We helped Lee understand Chinese male jeans buyers before production, to cut waste and tailor its Black Label collection.
The challenge
Lee opened its first Asian flagship in Hong Kong in 2012, and China became its largest international market. By 2016 global revenue had fallen, a sign that Lee was losing touch with Chinese consumers. In 2017 Lee asked us to understand Chinese men who buy jeans, to tailor its new Black Label collection, and to help it test before mass production to reduce waste.
Our approach
Lee used to design, prototype, fine-tune and mass-produce, and only judged a product after release. We added research before production: in-depth interviews with millennial men revealed how they feel about different denim designs and the occasions they buy and wear jeans for.
The result
The winning and weaker designs, from colour and fit to buttons and stitching, plus rising trends to focus on. The recommendations shaped Lee’s RE/DISCOVER WORKLIFE autumn/winter 2017 collection, launched in China, Thailand, India, Malaysia and other markets.
Brand-wide figures reflect the client’s overall performance, not this project alone.
