Goelia: Going Global

Founded in 1995, Goelia, a Chinese fashion brand, grew into a national leader with over 600 stores and a strong omnichannel marketing network. After an initial unsuccessful attempt to expand internationally through franchising, the company reentered the global market in 2022 by opening flagship stores in key locations like Sydney and Singapore, alongside launching its online platform. Despite these efforts, Goelia faced challenges in increasing global brand awareness and navigating the competitive international fashion landscape. By late 2023, Goelia had successfully established a global presence, but founder Gordon Woo and his team faced critical decisions on how to balance global aspirations with local relevance. As the brand expanded into new markets, Goelia needed to adapt its strategies to account for diverse cultural preferences, marketing approaches, and operational models. With significant investments already made in flagship stores, e-commerce platforms, and logistics, Goelia’s path forward requires strategic clarity to ensure continued growth while maintaining its unique identity in a fiercely competitive industry.

This case explores concepts such as brand building and international marketing strategy of apparel companies in the context of the digital age. It is suitable for undergraduate and graduate courses in international marketing, brand building, and strategic management. Exploring the development and history of the Goelia brand, the case focuses on the strategic choices and management practices made by the company at different stages, and highlights the strategic thinking in business innovation, brand building and international marketing in the context of the digital age. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<br><br><ul><li> Identify the major business models and the evolution of core competencies of well-known Chinese apparel brand companies.</li><li>Examine the strategic trade-offs and choices of apparel companies in the mobile Internet era in terms of brand building, operations management, and international marketing.</li><li>Explore the internationalization path, international marketing mix, international brand building and challenges of apparel brand companies in the digital age.</li><li>Master the relevant theories and analysis tools of international marketing, such as the nine strategic window model, market expansion strategy, international market selection model, market entry mode, brand building model, etc.</li></ul>

• global expansion
• market selection
• market entry mode
• global branding
• a Chinese fashion brand