(Yicai Global) Sept. 19 -- A daughter and a son of the founders of Septwolves and Xtep International Holdings, two Chinese fashion garment suppliers, have gotten engaged to be married, according to insiders.

Zhou Liyuan, the second son of Septwolves Chairman Zhou Shaoxiong, and Ding Jiamin, the second daughter of Xtep's founder Ding Shuibo, recently held a celebration for the milestone which quickly became a hot topic on Chinese social media. Multiple insiders confirmed the engagement to Yicai Global. Zhou Shaoxiong thanked Yicai Global after the media organization congratulated him for the event online.

The two famous brands have been collaborating in business before, setting up an investment fund.

The couple has similar backgrounds. Zhou Liyuan currently serves as the assistant general manager and a member of the board of directors at Septwolves. Moreover, he also participates in the management of the Chinese business of Karl Lagerfeld, a French luxury brand. Born in 1996, Zhou graduated from the University of Toronto in Canada.

Born in 1997, Ding Jiamin is in charge of the "Half-Sugar Series," which is a women’s collection launched by Xtep last year. But she is not yet part of the Fujian province-based company’s senior management.

The two founders of the firms come from the city of Jinjiang in the southeastern province. Locals in Jinjiang tend to choose partners nearby and the two families also have similar social backgrounds, insiders said.

However, the firms are different in scale. Based on the latest Forbes list of global billionaires, Ding Shuibo is No. 2,076 with a wealth of USD1.4 billion. The net worth of the Septwolves chairman is considerably smaller.

Xtep, which focuses on sportswear, has been growing quickly in recent years amid the shift to healthier lifestyles. In the first half, its net profit jumped by 38 percent to CNY590 million (USD84.2 million) from a year ago while its revenue rose by 37 percent to CNY5.7 billion.

Although the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are expected to continue in the second half, Xtep’s medium and long-term business prospects are still optimistic with the continuously rising demand for sports equipment, Ding Shuibo said earlier.

Septwolves, which is known for men's clothing, has been having difficulties in recent years and the firm is seeking new growth through acquisitions of foreign brands' businesses in China. This month, the company said it will invest in Desigual to help the Spanish fashion brand explore the Chinese market.

In the first six months of this year, Septwolves' net profit rose by 9 percent to CNY90 million (USD12.8 million) from a year ago. Its revenue dropped by 6 percent to CNY1.5 billion (USD207 million).

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi