Picture source @Visual China
Article | Trend-seeking new consumption, author | Zhang Linghan, editor | Eucommia ulmoides
Winter is coming, and the explosive Harbin has pushed the already fierce popularity of skiing to a climax again. Data shows that since November 2023, the number of ski resort ticket bookings nationwide has increased by 147% compared with 2019 before the epidemic; the top three popular ski destinations in 2023 are Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Xinjiang, among which Xinjiang will also have the largest increase in skiing popularity in 2023. In the fastest provinces, the year-on-year growth exceeded 4 times.
China's ice and snow industry has developed rapidly in recent years. Relevant data from Sullivan shows that the number of skiers in my country is expected to reach nearly 35 million by 2027, and the number of skiers will reach nearly 90 million.
Under the craze of ice and snow sports, ski wear, as one of the most important subdivisions in the industry, has seen a sharp increase in consumption, igniting the most prosperous fire this winter. Traditional sports brands, luxury brands, etc. have laid out their plans, opening up the road to "gold nuggets" in this snow-capped area.
Hot consumption in ice and snow
At the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Wu Dajing won the first gold medal for the Chinese sports delegation in the men's 500-meter short track speed skating competition. In the same year, the State Sports General Administration's "Implementation Outline of "Involving 300 Million People in Ice and Snow Sports" (2018-2022)" proposed to vigorously promote and popularize mass ice and snow sports, help build a "Healthy China", and strive to achieve "Driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports" Movement” goal. Driven by winning the Winter Olympics and related policies, my country's ice and snow sports have ushered in the first wave of small climax.
At this stage, the main players in domestic skiing are middle- and high-income groups in first- and second-tier cities, with their ages concentrated between 25 and 34 years old. The market has not fully sunk, and ice and snow sports are limited to high-net-worth consumers. This type of consumer is less sensitive to price, and professionalism and functionality are their primary goals.
During this period, the related product track has long been occupied by some overseas brands with mature products.
Overseas ski clothing brands are mostly professional brands with long histories in various countries that serve national teams, Olympic athletes and other people. They are generally high-end. The prices of major brands are more than 1,000 yuan. Bogner and Helly Hansen are the most expensive ski brands. Service products have reached 10,000 yuan. From the perspective of offline layout, these brands have also entered the Chinese market intensively after 2018, opening stores in the core business districts of first-tier cities and near ski resorts.
In 2022, the Winter Olympics held "doorstep" for the first time will push the popularity of ice and snow sports to another climax. According to Sullivan data, among the top ten in the Beijing Winter Olympics sports brand value list, 4 are Chinese brands and brands owned by Chinese companies. The Beijing Winter Olympics has helped Chinese brands and Chinese companies continue to increase their visibility on the ski equipment field.
It is worth mentioning that among the top ten on the list, in addition to Anta, which is a local brand in China, Descente and Fila are both brands acquired by Anta; phenix was acquired by Kappa China Agency, and the "Chinese brand" seems to have taken over. Half of the country.
Take Descente as an example. Descente is a professional ski equipment brand born in Japan in 1935. Its design and technology are very mature, and its professionalism has helped countless Olympic athletes achieve excellent results on the field. However, Descente, whose products are superior, is a "scumbag" in the business world. It has been tepid since entering the Chinese market in 1992.
In 2016, Anta and Descente established a joint venture to independently operate Descente China. In 2019, Descente suffered losses in the Japanese market, but sold nearly one billion yuan in the Chinese market under the operation of Anta. According to Anta's recently released operating performance report, in the fourth quarter of 2023, all Anta's brands, including Descente, achieved positive growth of 55%-60% compared with the same period.
understands the traditional local brands in the Chinese market. Quickly entering the explosive market segments through "borrowing" acquisition methods is also one of the effective ways for domestic brands to enter the market. Among them, Anta, which owns high-end sports brand fila, Japanese ski brand Descente, Korean outdoor products brand kolon sport and other brands, is undoubtedly the biggest winner.
The changes in consumer groups are also happening at the same time.With the help of the Beijing Winter Olympics, more and more "first-time" ski enthusiasts have joined in, and skiing has moved from a "niche high-end sport" mainly targeted at "rich people" to the mass consumer market. According to data from mob Research Institute, experiencers account for nearly 80% of my country’s skiing population, and only 8.7% of skiing enthusiasts ski more than 6 times a year.
Under such a development trend, my country has generated huge market demand for entry-level ski equipment. Traditional domestic brands and new domestic brands with advantages such as high cost performance and familiarity with local consumers have continued to exert their efforts, gradually breaking through overseas high-end brands. monopoly situation.
In addition to the traditional down jacket brand Bosideng and sports brand Li Ning that are well known to consumers, ski wear is the main category promoted this year, and the newly established national fashion ski equipment brand is also slowly emerging.
Get out of the ski resort and move towards life
The development of the ice and snow industry has entered a new stage, which is not only reflected in the diversification of brands on the supply side and the intensification of competition. From the consumer side, the biggest innovation is the change of the scene - —From the ski resort to daily life.
promotes the daily use of ski clothing for two reasons, which can be seen from the product side and marketing side.
Product side
In the early days of the development of ice and snow sports, for safety reasons, ski clothing usually chose colors with strong saturation so that skiers could be quickly discovered when they were in danger in the wild. As the development of skiing becomes more and more mature, ski resort management becomes more standardized and the probability of danger is greatly reduced. In addition to considering safety performance, snowwear brands have more space to think about its "fashionability".
Nowadays, the colors and styles of ski suits are rapidly upgrading. They have changed from the bloated and "earthy colors" in the past. From black and white solid colors to personalized prints, the patterns are different, and they are closer to daily life, becoming a fashionable item that can be worn on the street. Taste.
