Exclusive online branding of footwear, clothing to expand

Shopping on the Web recently, shoe aficionado Cai Xiaohua was elated to discover a footwear brand, available only online, that was both cheap and similar in style to her favorite brands.

Fortunately for Cai, she and many other online shoppers will be seeing more of the same in the future as Chinese clothing and shoe companies seek to peddle unique products exclusively on the Internet.

Brand-name companies, including China's biggest sporting goods producer Li-Ning and the men's garment maker Septwolves, are planning to launch Internet-only products in 2010 and 2011 respectively to cash in on China's booming e-market.