Underwear on the up

German innerwear brand Triumph is hoping to re-stitch the embryonic bra market in China. Matt Hodges investigates what lies beneath.

Chinese women are notoriously stingy when it comes to innerwear, and getting them to splurge on bras and lingerie remains a daunting challenge for brands like Germany's Triumph, Japan's Wacoal and China's Gujin, despite their strong presence at department stores nationwide.

"The market for sophisticated underwear products in China is quite nascent," says Matthew Crabbe, director of Asia Pacific Research at Mintel.