Fashionable underwear is the main product line of the six-year-old company, which has more than 600 shops and in-store boutiques around the country.
It is particularly strong in the eastern and northern parts of China.
Grey Hong Kong and China chairperson Viveca Chan said the company had gone after the Maoren contract initially when it was handed the Gulass brand. Maoren boss You Lin, however, was unsure if he could work with an international agency. Chan called it unusual to be awarded the account as local clients were "very hard to keep". Maoren had worked with McCann-Erickson for a few months last year, but later dropped the agency to go on its own.
"It (Gulass) was a new brand and provided a test for us and we did well," said Chan.
With Maoren firmly established, Grey's mandate is to take the brand forward to the next stage, build a long-term platform for future growth and to identify what that means in terms of product development. The agency's first communication initiatives in packaging, advertising, TVCs and outdoor will roll out in tandem with its summer line.
Last year, Maoren spent about Rmb 70 million (about US$8.45 million) in advertising. "We will be looking at much faster expansion in terms of distribution, more locations and in expanding the product range. We will work on establishing a corporate identity by going into the packaging, products and retail and really work with them on trade marketing."
Chan said underwear marketing in China was very focused on four months in winter and was "very technical, promotional and price-sensitive".
A lot of it, especially the warm variety, was sold in sets, particularly in the cold parts of the country and did not fare well in the warm south.
"You want this be a long-term brand, not just in the four months of the winter. There are a lot of product implications here. We are looking at what Maoren should be and what it shouldn't," she said.