's intention in quietly entering the Southeast Asian market? What other moves does it have in the future?
Regarding these questions, after reviewing KK Group's recent actions in Southeast Asia, we found that it is accelerating its pace in the overseas market. In 2024, KK Group opened 19 stores in four countries: Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, building a direct - sales network. After entering Singapore in 2025, KK Group's overseas expansion accelerated further.
Judging from the current store - opening rhythm in Southeast Asian countries, KKV has adopted a "high - profile and aggressive" market entry strategy.
"This choice is not a random one but a strategic decision based on comprehensive analysis," a market insider who has been deeply involved in the overseas market for many years told Wall Street Insights. "Southeast Asian countries not only have a large population base and a relatively young population structure but also share geographical and cultural similarities with China. This enables KKV's products and operation models to adapt to the local market more quickly."
(Illustration: The median age in Vietnam and the Philippines is lower than that in China, and the proportion of young people under 35 is significantly higher)
Judging from the current expansion speed and market response, this Chinese trendy retail enterprise's "high - profile and aggressive" expansion strategy of targeting the prime floors in the local core business districts has caused quite a stir among young people in Southeast Asian countries. Meanwhile, those young Chinese brands popular among Generation Z and Generation Alpha are also entering thousands of households in Southeast Asia through KKV's retail network.
02 Empowering Chinese Brands: From Going It Alone to Collective Going Global
In this wave of Chinese new consumer culture sweeping across Southeast Asia, the brands that were the first to enter the market have already tasted the sweet fruits.
Take the new domestic brand, Banmuhuatian, as an example. Hitching a ride on KKV, the brand has entered the offline markets of five Southeast Asian countries. Since Southeast Asian consumers have a high acceptance of plant - based ingredients, Banmuhuatian, which uses flower names in its brand, and its products such as rose pure - dew hair tonic meet the needs of the local hot and humid climate and quickly became best - sellers, ranking among the top 10 in KKV's product categories. According to Zhang Tingting, the person in charge of Banmuhuatian's new retail division, the average monthly sales of a single store exceed those of similar domestic stores by 20%.
Based on the author's on - site experience in KKV's overseas stores, in addition to well - known brands such as Shenban, SPES, Shuizhikou, Banmuhuatian, Perfect Diary, Pechoin, and Senbao, there are also many newly - emerged domestic trendy brands on the shelves, such as MOND'SUB, MARRISI, SOWIN, YASUROSE, MeiDun, and Gongpei. From the photos shared by young people on social media, many rising domestic trendy brands have quietly become popular locally.
More than 100 single products of domestic skincare brands such as MOND'SUB, which are represented by "Murong Cosmetics" in Shenzhen, have found a market overseas through KKV. According to He Xiuli, the general manager of the company, she wanted to bring domestic trendy brands into the overseas market in 2023 but was once blocked by problems such as the cooperation factory's unfamiliarity with export procedures. In June 2023, when KK Group was selecting cooperative brands for its overseas expansion, it actively helped her solve these problems.
The problems He Xiuli faced are also common problems encountered by thousands of small and medium - sized enterprises when going global.
NIKITA, the co - founder of the domestic mask brand "C咖", said that when the company began to explore "brand going global" in 2023, it immediately encountered the "certification hurdle". Regulatory agencies in different countries, such as the FDA in the United States and the BPOM in Indonesia, have different certification requirements, and the processes are very cumbersome, which would make "beginners" spend a huge amount of time on repeated trial - and - error.
Brands making toys, such as Senbao Building Blocks, have to deal with different safety standards in different countries (such as CE, ASTM, EN71, etc.) and face many challenges in the aspects of certification, testing, and compliance.
These obstacles make the vast majority of small and medium - sized enterprises that intend to go global "willing but unable".
In 2023, a turning point finally appeared. According to insiders, after launching its global strategy, KK Group specially established an import - export team of about 20 - 30 people to tackle the laws and regulations on import - export and product certification in Southeast Asian countries. In order to achieve the business goal of overseas expansion, KK Group must help its supplier partners solve these problems. Without a stable supply of high - quality goods, what can it sell in overseas stores?
According to He Xiuli's feedback, KK Group provides support to small and medium - sized enterprise partners in processes such as rapid customs clearance and application for certification, and can even provide supporting logistics solutions, enabling domestic brands to quickly enter the Southeast Asian market just by delivering goods in China.
According to the feedback from some suppliers, KK Group continues its direct - purchase cooperation model used in China in overseas cooperation. That is, the brands entering the stores do not need to bear back - end fees such as entry barcode fees, festival fees, promotion fees, and management fees, greatly reducing the cost of entering overseas offline channels. Secondly, KK Group can also provide a relatively short payment collection period for partners, reducing the capital occupation cost of the brands.
