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English|Driven by Gen Z and Winter Olympics, China’s Ski Market is on the Rise( 三 )


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Image: Burton
High-end outdoor brand Arc’teryx, after two decades of presence in the Chinese market, continues to work on its brand awareness. In September 2021, Arc'teryx set up a store at Plaza 66 in Shanghai, becoming the first outdoor brand to enter the luxury shopping mall. It is said that Arc’teryx is trying to position itself as a luxury brand in China.
In addition, ski brands market themselves as environment-friendly brands that promote sustainable development. Overseas ski brands and outdoor equipment brands that entered China in 2021, including Adidas TERREX, Icebreaker and Marmot, would highlight that their products use environmentally friendly materials in their commercial campaigns.
Overseas brands seem to focus more on consumer education in China as an overwhelmingly majority of Chinese consumers are novices to snow sports. Besides using influencers on social media platforms like Xiaohongshu, overseas brands would also make content that introduces snow sports and snow sports courses. Burton, for instance, releases a “Snow Sport Dictionary” that educates consumers about snow sports, including content like beginners’ guide for skiing, a guide for picking a snowboard and ski resort 101. Arc’teryx provides courses and activities that teach about the skiing environment. Helly Hansen, on the other hand, offers courses on the maintenance of ski wear.
Outdoor sport and snow sport brands’ marketing strategies are mainly based on social media and offline experiences. In 2021, Descente set up two big brick-and-mortar outlets in Shanghai, one of which is a flagship store located at the Super Brand Mall. The flagship store covers an area of 700 square meters and provides interactive experiences. The opening of Descente’s flagship store at the Super Brand Mall marked the launch of the brand’s social club D-Mover Club. Descente aims to set up D-Mover Clubs in major cities in China and organize social activities and events through the clubs for their members. Burton opened a limited experience shop at SKP-S in Beijing during the winter season in 2021. The brand also makes use of social media marketing to attract people interested in snow sports to its Burton Club. The club organizes activities like skiing and exhibition to foster consumer loyalty to the brand.
English|Driven by Gen Z and Winter Olympics, China’s Ski Market is on the Rise
文章图片

Image: Burton X THE SLOPE
The challenges that overseas brands faceOne challenge that overseas brands face is consumers’ limited budget for ski equipment. A whole set of ski equipment, including snowshoes, ski wear, equipment and accessories, would cost at least a couple of thousand yuan. If consumers wish to purchase the equipment from overseas brands, the cost will increase by several times. Statistics from the 2021 Chinese Young Adults’ Participation in Snow Sports Report show that although the Beijing Winter Olympic Games has piqued people’s curiosity in snow sports, 88.5% of young adults in China will only spend less than 1,000 yuan on snow sports on average. Not that many people are willing to spend a lot of money on skiing.
The fact that most skiers are only one-time consumers also presents a challenge to ski brands from overseas. According to the 2020 China Ski Industry White Paper, 77.4% of skiers are one-time beginners, while only 3.5% of skiers have skied over 11 times.
One-time consumers of ski activities tend to purchase entry-level equipment from Chinese ski brands or simply rent equipment at ski resorts. This means that although there are more and more people playing snow sports it is early to say that the number of consumers of ski-related products is also surging. It remains uncertain whether overseas brands can secure large market shares in the Chinese market during their competion with local brands.

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