MAIA's secret to high growth: to be a DTC brand that is closer to women's needs
MAIA ACTIVE has rapidly grown into a leading new consumer brand with the DTC strategy
The message "Dress well, you can do two more sets of squats" often appears below the bright sportswear pictures on Xiaohongshu, which is one of the loudest slogans of the DTC fashion industry brand Maia Active and the embodiment of users' recognition of the brand.
Founded in 2016, Maia Active focuses on "sportswear designed for Asian women", and has become an influential cutting-edge sportswear brand in just a few years, ranking among the top ten in sales in the same category, and has achieved a fairly high repurchase rate and user stickiness. In 2020, the brand won "Consumer Brand of the Year" at the EDGE Awards, just 4 years after Maia Active was founded.
Source： Daxue consulting， Double V. Training & Concounselcy; Report on China's Emerging Fashion Brands
In 2022, MAIA ACTIVE has purchased more than 350,000 users, an increase of 84% over 2021, and the membership exceeded 400,000, it is worth mentioning that the number of purchases by brand repurchase users this year is on average 25% higher than that of new users, and the unit price of customers exceeds the industry by 4 times, an increase of more than 12% year-on-year.
This also caused us to think, in the context of the rapid rise of the women's sportswear market, there are now many brands that also provide good products, focusing on "She Power" emotional marketing. What's more, although the women's sportswear track has just emerged, there are already head brands such as lululemon, and traditional sports brand giants are also constantly tapping into the product line of women's sportswear. TRYING TO GRAB MARKET SHARE IS NOT EASY FOR THE NASCENT MAIA ACTIVE.
What makes MAIA such a bright market performance?
The "DTC Strategy" is a key entry point for MAIA ACTIVE to join the market competition
On the first day of its establishment, MAIA ACTIVE adopted the DTC model, reducing the cost of middleman channels and feeding back to the product side to improve quality. At that time, the cost of their garments was basically 3 times higher than the market, but the better quality of the product was also more conducive to the refinement of selling points, and the value of the product was given to consumers faster and more efficiently.
Next, let's analyze how MAIA ACTIVE achieved strong growth in the fitness sportswear track with such an increasingly fierce competition from the typical DTC strategies of star breakthroughs, closer to consumers, and unique brand value propositions.
1 Drive growth with disruptive and celebrity explosive products and lay the foundation for DTC growth
Source: Runwise.co
THE MAIA ACTIVE PRODUCT TEAM STUDIES THE PRODUCT'S CORE SELLING POINT (RTB) ON A DAILY BASIS TO MATCH CONSUMER NEEDS. Initially, the product team saw an interesting phenomenon: women who were just starting out were generally dissatisfied with their figure, feeling that the tummy was the core part to be protected
As a result, there are "small waist essence" pants.
Yoga pants, alias "small waist essence", are a popular model for Maia Active. Specifically for Asian women's body characteristics, attention is paid to design and fabrics, such as the details of the product's cut and high-waisted design, and the upper body can lengthen the leg line. As soon as these yoga pants were launched, they gathered a large amount of traffic for the brand. On the first day of launch, it sold 2000+ copies and achieved the first wave of torrent users
Create products for Asian women
MAIA Girls wearing waist pants 4.0
Adopt a DTC (direct-to-consumer) strategy to collect consumer feedback on the quality of branded apparel and shopping experience through a three-month questionnaire. MAIA ACtiVE then adjusts the product based on this feedback, using it as the basis for design and product iteration. For example, the popular leggings have been adjusted at least 10 times based on consumer feedback and opinions. In version 4.0, MAIA added a memory rebound "small bandage" design. The core appeal of the iteration is: some users feedback that when they do some sports, the waist part will be rolled up. Therefore, even if waist fine pants are already the trump card in this category, they still need to be continuously iteratively upgraded.
来源: In depth interview by Brandstar designed by Daxue consulting,
MAIA ACTIVE's "waist pants" solve the problem of sweatpants squeezing out the lower abdomen through a "sandwich" waistband design, making the wearer look thinner and slender. "CONSUMERS MAY NOT NECESSARILY REALIZE THE ADVANTAGES OF A DRESS SHAPE, BUT THE POWER OF FIT IS THAT THEY WILL FEEL THAT THE CLOTHES LOOK BETTER AND ARE MORE COMFORTABLE TO WEAR," SAID YI ROU, FOUNDER AND DESIGN DIRECTOR OF MAIA ACTIVE. It is understood that the product has won the first place in Tmall 618 women's fitness pants for two consecutive years (2020, 2021), and has sold more than 250,000 pieces so far. The brand side that tasted the sweetness continued to make efforts, formulated a set of explosive product strategies, and continued to produce explosive models (such as Yun Sense Pants, Front Zipper Bra, etc.), forming an explosive product matrix, and subsequently promoted the brand to become the first place in the Tmall sweatpants category. The mind of MAIA ACTIVE's products to look good and wear is gradually formed. At the same time, the overall visual symbol of MAIA ACTIVE is very fresh and unified, and it has also created a high degree of recognition in channels such as Xiaohongshu and Tmall, allowing the brand to enter the field of vision of urban women more efficiently.