With the rapid expansion of KKV's store network, more and more brands can reach more consumers through its stores. The recognition of the consumer market has also doubled the confidence of both parties, leading to the further expansion of more stores and the entry of more brands, thus achieving a win - win situation for consumers, brands, and stores. After achieving success in the Chinese market, KK Group and its parent company have sufficient motivation to support small and medium - sized enterprises and brands in going global, and a large number of emerging Chinese brands have already seized the opportunity to "hitch a ride" and taken their first step in going global through KK Group's channels.
"KKV's expansion model in Southeast Asia deserves attention. It may be constructing a new paradigm for the internationalization of Chinese brands," a market analyst said. "This model is not only about the success of a single enterprise but may also become an important path for Chinese new consumer brands to go global collectively."
One of the factors that Banmuhuatian identified as contributing to its success after evaluating its sales performance is that by leveraging the scenarios created by KKV's stores in prime locations in prime business districts, it effectively improved the product trial experience and sales conversion rate. Liu Jing, the sales director of Yiqi Culture, put it more directly: "The stores are very eye - catching and can stimulate the desire to buy."
Another key to success summarized by Zhang Tingting is that Banmuhuatian, with the full - link support from KKV in local marketing and store display optimization, solved the pain points of "weak brand recognition and difficult channel penetration" in the overseas market.
On closer inspection, we can easily find that "scenario" is an unavoidable keyword, whether in the feedback from supplier partners or in the Vlogs shared on social media. For example, in the short video of Vietnamese fashion blogger Chany, using KKV's store as the "stage", she showed her daily interactions with her boyfriend, which resonated strongly with young people, and a single video got nearly 100,000 likes.
It is understood that in its years of operation in China, KKV has explored a whole set of "tactics" for layout with "one step, one scenario; one step, one category". Aiming at the consumption habits of Generation Z, it identifies needs, selects products, and arranges displays around specific life scenarios such as "home life", "seasonal skin - care", and "travel", so that customers can "immerse themselves" in experiencing "100 kinds of beautiful lifestyles".
(Illustration: Actual photos of KKV's activities in domestic shopping malls)
In China, the "100 kinds of beautiful lifestyles" conveyed by KKV are very popular among young people. Not only do ordinary people like to visit, but also many internet celebrities like to "use the venue" to shoot short videos and do live - streaming, and even first - tier stars will quietly experience it.
In the Southeast Asian market, the novel shopping experience created by KKV around the "100 kinds of beautiful lifestyles" scenarios can make Chinese brands leave a deep impression on local young consumers.
03 Chinese Brands Betting on Long - Term Overseas Growth: Re - creating a KK Group with 1,000 Stores in 5 Years
From well - known domestic brands like Banmuhuatian and Pechoin to a large number of small and medium - sized enterprises, after tasting the growth dividends of entering the Southeast Asian market, they have all decided to further increase their investment.
Pechoin has currently set up a special overseas business team and plans to develop new products specifically for the KKV channel according to the needs of the local Southeast Asian market. In the future, it also plans to cooperate with KK Group in aspects such as celebrity endorsements and online - offline marketing in the overseas market.
(Source: Pechoin's official Xiaohongshu account)
Banmuhuatian has decided to "deeply cultivate the global market with KKV as the fulcrum". That is, using KKV's Southeast Asian network as a template, it will replicate the growth model to markets in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.
He Xiuli, the general manager of "Murong Cosmetics", led a team to investigate KKV's first flagship store in Malaysia and studied the local consumers' needs. After returning to China, she fed back the information to the manufacturers of the domestic trendy brands she represents and comprehensively adjusted the product performance, packaging, etc. Murong Cosmetics has also started to focus on recruiting talents with overseas study backgrounds and familiarity with the local market.
It is reported that in addition to KKV, other brands under KK Group are also expanding their territories. Currently, THE COLORIST and X11 have both opened their first overseas stores, indicating their ambition for overseas expansion.
(The first overseas store of X11)
According to market insiders, KK Group currently has nearly 50 overseas stores, and the number will reach more than 150 in 2025. Looking further ahead, KK Group's overseas expansion goal will be even higher, and KKV's international ambition is not limited to the Southeast Asian market.
International market insiders revealed that KKV has currently laid out in Southeast Asian countries, and partners in markets such as the Middle East, Europe, and the United States have shown interest in this Chinese refined lifestyle brand. According to the statistics of national shopping malls, KK Group currently has more than 1,000 stores in China, including 550 stores of its main brand, KKV, 320 stores of THE COLORIST, and more than 170 stores of X11.
According to the estimation of securities analysts, based on KK Group's development history over the years, from 2019 to 2024, the number of its stores under its brands expanded from 100 to 1,000. Excluding 2022 and 2023 when store - opening stopped due to the pandemic, it actually took less than 5 years to reach the scale of 1,000 stores. By inferring the development trajectory of KK Group's overseas business, it is not difficult to see that between 2027 and 2028, its overseas stores are expected to reach 1,000, and the proportion of overseas revenue will also increase and become an important part of the group.
