SUNNYVALE, Calif. and SAN FRANCISCO and SHANGHAI, Oct. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Women's footwear brand Rothy's, headquartered in San Francisco, has turned to BorderX Lab, Inc. – its Sunnyvale-based neighbor and cross-border e-commerce specialist – to help launch and market the popular domestic brand directly to Chinese consumers.
The formal launch begins this week in China as the stylish and sustainable footwear brand hosts a "Meet Rothy's" event as part of Shanghai Fashion Week. It follows months of collaborative market seeding efforts including hosting sampling parties, bringing samples to Chinese office workers and seeking feedback on the Rothy's product line from key social media influencers.
Rothy's is well known in the U.S. for its sustainably made, versatile, chic, durable and comfortable shoes for women. Founded in 2012, the company is a digitally native company whose products were launched online in 2016 and quickly developed a strong following on Facebook, Instagram and other social channels. Rothy's opened its first retail store in April 2018 on San Francisco's historic Fillmore Street.
"We wanted to enter China in a thoughtful and appropriate manner and sought a partner that shared our company's values, and which could provide critical insights into the market," said Roth Martin, founder and chief creative officer, Rothy's. "Rothy's is not just about selling shoes. We offer Chinese consumers a brand committed to sustainability, beauty, innovation and diversity. These values are in the DNA of everything we do at Rothy's. Our colleagues at BorderX Lab share these beliefs and have proven to be highly entrepreneurial and the perfect partner."
In China, BorderX Lab's team has been working closely with the Rothy's team to prepare for the brand's unveiling and inclusion in BorderX Lab's popular Beyond APP. Sample photos of Rothy's products curated on the Beyond APP are available here. The iOS and Android version of the app have been downloaded more than five million times.
"Our Shanghai editorial and marketing teams started planning for this launch this past summer in tight coordination with Rothy's local market teams," said Albert Shen, CEO and co-founder, BorderX Lab.
"The Chinese e-commerce market is quite different than our domestic market with consumers making their purchases almost exclusively from their mobile devices. They seek information from their peers and marketplace influencers. They enjoy watching unwrapping videos and want to see products they are buying in use. This 'social commerce' needs to be authentic and as much about the brand and its values as about the products themselves," said Shen.
Shanghai Fashion Week is the biggest fashion event of the year in China. Portions of the week are open to the trade only with many brands later inviting consumers to visit, interact, try sample on and learn more about the brands.
About Rothy's
Rothy's is the first ever seamlessly knit line of fashion footwear. And it's about time. Beautiful, comfortable, and sustainable. Technology and hand assembly come together to make each pair of Rothy's a simple and modern solution for life on the go. Each pair of Rothy's gives life to discarded plastic water bottles. Our yarn is soft, stable, and made from recycled PET plastics, and our proprietary 3D knitting process significantly reduces waste. Seamless construction creates support and comfort in every pair. Co-founders Roth Martin and Stephen Hawthornthwaite created and built Rothy's together in San Francisco, California.
About BorderX Lab, Inc.
BorderX Lab, headquartered in Silicon Valley and with offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Jiangsu Provinces, China, is the leading cross-border e-commerce solution for Western brands and retailers targeting the Chinese market. The company's mission is to connect American and European merchants with the global middle class. BorderX Lab's advanced technologies includes machine learning and artificial intelligence bots to make global commerce automatic, intelligent and interactive. Investors include Kleiner Perkins, Hillhouse Capital Group, CBC (China Broadband Capital), Welight Capital and iFly Venture Capital. For more information, please visit www.borderxlab.com.
SOURCE BorderX Lab, Inc.
