X-Bionic, the Swiss brand of functional under- and outerwear, has opened its first single-branded point of sale on 15 square meters at Shin Kong Plaza, the prestigious shopping mall in Beijing. According to Patrick Lambertz, the company's chief administrative officer, the shop reached a turnover of more than 10,000 yuan (€1,185-$1,586) in its first month, which is more than the double the minimum that the mall's operator required. X-Bionic made it into the Chinese market last year and showed at the recent Ispo Beijing for the first time. Lambertz pointed out that there will be a special focus on marketing the brand's new line of asymmetric underwear (X-Bionic calls it “decision layer”) for golf players. Lambertz sees a huge potential for high-end golf apparel in China's fast-growing upper class. Cycling is emerging, but currently not the focus of his brand development in China. X-Bionic currently has some 50 points of sale in the country, and they are expected to grow in the next years. However, Lambertz feels no pressure to expand the retail network at high speed. For a high-end brand, Lambertz said, the quality of the retail customers is by far more important than their number.

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