(Illustration: The above growth trend of overseas stores is estimated based on media reports and KK Group's development history, subject to actual growth.)
On the way to expanding to 1,000 stores, the brands under KK Group are also expected to drive 1,000 Chinese brands to successfully go global and jointly create an international business card for "Made in China".
However, high - speed overseas expansion is a double - edged sword, with both risks and opportunities. In recent years, there have been many success and failure cases of Chinese enterprises going global. Is KK Group well - prepared for its subsequent accelerated expansion?
04 Behind the Seemingly Booming Trend of Chinese Brands Going Global: The Win - Win Wisdom of "New Money" and "Old Money"
Objectively speaking, through more than a year of exploration, KK Group has basically established a foothold in the Southeast Asian market. The generally higher single - store sales performance compared to that in China is the proof. More importantly, in terms of obtaining store resources in core business districts, optimizing local operations, and building a partner ecosystem, it has established a whole set of systematic mechanisms, laying the foundation for the next step of accelerated expansion.
In the field of offline retail, "securing" prime locations in core business districts is crucial. In this field, "outsiders" usually do not have an advantage. However, by carefully exploring KK Group's overseas expansion path, we found that it has established relatively stable cooperative relationships with commercial real estate and retail giants in Southeast Asian countries, attracting some local "old money" with strong financial strength to participate.
Digging deeper into the shopping malls where KKV's flagship stores are located in Southeast Asian countries, we found that behind them stand the most influential business leaders in each country.
For example, in the Philippines, the SM Mall of Asia, the largest shopping mall in the country where KKV has entered, belongs to the SM Group. The SM Group was founded by the well - known Filipino - Chinese business leader, Henry Sy, and has dozens of large - scale shopping malls in the Philippines and China. It is one of the most influential commercial real estate giants in the Philippines.
(KKV's flagship store in SM Mall of Asia, Manila)
In Vietnam, KKV has joined hands with giants such as AEON and Vincom Group. AEON is one of the Fortune Global 500 companies, and behind Vincom is Pham Nhat Vuong, the richest man in Vietnam and the founder of Vingroup.
It is understood that KKV is the vanguard of KK Group in going global, and fashion new retail brands under KK Group, such as THE COLORIST and X11, will also accelerate their pace of going global synchronously. After KK Group established strategic cooperation with Southeast Asian business giants, its multiple brands can enter the core commercial real estate and shopping malls in each country more smoothly and efficiently.
In the author's opinion, an efficient local operation iteration mechanism is also a favorable factor for KK Group to achieve stable and rapid expansion in the future.
For example, in the Philippines, sales data feedback shows that food - related SKUs are the most popular, while in Vietnam, toy - related SKUs are the most popular. KKV immediately adjusted the category proportion accordingly. In view of the different religions and cultures in Southeast Asian countries, KKV will make more refined local adjustments and iterations in product selection and operation. The founder of KK Group was engaged in Internet entrepreneurship at the beginning and attaches great importance to data mining and rapid iteration. KK Group is one of the few retail companies that uses a self - developed sales management IT system. In the industry, sales data are generally summarized and analyzed on a daily basis, while KK Group even conducts data mining and analysis on a second - by - second basis.
KK Group's motivation for the current "acceleration" of overseas expansion is obvious. It hopes to seize the time window to lay the foundation for the continuous growth of enterprise value in the next step. When the domestic economic growth slows down, leaving the "involution" and actively going global to obtain an incremental market may be one of the most cost - effective strategies.
From Pop Mart to Mixue Bingcheng, many pioneers who have actively embraced the overseas market have achieved explosive growth in revenue and profits. These cases are not only the success of single enterprises but also represent the improvement of the overall internationalization level of Chinese consumer brands. From well - known brands like Banmuhuatian and Pechoin to many small and medium - sized enterprise brands, more and more Chinese brands are beginning to realize the importance of the international market and are actively building their global capabilities.
If KK Group gradually achieves its overseas expansion goals, it can provide more opportunities for Chinese brands to step onto the world stage and leave more room for imagination in the market.
Historically, when the Japanese economy slowed down and even experienced the so - called "lost three decades", Japan's five major trading companies expanded overseas markets and achieved continuous and stable growth. They also seized the major opportunity to help Japanese consumer brands go global, which may be the key reason why the five major trading companies have won the recognition of Warren Buffett and continuous shareholding increases in recent years.
More powerful Chinese brands have begun to go global. Many times, the quality that people most need to learn from Mr. Buffett may be: looking further ahead and being more patient.
(Some pictures are selected from the Internet. Please contact us if there are any copyright issues.)
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*The above content does not constitute investment advice and does not represent the views of the publishing platform. The market is risky, and investment should be made with caution. Please make independent judgments and decisions.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Wall Street Insights" and is published with permission from Qiantang.
