For the last decade, Chinese magazines, sites and government bodies have been labelling unmarried women over 27 as sheng nu –‘leftover women’ – in a bid to counter a social trend seen as destabilising society. But who are these leftover women? And why should brands be paying attention to them?

In November 2013, China loosened the population control policy that had prohibited so many couples from having more than one child for more than three decades. But the baby boom that Chinese authorities and population planners were hoping for hasn’t come to pass yet.

Almost 50% of Chinese citizens have access to the internet, and the number of Chinese users will be double the entire US population by 2016. Companies are fighting for online market share, and they're increasingly recognising the importance of the 'grey' segment.

A video showing a Chinese couple having sex in a Uniqlo changing room in Beijing has been viewed millions of times just a few days since it was uploaded. This is symptomatic of the increasing hedonism of Chinese youths whose values are diverging from their communist roots.