Recently, Lin Le, a Sam shopping agent, has changed her shopping habits. While pushing her shopping cart to buy Swiss rolls, eggs, and shrimps, she will use one hand to check the Sam Global Shopping App on her phone to see if Arc’teryx has restocked the items. This item of clothing, which was put on the shelves at the end of August, suddenly became popular three months later.
For no other reason than the price has become cheaper. In late October, Sam’s reduced the price of Arc’teryx’s iconic flagship hard-shell jacket ALPHA SV from 7,299 yuan to 6,499 yuan, which is 1,701 yuan cheaper than the official Tmall flagship store. Subsequently, the topic “Sam’s many Arc’teryx models were sold out” became a hot search topic.
On November 10, Caijingtianxia checked the Sam Global Shopping App and found that two of the three Arc’teryx products on sale were out of stock, and only a few sizes of ALPHA SV were still on sale. Another brand, Canada Goose, has five out of seven products out of stock. One purchasing agent lamented: “It’s so outrageous. Clothes worth tens of thousands of yuan were sold out instantly.”
Hot searches, shortages, limited purchases, and increased prices for purchasing agents have changed hands. A jacket has pushed Sam’s Global Shopping into the eyes of the middle class. However, Lin Le believes that from the beginning, this matter was not just as simple as buying a piece of clothing.
01. Three groups of people entered the venue one after another
“Behind the Second Sky, three groups of people entered the market one after another.” Lin Le, who has been working as a purchasing agent for Sam for many years, told Caijingtianxia.
The first to enter were Sam’s old members. They not only bought food at Sam’s, but also supplies and clothing. This time Sam sold Arc’teryx ALPHA SV for 6,499 yuan, and many people just closed their eyes and rushed. Lin Le said that this price is comparable to purchasing agents from Japan and South Korea. A Sam member said: “The price is indeed much cheaper than at the counter.” For this group of people, grabbing is not consumption, but a confirmation that “I am smarter than the brand pricing system.”
▲Archa’teryx purchase price in Japan and South Korea. Source/Photo courtesy of interviewee
Next to add fuel to the rush is buying on behalf of others. Lin Le said that when encountering such a hot-selling item, some people will take several pictures at once, mainly to transfer them and make a profit on the price difference. On social platforms, there have been posts about the resale of “Sam’s version of Archaeopteryx”: someone impulsively ordered a size larger, but because it does not support unreasonable returns and exchanges, they can only find another buyer. Then there are the people who recognize the word “Archaeopteryx”. What they are looking for is not a jacket, but a sense of identity that “wear it and others will know how much it is worth.”
The three types of people face the same set of strict conditions: ALPHA SV is limited to 6 pieces, and Canada Goose Parker is limited to 1 piece; 7-day no-reason returns are not supported, and you will be responsible for any losses if you refuse; there are no samples of clothes offline, so they can only stay in bonded warehouses online. A Sam’s Club lamented to “Financial World”: “It’s like a limited sale, and the people who grab it look like they’ve won the lottery.”
The more stringent the conditions, the better the chances. Sam usually sells roast chicken and Swiss rolls, with friendly unit prices and easy decision-making. It’s not that it has never sold “services”: children’s optometry at the optical center, hearing tests for the elderly, and car wash and dental rights for outstanding members are all card renewal hooks used by Sam to attract families. However, the unit price of these services is low and the topicality is weak. Members find it “convenient” and find it difficult to feel “proud” of them. Suddenly Arc’teryx jackets were put on the shelves, and their nature changed.
In Lin Le’s view, Archaeopteryx is not the same thing as Coach or Lululemon. The latter two are the logic of “international brand discounts” in Sam’s Global Shopping; Arc’teryx is a top brand with a strong outdoor symbol and strong price anchor. Multiple media reports stated that although Sam’s Global Shopping has previously sold Coach, Lululemon, and Tommy Hilfiger, this is the first time that Arc’teryx has been included in the membership channel. What stimulates the middle class is not “I can afford it”, but “such an expensive and hard-core brand can be purchased at member price.”
There’s a reason why I didn’t get it. Lin Le judged that this wave may be the rhythmic release of cross-border bonded warehouses: “If it is sold in large quantities, the supply should be sufficient by now.” The product page indicates that it is direct shipment from the bonded warehouse, the purchase limit is 6 pieces, and some styles are only available in a single size. She prefers to understand Archaeopteryx as Sam’s “annual attraction.” Roasted chicken, Swiss rolls, and nuts keep members coming every week; Arc’teryx is responsible for letting members remember “this card is worth it.” According to industry insiders, these products with high unit prices and strong price anchors are themselves card renewal hooks: the scarier they are, the stronger the member’s sense of gain; if they didn’t grab it this time, they will try again next time.
02. Three channels to set prices
Why can Sam lower the prices of Archaeopteryx and Canada Goose? The core reason is to cut out the middleman.
