[ Candidate ]
Caelan H.C.Y
Email chuanyichuanyi@gmail.com
Phone +86 13266809480
Location Shenzhen, PRC
Portfolio caelanh.myportfolio.com
Nationality Malaysian
Right to Work PRC, Malaysia; UK/EU requires sponsorship
Personal Profile
A senior creative-operator working at the seam where design intuition meets operational math. A decade of director-level work across cross-border DTC apparel, technical product engineering, and brand founding — currently running both a multi-brand merchandising directorate on the corporate side (AELFRIC EDEN / DIER Technology) and AERLYTE on the founder side (under KAIREN Design), out of Shenzhen.
Comfortable in both registers — the abstract (brand voice, design judgment, cultural fluency) and the numerical (GMV, inventory lifecycle, launch performance, P&L). Operates fluently in the AI-augmented operating layer: AI compresses the research and analytic cycles; the irreducibly-human work — taste, judgment, patience — stays close to the operator's hand.
Trilingual cross-border practitioner (English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Malay) holding three operating registers simultaneously: US fashion-tech, Chinese DTC, Southeast Asian growth.
Key Competencies
[ Commercial ]
- Cross-border DTC merchandising (US, DE, CN, SEA)
- Multi-brand product portfolio management
- Inventory lifecycle & markdown systems
- Black-Friday / seasonal campaign architecture
[ Analytics & Systems ]
- BI-led launch architecture
- Closed-loop trend research systems
- Culture-driven quantitative trend analysis
- Department-level data governance
[ Product & Engineering ]
- DFX (design-for-x) brief methodology
- CMF as problem-solving discipline
- Materials science (polymer, yarn, dye)
- Technical-apparel certification (GB/T)
[ Leadership ]
- 30+ direct reports across 5 functional teams
- Cross-functional decision frameworks
- Trilingual cross-cultural negotiation
- Founder-track team building (5–7 reports)
DIER Technology Co. Ltd — Merchandising Director
Cross-border fashion e-commerce serving US and German markets. Group GSV at nine-figure-USD across multiple brands; flagship brand AELFRIC EDEN contributes the majority of group revenue.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide end-to-end strategic oversight of a 900+ SKU per-season product ecosystem
- Lead five functional teams: merchandising, research and analytics, trend R&D, product development, product engineering
- Serve as the functional bridge between creative, data, and operations leadership
Selected Achievements
- Delivered 153% YoY Black Friday growth on flagship brand, Q4 2024
- Reduced excess inventory to 2% by end of Q4 2024 (against total stockholding of 12%, of which 10% safety stock)
- Reduced paid-media CPC by 18% via BI-led launch targeting
- Achieved launch success rates of 84% (Nov 2024) and 54% (Dec 2024) — defined as 50+ units sold within 30 days of launch
- Cut paid-traffic dependency on new launches by ~13.6% by Q1 2025
- Lifted launch success rate by 15–30% by Q1 2025
- Built research & analytics function from inception — three-layer infrastructure: department-level data governance, BI environment restructure, closed-loop trend system
- Secured TikTok Super Brand Day featured spot (2026) — scaled flagship to ¥10M GMV in 6 months on TikTok US, alongside category heavyweights PacSun and Halara. First successful export of the full Chinese DTC playbook (market research → PMF analysis → traffic segmentation → demographic targeting → fast-production design integration) into the TikTok US market
Selected 2025–2026 Engagements (AELFRIC EDEN)
- 10/2025 · ComplexCon (Los Angeles) — Product innovation + merchandising
- 2025 · TikTok New York Fashion Fest — Product innovation + merchandising
- 2025 · Lotte Jamsil Pop-up (Seoul) — Product innovation + merchandising
- 2026 · The Hyundai Seoul (Yeouido / 더현대 서울) Pop-up — Product innovation + merchandising
- 07/2026 · New York SoHo Pop-up
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How it was done. The CR50 program was structured as a pre-Black-Friday rebrand-and-consolidation exercise: top 50 SKUs across the flagship, repositioned and audited for cart-recovery efficacy. The long-tail markdown system tied aging × historical conversion × inventory-holding-cost into a single dynamic price function. The research function was built from zero — first cleaning department-level data governance, then restructuring BI for real-time visibility, then layering the closed-loop trend system on top. Each layer existed because the one below it had a defined success metric and a way of knowing whether it was hitting it.
KAIREN (Shenzhen) Brand Management Co. Ltd — Founder & Principal
Innovation-led brand management and consultancy entity. Flagship consumer brand: AERLYTE. Selected B-side consultancy: Naturehike (挪客). Post-seed valuation: ¥10M RMB.