2 Create a community of high-frequency interaction and like-mindedness to enhance customer brand recognition
The "nature" of sports brands is due to this – sports take place offline, often collectively. Create warm and authentic connections with women. AS EARLY AS 2017, IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE BRAND'S ESTABLISHMENT, MAIA ACTIVE FIRST FORMED THE OFFLINE COMMUNITY "MAIA FUN CLUB". The daily life of the community includes not only healing yoga with cute pets, spring city runs, but also a series of trendy sports experiences such as frisbee, cycling, land rushing, rock climbing, etc. In this way, the community activities will be turned into a social place for sister Tao entertainment and heart-to-heart talks, showing the concept of sisterhood and sisterhood in the brand community "SISTERHOOD", and conveying the beauty of sports to more girls.
Communities like this have covered every offline store, and their flagship stores hold an average of more than 15 events per month and participate in tens of thousands of users.
▲MAIA flagship store MFC event calendar
In addition to the unbinding of the body, MAIA will also use MFC as a bridge to regularly hold a variety of themed women's topic sharing sessions to provide spiritual nourishment for women's lives, taking the flagship store as an example, Girl's Talk courses account for 30% of each month.
▲MAIA Girls participated in the MFC Women's Topic Sharing Meeting
In this way, you can see that some women are in different movement coordinates, exploring the city, exploring the sincere connection between people; There are also women who reopen themselves, accept themselves, and accept themselves in the content discussion of spiritual tolerance and care like girlfriends.
As a community of interests, hobbies, ideas and concepts, the community can catalyze strong relationships. Therefore, MAIA ACTIVE can continue to interact with women close to each other through the community to deepen the "sisterhood" and accumulate the trust value of consumers. In "Sisterhood", store managers are irreplaceable community leaders, they influence store staff, and they will also jointly influence consumers, and ultimately form consumers' perception of the MAIA ACTIVE brand. They hope that every store assistant in the future, when they meet customers, will not just ask, "What do you want to buy?" ", but also to ask, "How are you doing?" At the same time, the brand's clerks must also truly practice the brand slogan of "Be as you wish", and must have the attributes of "MAIA GIRL", that is, authenticity, insistence on their own choices, and willingness to make themselves better; The second is to like fitness and have fitness habits, so that valuable communication can really occur with users.
WANG JIAYIN, FOUNDER OF MAIA ACTIVE, SAID: "OUR CONNECTION WITH USERS NEVER STARTS FROM HER OCCASIONAL PASSING THROUGH THE STORE, BUT FROM CREATING VARIOUS VALUES FOR HER LIFE, SUCH AS ONLINE COMMUNITIES, MAIA FUN CLUBS, ETC. When you create value for users, users will often think of you. AS FAR AS OFFLINE STORES ARE CONCERNED, EVEN IF THE OFFLINE SALES OF MANY BRANDS ARE SLUGGISH DURING THE EPIDEMIC, MAIA ACTIVE'S MONTHLY SALES CAN REMAIN ABOVE 200,000
3 Win user support with a unique brand value proposition
"Small belly, worship meat, I want to laugh at the first sight of this model, isn't this me?" It's too real."
THIS IS A REAL MESSAGE FROM A FEMALE CONSUMER AFTER MAIA ACTIVE, DESIGNED FOR ASIAN WOMEN, USED "PLUS-SIZE" MODELS IN THE STORE TO DISPLAY THEIR CLOTHES.
▲ PLUS-SIZE MODELS DISPLAYED IN MAIA ACTIVE STORES
And just after this message, #Women's clothing stores used strong models to show clothes to attract heated discussions# At the same time, it became the focus of conversation on Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Douyin and other mainstream social platforms
▲Netizen comments
MAIA ACTIVE EMPHASIZED ITS BRAND SLOGAN "MAKE EVERY SIZE BEAUTIFUL", A PARTICULAR TACTIC THAT HAS SUCCESSFULLY ATTRACTED MORE CONSUMERS TO JOIN THE COMMENTS ON ITS SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
"That's the majority of ordinary people."
"We don't encourage obesity, but we should allow imperfect bodies."
"Such model displays are not only more useful, but also powerful and friendly. I would like to see more of this change, women don't need to live by any kind of standard, you are already very proud."
The unique brand attitude has aroused heated discussions in various media and successfully gained a lot of exposure for the brand.
来源： Daxue consulting and Double V. Training & Consultancy; China’s rising fashion brands report
SHATTERING THE STEREOTYPE THAT SKINNY IS THE PERFECT BODY, MAIA ACTIVE'S USE OF REAL AMATEUR MODELS IS NOT PROVOCATIVE OR RADICAL, BUT A RESPONSE TO WOMEN'S CRY FOR THE BEAUTY OF DIVERSITY AND THE BRAND'S OWN SPIRITUAL CONCEPT OF "LET ASIAN WOMEN ENJOY THE BEAUTY OF SPORTS".
