(Yicai Global) July 27 -- China's children's wear market has become an emerging market in recent years after the nation dropped its one-child policy in 2013, consumers began to spend more money and the adult-wear market slipped.

The rise of kids' clothing has made an opening for foreign brands to move into China. At a Cool Kids Fashion event held in Shanghai, Yicai Global found more and more overseas labels were looking to make a break into the rapidly-growing market.

For example, Shanghai Three Gun Group Co., a Chinese clothing brand, recently said they will develop a babywear line in cooperation with Fisher-Price, a subsidiary of US-based toymaker Mattel Inc. [NASDAQ:MAT].

New products to be released under the partnership include underwear, indoor and outdoor clothing and accessories for new-borns and infants under four years old, said Wang Junfeng, Greater China general manager at Mattel.

Consumption for children will make up roughly 30 percent of a family's total expenditure by 2018, forecast Cao Chunxiang, Three Gun's executive vice president. Annual consumption will be around CNY900 billion (USD133 billion), he predicted, adding that the figure is still "growing exponentially."

The cooperation is not the first time Three Gun has worked with international intellectual properties. In 2016, it teamed up with The Walt Disney Co. [NYSE:DIS] and Universal Pictures to produce children's underwear and outdoor clothing.

"As the adult clothing industry has declined, most famous brands have turned to children's wear, and more and more of them are setting up their own businesses for kids," said Cheng Weixiong, general manager of Shanghai Liangqi Brand Management Co.

More brands are also using marketing through other channels. For example, the National Basketball Association, which is widely known in China, is expanding its children's wear business through sport and family.

NBA China also recently announced plans to open kids' fashion stores in the country, hoping to set up more than 500 franchise outlets over the next few years.

Many NBA fans from generation X would have loved to wear clothes donning the league's brand in their younger years, said Wang Dawei, senior vice president of NBA China. As they now become parents themselves, they will be able to grant their children this pleasure.

However, Cheng Weixiong does not believe marketing to customer's emotions is not always feasible.

Though agreeing it is a defined marketing strategy, Cheng Weixiong does not believe playing to customers' emotions is always a feasible method.