Selected Achievements
- Designed and brought to market the AERLYTE 110-gram waterproof jacket — third-party certified at UTS Jiangsu to GB/T 32614-2023 Class I, the highest grade of the Chinese hardshell standard. ≥20,000 mm hydrostatic head; 16,800 g/m²/24h MVTR; ILAC-MRA recognised
- Achieved 50% lifetime repeat purchase on zero advertising spend; new-buyer AOV ¥509; 67.6% T1 / NT1 buyers; 365-day active customer base
- Shortlisted — Asian Startup Award, BEYOND International Tech Expo, Macau, 2024
- Built selective B-side consultancy generating cash to fund AERLYTE reinvestment without dilution
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How it was done. AERLYTE operates on a customer-funded model: the small team's output is sized to what existing customers re-buy, not to growth targets. Each product corresponds to a DFX (design-for-x) brief — weight, hydrostatic head, MVTR, durability — written before any styling decision. The 110-gram jacket cleared GB/T 32614-2023 Class I (China hardshell highest grade) because the brief's first line was weight; every gram of structure had to answer to a function. KAIREN simultaneously runs a B-side consultancy (currently Naturehike) generating cash that funds AERLYTE without dilution.
Banana-IN (Shenzhen Sanliren Co. Ltd) — Senior Designer / Product Manager
Innovation-led intimate apparel brand expanding into broader apparel and accessories. Lead product role on Cool Skin / [-°C] product line — the company's breakthrough into functional apparel.
Selected Achievements
- Delivered ~¥600M RMB omnichannel GMV in twelve months, +80% over plan on Cool Skin alone
- Drove 700% YoY growth in apparel segment
- Lifted company valuation from ¥2.5B → ¥13B during tenure (consistent with publicly reported funding disclosures, 36Kr 2021)
- Multiple core SKUs achieved >85% sell-through within 60 days of launch
- Established 10–18 month development lead over competitors
- Built cross-functional decision framework: consumer insight, competitive benchmarking, product-function evaluation, scalability metrics
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How it was done. The Cool Skin / [-°C] line ran on a 12-month cycle: audited internal capability, defined defensible competitive assets, shaped a high-barrier entry strategy. Built a cross-functional decision framework — consumer insight + competitive benchmarking + product-function evaluation + scalability metrics — and ran every SKU against it. Imported industrial-design methodology (CMF, IE) into softgoods. Re-engineered modular trims and adaptive closures so the same platform could carry multiple categories. The 10–18 month development lead over competitors came from running this discipline tighter than the rest of the category.
Beneunder (Shenzhen Jianzi Technology / 簡字科技) — Product Manager, Hats & Accessories
Product management across headwear and accessories at a leading Chinese functional-apparel brand. Ownership of structural-hat and baseball-cap product lines from concept through commercialisation.
Selected Achievements
- Drove lines under direct ownership to ~70% of company hat-category GSV by end of tenure
- Designed hero pieces — Becker, Skyline (天際), Trajectory (軌跡), Double-Sided (雙面) series — that remained category leads after departure
- Led category-expansion work across accessory adjacencies, opening SKU map that later supported broader apparel growth
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How it was done. Treated each hat as a small piece of industrial design rather than a softgood. Structural pattern · modular component design · materials science weighted against weather and weight. Hero pieces (Becker, Skyline 天際, Trajectory 軌跡, Double-Sided 雙面) were engineered as small platforms — same core geometry, multiple aesthetic expressions — which is why they survived as category leads after departure.
UPAR (跑界文化体育投资) — Designer, Collaborations & Limited Edition
Running and outdoor startup. Creative Directors: Edison Chen 陈冠希 (CLOT) and Kazuki Kuraishi 仓石一树 (BAPE / The North Face Urban Exploration lineage). Joined during the startup phase; tasked with building the design department structure — product identity manual, spec sheet formatting, ERP color coding, supplier sourcing, trend research. Produced 130 designs in three months against brand-manager specifications. Traveled to Japan with Mr. Kuraishi to source materials and finalise collection stories. Mediated collaborations with The North Face, Nike, Adidas, A. Four Labs, CLOT, and Hands In Factory. The Japanese consumer register and urban-technical-apparel discipline absorbed here later fed AERLYTE.