This series of operations really made it quickly goodwilling.
On the one hand, Asia's new women are full of body anxiety and hope to get a more perfect body through sports, on the other hand, they have begun to agree with the concept that every body is beautiful, sportswear brands seize women's emotional pain points, it is easy to win the empathy and recognition of female consumers, even if the premium of these products is not low.
Emphasize the unique brand role positioning of "companionship" and "sister"
Many readers may have heard that lululemon's store staff has a unique identity: "product educator" to educate users on product details. At present, most of the sports brands on the market are "coach" type characters, which emphasize sportsmanship and feature professional fitness enthusiasts or athletes in the content. Unlike lululemon's role as a "Coach" who connects with consumers through yoga instructors, MAIA ACTIVE's role is more inclined to "Sister" who accompanies fans to grow.
Sport is the process of finding fun with sisters
WHEN MAIA ACTIVE WENT TO FIND OUT "WHY DO CHINESE GIRLS START EXERCISING?" When this question was asked, it was found that most women in daily life are "not serious exercisers", and the real reason for their exercise is not to jump higher and run farther, but to have a healthy body.
MANY USERS HAVE TOLD MAIA ACTIVE THAT THE FIRST EXPERIENCE OF STEPPING INTO THE GYM IS OFTEN A STRESSFUL AND SOMEWHAT OVERWHELMING PROCESS. The second is that it is difficult to persevere, perhaps not having fun, or not having a companion to be with. SO MAIA ACTIVE ASKS THE QUESTION: "EVERYONE KNOWS THAT EXERCISE IS A GOOD THING, BUT WHY ARE THERE STILL SO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE AFRAID TO START, OR CAN'T KEEP GOING?"
SO MAIA ACTIVE ADVOCATES THAT SPORTS ARE A NEW AND INTERESTING THING. MAIA ACTIVE IS NOT A "COACH" WHO URGES WOMEN'S SPORTS, BUT AS A SISTER WHO SUPPORTS HER AND ACCOMPANIES HER, BECOMING A CHEERLEADER TO CHEER HER UP WHEN SHE IS DOWN!
AT THE SAME TIME, MAIA ACTIVE, WHICH IS POSITIONED TO ACCOMPANY IT, OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED IN 2020 TO GIVE UP STAR ENDORSEMENTS AND USE AMATEUR MODELS TO ENDORSE WOMEN FROM NOW ON. In a series of important annual marketing campaigns "I'm Not Pretty", "She Can", and "Hot Training Program", familiar star faces are no longer seen, but all very cute amateurs appear. Throughout the process, MAIA ACTIVE appeared as the girls' "sisters" and "cheerleaders", and the "sisterhood" relationship with fans also made MAIA ACTIVE and fans more closely related.
▲ MAIA ACTIVE focuses on the tolerance of the body and breaking through people's stereotypes of beauty.
▲ 8 amateur girls in "Hot Training Program"
IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE BRANDS ARE VYING TO TOUCH WOMEN'S ISSUES, MAIA ACTIVE RETAINS ITS RECOGNIZABILITY FOR HER EXPRESSION. Of course, there are also constants, that is, understanding and solidarity with women's values, which run through the expression.
MAIA's secret to high growth: to be a DTC brand that is closer to women's needs
In the increasingly competitive women's sportswear circuit, Runwise believes that MAIA ACTIVE can have such an amazing growth rate in 6 years since its establishment, of course, it is related to its consistent adherence to the core strategy of DTC. This includes in-depth insight into the needs of Asian women and a combination of strategies such as innovative value propositions, celebrity breakthroughs, and high-frequency community interactions in the DTC model, resulting in closer user relationships.
· In terms of brand positioning, MAIA ACTIVE has stepped on the wind and identified high-value groups, pain points, and market gaps:
· Women's sports needs and fitness awareness are improved, and they have a stronger willingness to consume sportswear, and desire high-quality products that are more shapely, comfortable and designed
· There are few "Asian women's sports" in the market (Lululemon helps educate the category market, but it does not specialize in Asian women)
· High-value people are willing to pay for love
· In terms of brand marketing, unlike big brands throwing money to find celebrity endorsements, it chooses to "let amateurs communicate with amateurs", and uses amateurs to shoot product model pictures, advertising blockbusters, etc. for publicity and win amateurs. And in the way of SISTERHOOD, offline activities are held frequently to accompany consumers to grow from sports to spirit. And "SISTERHOOD" itself is a fission strategy, sisters take sisters, and together become a better version of themselves
· In terms of product strength, the brand focuses on creating products suitable for Asian women's bodies, and provides perceptible product functions through various specialized fabric technologies to meet the needs of Asian women's exercise habits, as well as sports scenarios such as cold, heat, breathability, and support
Original: Chris Huang Source from the Innovation Community