A person close to Sam’s product selection team told Interface News that the preparation period for this cooperation between the two parties exceeded half a year, and all supply sources came from the brand or officially authorized dealers. Sam relies on its large-scale centralized purchasing capabilities and superimposes the “low gross profit, high turnover” operating model of warehouse membership stores, eliminating the need for intermediate distribution links and ultimately achieving terminal price advantages.
The retail chain of traditional brands is very long. From the brand to the terminal store, it has to go through many links. Sam’s Global Shopping is taking a different approach. Arc’teryx only sells online, and the page says it will ship directly from a bonded warehouse. It doesn’t go into stores, doesn’t display sample clothes, and doesn’t have shopping guides. It ships directly to consumers after overseas purchases, which can save some tax. For the same piece of clothing, if you go to a counter, you have to pay full tax, support the store, and support a shopping guide; if you go to a cross-border bonded warehouse, the tax is 70%, and the store cost is zero. What is saved is not subsidies, but channel dividends.
“Financial World” observed that several Arc’teryx products and some Canada Goose products are not long-term prices. They are limited-time price cuts launched on October 13. After November 13, ALPHA SV will return to 7,299 yuan, and the price difference with the Tmall official flagship store will be reduced to 901 yuan. The so-called “1,701 yuan cheaper” is half channel efficiency and half due to the Double 11 window bonus.
Then there is the compression of after-sales rights. Sam’s related product pages indicate that returns are not supported within 7 days without reason, to further control costs.
However, upon closer inspection, the reason why Sam’s can sell big brands at low prices lies in the same model of selling Swiss rolls, beef, nuts, and laundry detergent.
▲Picture source/”Financial World”
A former Shangchao executive told Caijingtianxia that Sam’s SKUs have been selected to about 4,000. The fewer SKUs, the larger the order volume for a single product. One order for a nut can cost one million yuan, so suppliers are naturally willing to give lower quotes. A Sam supplier employee revealed: “Sam usually purchases large orders, and the quantities are so large that the supplier will not refuse.”
According to data from the China Chain Store and Franchise Association, the proportion of Sam’s own brand Member’s Mark has stabilized at more than 30%, and some customized models have created channel exclusivity. Industry estimates show that Sam’s comprehensive gross profit margin is about 20%, of which the gross profit margin of diversion products is only 8% to 12%. In comparison, the gross profit margin of traditional supermarket products is generally 25% to 35%.
Sam’s low gross profit is not a weakness, it is a tool to transfer profits to members and improve card renewal rates.
03. An unspoken understanding
Regarding Sam’s move to sell Arc’teryx, the industry generally believes that this is not a simple purchase and listing, and both parties have their own plans.
Sam, for his part, needs to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle in the clothing section. Judging from Lin Le’s purchasing experience, in the past, the Sam clothing area mainly featured practical brands such as Member’s Mark OEM, Outdoor, and Lee, and lacked high-end outdoor brands that the middle class loved to buy. From the perspective of an old member, Sam’s shelves should not lack Arc’teryx. But Sam’s did not put Arc’teryx in offline stores. Instead, it put all products on the global shopping channel and shipped them directly from cross-border bonded warehouses. The logic is not difficult to understand: not entering the store, not affecting the main market of 4,000 SKUs, and not touching the offline price system. If the trial succeeds, it will be incremental. If the trial fails, it will be removed from the shelves. The sunk cost is extremely low.
The deeper logic lies in the membership fee. Walmart’s latest financial report for fiscal year 2027 shows that Sam China’s paid members have exceeded 10.7 million; based on a rough calculation of the ordinary annual fee of 260 yuan, the membership fee plate is close to 2.8 billion yuan a year, not counting the 680 yuan Excellence Card. For membership-based retailers, this membership fee is a high-margin revenue base, and its weight is much higher than the price difference of a single piece of clothing. What Sam really cares about is not “how much this jacket sells for” but “whether members are willing to renew after seeing it.”
▲Picture source/Sam App
What Arc’teryx wants is a shipping channel that doesn’t break the price. The financial report of Amer, the parent company of Arc’teryx, shows that in the second quarter, the technical apparel segment with Arc’teryx as the core revenue was US$674 million, a year-on-year increase of 32%. Although the numbers are beautiful, the management has released a signal in the conference call that Arc’teryx’s growth rate in the Chinese market will gradually return to normal.
From the current point of view, the three parties have their own accounts to settle: Sam’s made members feel that the card is worthwhile, Arc’teryx got a low-priced shipping channel, and consumers bought genuine products at a price of 1,701 yuan cheaper. Regarding whether to buy it, Lin Le believes that if you are an old Sam’s member and have accurate sizes, you can buy it during the limited price window. The premise is that code breakage, purchase restrictions, and no returns or exchanges are accepted. If you apply for a card just for this piece of clothing, first calculate how much you will save after adding the annual fee of 260 yuan.
(Lin Le is a pseudonym in this article)
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