In terms of fabrics and craftsmanship, the functionality of ski suits is also the reason why they are chosen by many consumers in life scenarios. In order to cope with ice and snow weather, ski suits have the dual characteristics of keeping warm and waterproof. At the same time, in order to better ride on the snow field, ski suits are also stretchable and elastic. The multiple functions make the ski jacket warmer than a jacket and lighter than a down jacket, making it an ideal winter item that can be switched between indoor and outdoor scenes at will. The emergence of
’s “snow-style outfits” on the marketing side was initially inseparable from the support of domestic and foreign fashion icons. Rihanna, Ken Dou, Yi Mengling, Yu Shuxin, etc. all posted their own “snow outfits” on social platforms. The concept of "snowcore" (snow style fashion) quickly became popular on social platforms. As the influence of celebrities in the fashion circle expands, snowwear outfits are gradually becoming more familiar to the public. Topics such as #雪丝atti##snowcore# have received tens of millions of interactions on social platforms such as Weibo and Xiaohongshu.
(Picture source: Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Douyin)
Public figures choose snow suits as their daily matching, which not only arouses public interest, but also forces the fashion and daily design of ski suit brands, and also attracts more people. Multi-brand cross-border entry. As the vane of the fashion industry, luxury brands first completed the layout of snow series. Chanel, fendi, Balenciaga and other big brands have launched ski series, winning market attention through unique design and brand influence.
Trendy new brands from various countries have also launched their own "daily" ski wear. “In the past, the consumer group we targeted was professional ski enthusiasts. Now more and more people wear ski suits on a daily basis. We have also made changes in the design, not only considering basic functional needs, but also fashion needs. Add some trendy elements." A designer from a new nationally fashionable ski brand told us. In the comment area of various domestic brands’ Tmall flagship store products, “good-looking”, “slim” and “cool” are all keywords that appear very frequently.
With the support of celebrities and media platforms, as well as the product characteristics of ski wear, ski wear has been pushed to the streets. The young people of Generation Z will not only wear snow suits for skiing, but also regard them as a must-have item for fashionable wear in the streets. The consumption scene of ski clothing has further expanded, and the market potential is slowly being discovered.
The road ahead for the national fashion skiwear brand is long and difficult
The competition in China’s ice and snow sports has just begun, and there is still a long way to go. According to Sullivan data, the current penetration rate of skiing in China is only 1%, which is far lower than that of developed countries such as Japan and the United States. In the ski industry with great potential, Guochao ski clothing brand has more opportunities, but also faces more challenges.
Ski clothing is different from other clothing and has extremely high requirements on fabrics and craftsmanship. After years of accumulation and research and development, overseas professional brands have become more mature in fabric technology.
At present, the mainstream overseas ski clothing fabrics include gore-tex, event, dermizax, etc. Major brands will also develop their own fabrics, such as Halti's drymaxx. Some leading domestic manufacturers can purchase or introduce various technologies corresponding to professional fabrics by acquiring overseas brands. However, for emerging brands, independent research and development of ski clothing fabrics is costly and risky, and may not necessarily guarantee the ultimate outcome. Expected results, so most brands are unwilling to make too many attempts at fabric upgrades.
In terms of supply chain, data shows that China’s OEM supports more than 90% of the world’s demand for ski equipment. Shandong, Guangdong, Fujian and other places have very complete ski equipment industry chains, including ski gloves and helmets. and other segments account for up to 90% of the global market share.
Jiaxiang, Shandong Province, known as the "Famous Glove City in China", has more than 300 glove production, processing and supporting companies, more than 1,500 processing households, and more than 50 supporting companies such as auxiliary material production and equipment supply by the end of 2023. The production of ski gloves has already It has created employment for about 20,000 people, with an average income increase of 1,000 yuan.
Many overseas ski equipment brands have foundries in China. As early as 2018, most of Burton's skis were made in China; the century-old French ski brand Rossignol and Oakley snow goggles, which have the industry's top technology, also have Chinese manufacturing behind them.
’s nearly 20 years of ski equipment OEM experience gives China’s ski equipment supply chain an absolute advantage. However, the development of domestic brands is extremely difficult. The core reason is that the patented technologies and design ideas related to ski equipment are still mastered. In the hands of overseas brands, the overseas brands that have occupied the equipment market for a long time have been deeply recognized by the public, while the domestic brands in the initial stage have not yet formed considerable influence.
Secondly, the limitations of the sports environment are still a major problem facing the ski clothing market. Although this category has moved toward leisure, it is still in the market education stage and its development is not yet mature. More consumption scenes are still concentrated in ski resorts. For consumers who only want to experience skiing once, renting ski equipment is much more cost-effective than buying it. At present, in most ski resorts in China, the price of renting a complete set of equipment including ski goggles, protective gear, ski clothes, and gloves is around a few hundred yuan, while the price of purchasing a set may be around a thousand yuan.
For the Chinese market that has just started, most consumers are still experiencers. They are highly price sensitive and have low stickiness to ski equipment. It is not a good idea to purchase a set of expensive equipment for skiing that they have only experienced a few times. The choice of most consumers.
In conclusion, the market potential of ski clothing is huge, and the market explosion is expected in the future. However, in order to take the lead in this market, new domestic brands still need to work hard on professionalism, materials, craftsmanship, and design, and attract the attention of consumers with higher cost-effectiveness for the general population. In addition, it is also necessary to break away from the original product model and continue to optimize product categories, so that ski wear, like jackets and basketball shoes, can broaden the wearing scenarios and cover a wider consumer group.
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