The apparel company initially entered the China market in 2014 with a four-story flagship at Shanghai’s Kerry Centre. In 2024, Abercrombie tapped Chinese actor Li Xian as the face of the brand. The potential deal comes as Abercrombie & Fitch navigates an increasingly sophisticated Chinese market, where local players thrive on agile supply chains and timely marketing strategies across both online and offline channels. “The difficulty is that a Chinese investor is not buying a distribution agreement. They are buying desirability, and they read a China profit-and-loss statement faster than the headquarters that produced it.