China Sportswear, Beauty and Jewelry China unlocking incremental demand for its culturally distinctive brands with a growing inbound consumer base

Research evidence excerpt

Asia Pacific Equity Research

06 August 2026

China Sportswear, Beauty and

Jewelry

China unlocking incremental demand for its culturally

distinctive brands with a growing inbound consumer

base

China's growing inbound consumer base is creating a new incremental

demand for culturally distinctive domestic brands. China’s inbound foreign

visitor base continued to expand in 1H26, with entries by foreign nationals

rising 20% yoy in 1H26 (see source), and positive signals emerging across

major gateway cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. We expect

inbound visitor growth to remain structural, supported by broader visa-free

access, rising global interest in Chinese culture, and growing overseas

visibility of Chinese brands. We believe brands with recognizable Chinese

cultural attributes, strong exposure to tourist-centric commercial districts,

premium consumer service, and differentiated in-store experiences are best

positioned to benefit. Our consumer tour, on the ground checks, and growing

popularity of emerging designer brands such as Songmont (山下有松) among

overseas visitors, provided early evidence of increasing foreign-tourist

spending at select domestic brand stores. Within our coverage, the following

companies are likely to be the key beneficiaries of the trend: Anta, Li Ning,

Mao Geping (MGP), Bosideng, Laopu,and CTG Duty Free (CTG).

• Visitor mix moving towards more leisure-led and consumption-relevant.

Following three years of post-reopening traffic recovery in 2023-25, the

more relevant development in 2026 is the improving quality and

consumption relevance of inbound visitor growth. Beijing's inbound visitor

arrivals and tourism spending increased by 33% and 40% yoy, respectively

in 1H26 (source), while Shanghai foreign visitor arrivals were up by 30% in

1H26 (source), indicating strong growth at China's largest inbound

gateways. The faster growth in tourism spending in Beijing points to

improving consumption contribution from inbound visitors. Separately,

evidence from Shenzhen Airport points to an improving visitor mix,

sightseeing travelers increased by 26% yoy (outpacing overall 21%) and

representing 45% of overall in Jun to mid Jul, source, (vs.…