Coverage: Hypebeast CN · Business of Fashion CN
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How it was done. Joined during the startup phase; first task was building the design department's operational backbone — Product Identity Manual, spec-sheet standard, ERP color coding, supplier sourcing, trend research process. Produced 130 designs in three months against brand-manager timetables. Traveled with Kuraishi to Japan to source materials and finalise collection stories. Collaborative drops were structured around mediating between a marquee partner (TNF, Nike, Adidas, CLOT, A. Four Labs, Hands In Factory) and UPAR's running-culture DNA. The Japanese consumer register absorbed here later fed AERLYTE.
Yimeng Technology Co. Ltd (衣夢 / New Asia Group) — Design Director
Manufacturing-technology arm of New Asia Group (subsidiary of 深圳市新亚电子制作有限公司, a listed company). Tech stack the design platform operated on: 3D smart-garment automation (software-driven pattern translation) and 3D draping, smart production-line system trials, rendering-based patternmaking, next-generation cutting machinery, eco-conscious production, new materials. As Design Director, owned the simulated consumer brand 善也 / KARTSO — the vehicle through which each technology was validated via real product runs in retail spaces, returning user feedback and case studies to engineering. Concurrently oversaw the company's CVC (corporate venture capital) arm — responsible for testing industry-technology integrations and turning each one into a pitch-ready, physically-deployed package by landing the tech in real product.
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How it was done. The simulated brand 善也 / KARTSO was the proof-of-concept vehicle. Each new technology (3D smart-garment automation, 3D draping, smart production-line trials, rendering-based patternmaking, automated cutting, eco-conscious production, new materials) had to clear a real product run in a real retail space — user feedback and case-study data returned to engineering before the next iteration. Concurrently held oversight of the corporate CVC arm, evaluating and integrating third-party manufacturing technology — the design platform's role was to physically deploy each acquired/partnered technology into a real product so the listed parent company had a working, demonstrable pitch (rather than a deck-only thesis) when raising further capital or going to industry. First sustained operating context where pattern was treated as engineering and manufacturing-tech as a problem-solving discipline.
深圳市凯纫服饰有限公司 — MINTBYCAELANH (consumer brand) — Founder & Design Director
First founder-track attempt. Consumer womenswear brand MINTBYCAELANH operated under 深圳市凯纫服饰有限公司 — the original KAIREN entity. Distributed through Whoolala (online multi-brand platform) into Lane Crawford's "The Cage" programme; stocked at 8 buying stores and 3 online platforms. Won a ¥30,000 grant from prominent Asian designer awards. Brand dissolved in January 2017 during the broader SME-fashion recession. The KAIREN name was kept and re-founded in 2022 (KAIREN Shenzhen Brand Management Co. Ltd) — same operator, second attempt, with seven years of operational depth in between.
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How it was done. First founder track. Whoolala (multi-brand online platform) handled distribution; Lane Crawford's "The Cage" programme gave physical retail placement; the ¥30,000 Asian Designer grant funded the first production runs. Eight buying-store relationships and three online platforms were built without external funding — every decision (sourcing, ROI, HR guidelines, B2B expansion, legal docs) ran through a two-person operator team. Dissolved in the broader SME-fashion recession of early 2017. The relationships built during this period later opened doors at UPAR and beyond.
Hong Kong E&L Design — House of Siren — Designer
House of Siren, founded by Greg Derham in 1992, is a Hong Kong design house that has nurtured three generations of HK designers. B2B clientele: Gucci, Givenchy, Cartier, Baume & Mercier, Goldman Sachs. Caelan's projects during tenure included Givenchy Annual Dinner Dresses, the Macao Crazy Horse stage set, JP Morgan event outfits, the Tatler Costume shoot, and Aerial Dance Academy costumes. First professional role out of HKDI; the bridge from school into real production constraints.
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How it was done. House of Siren, under Greg Derham, was structured as a B2B couture atelier — clients commissioned bespoke pieces for high-profile events and brand activations. Caelan's tenure ran the full design-to-production loop on individual commissions: illustration translation, fabrication sourcing, pattern, sample, fit, finish. The Givenchy Annual Dinner Dresses and Macao Crazy Horse stage set were the most visible — both required couture-grade construction under hard event-date deadlines. JP Morgan, Tatler, and the Aerial Dance Academy pieces ran on the same operational rhythm.
Lane Crawford Joyce Group — Design Intern (Institutional Placement)
Placed in JOYCE (Lane Crawford Joyce Group's luxury arm) for the JOYCE Cares programme. The three-month project, based at PMQ in Hong Kong, reconstructed new garments from Dries Van Noten archive pieces in JOYCE's couture inventory: line-sheet design, fabrication proposal, pattern making, hands-on construction with in-house seamstresses. Combined design execution with front-end retail and direct customer dialogue at PMQ — the entry point into cross-regional luxury-retail operating fluency.
Coverage: THEi Fashion · Men's Uno HK
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How it was done. JOYCE Cares placed interns into a three-month residency at PMQ (Hong Kong's creative hub). The brief was sharp: reconstruct new wearable garments from JOYCE's couture archive — Caelan's source material was Dries Van Noten archive pieces. The full design-to-execution loop in one window: line-sheet design, fabrication proposal, pattern making, hands-on construction with in-house seamstresses. Parallel responsibility ran front-of-house at the PMQ store — managing inventory, executing retail tasks, and talking directly to walk-in customers to learn the luxury-retail demand register. The entry point into cross-regional luxury-retail operating fluency.
Quantified Outcomes
| Outcome | Context | |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | ~¥600M RMB omnichannel GMV in 12 months, +80% over plan | Lead product role, Banana-IN Cool Skin / [-°C] product line, 2021–2022 |
| 02 | ¥2.5B → ¥13B valuation lift at Banana-IN | Same period (consistent with public funding disclosures, 36Kr, 2021) |
| 03 | AERLYTE — GB/T 32614-2023 Class I certified hero product | KAIREN flagship: 110g waterproof jacket; 50% lifetime repeat on zero ad spend |
| 04 | 153% YoY Black Friday growth | AELFRIC EDEN flagship at DIER Technology, Q4 2024 |
| 05 | Excess inventory reduced to 2% | Pricing and lifecycle systems deployed at DIER (ex 10% safety stock), FY24 close |
| 06 | 18% paid-media CPC reduction | BI-led launch targeting and trend system at DIER |
| 07 | 84% / 54% launch success rate | DIER, November and December 2024 (50+ units sold within 30 days) |
| 08 | 900+ SKUs per season | Strategic oversight, AELFRIC EDEN at DIER (US + DE markets) |
| 09 | 30–35 direct reports across five functional teams | Merchandising; research & analytics; trend R&D; product development; product engineering |
| 10 | ¥10M GMV in 6 months · TikTok Super Brand Day featured spot | AELFRIC EDEN at DIER, 2026 (TikTok US flagship; competed against PacSun, Halara) |
Education
Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI)
HKDI — Hong Kong's professional design tertiary institution under the Vocational Training Council; a primary training ground for Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area fashion industry practitioners.
Paris American Academy
Certifications
Harvard Business School (Online)
Languages
| Language | Proficiency | Professional Use |
|---|---|---|
| English | Native (British + American registers) | Cross-border DTC; US/EU operations; press & advisory |
| Mandarin | Native (written + spoken) | Shenzhen operations; supplier negotiation; internal leadership |
| Cantonese | Native | Hong Kong industry |
| Malay / Bahasa Indonesia | Native (written + spoken) | Southeast Asia repatriation; SEA growth-market operations |
Awards & Recognition
2025 · ISPO China × 中国商业出版社 — Featured in 100 Most Significant Outdoor Products · 30 Years of China's Outdoor Industry Growth (AERLYTE)
ISPO — Asia's most authoritative outdoor & sports industry trade show; the 30-year retrospective is the definitive curatorial record of China's outdoor sector. Published in partnership with China Commerce Publishing House.
2024 · BEYOND International Tech Expo (Macau) — Asian Startup Award Shortlist (KAIREN Design / AERLYTE)
BEYOND — Asia's leading annual cross-border technology and innovation expo, hosted in Macau; the Asian Startup Award showcases vetted regional startups.
2016 · Lane Crawford — Up-and-Coming Designer Award (MINTBYCAELANH, under KAIREN Design)
Lane Crawford — Hong Kong's flagship luxury department store group; its emerging-designer programme is the principal showcase for early-career Asian designer talent.
2015 · Lane Crawford — Invited Speaker, Project Founders programme (Hong Kong)
Topic: Chinese consumer markets, and how design can be used to shape demand. Address to the Project Founders cohort by invitation of Lane Crawford.
Availability
- Senior merchandising and product strategy roles at scale
- Advisory engagements and board seats at growth-stage DTC
- Speaking and writing — fashion, AI-augmented operations, technical-apparel engineering, cross-cultural commerce
Contact
chuanyichuanyi@gmail.com
+86 13266809480
Inbound is gated through a short qualifying form at caelanh.com/contact.
References available on request.