The Winter Olympics not only brought “Bingdundun” and “Gu Ailing” to the top positions, but also put domestic ski equipment on the “winter” trend. “300 million people participating in ice and snow” brings huge opportunities to the ice and snow sports and ski vacation industries, and is expected to become a highlight of future consumption growth. “In previous years, when the weather gets warmer after the Spring Festival, the sales of ski dealers will drop by half, but this year is different.” Xu Nick, general manager of GOSIK OG brand, lamented.
The “Ice and Snow Sports Development Plan (2016-2025)” shows that the total scale of my country’s ice and snow industry will reach 1 trillion yuan by 2025. The industry generally believes that the next 10 years will be a golden period of rapid development for the domestic ski industry. The reporter also noticed that domestic brands are emerging and striving to achieve “corner” overtaking in this 1 trillion yuan track.
“National trend” ski equipment and snow clothing become popular through the Winter Olympics
The Metropolis Shopping Center is a gathering place for ski equipment stores in Beijing. More than 20 stores basically sell mature foreign brands. Mainly ski equipment and snow clothing. Over the past many years, it has been a destination for professional skiers to purchase equipment. The price of a single piece of snow clothing is concentrated at three to four thousand yuan, and there are almost no domestic brands. Nowadays, a batch of “national trend” snow gear and clothing have entered more stores taking advantage of the ice and snow craze ignited by the Winter Olympics.
At 6 o’clock last night, the reporter came to the “Snow Clan Ski Equipment” Ciqikou store, and Li Ning ski suits of various colors occupied a prominent position on the store shelves. “In January this year, Li Ning launched its snowboard series for the first time, and dealers rushed to place orders. We waited until February to get the goods.” The owner of the store said that shortly after the store opened, his Xiaohongshu account More than 10 people want to buy it. “The arrival volume is not large. We are only selling in physical stores for the time being.”
In the Lengshan Ski Shop on the third floor of the Metropolis Shopping Center, a couple selected a pair of domestically produced ski gloves from the shelves. : “The comfort level is quite good, and it also comes with wrist guards.” Ms. Zhan, a citizen who is shopping for accessories, also said that more and more snow lovers tend to choose domestic brand accessories, “the price-performance ratio is much higher.”
Xueshangfei Ski Shop displays three types of domestically produced veneers at the entrance of the store, with the unit price of each style being around 1,000 yuan. Shop owner Dalong told reporters that the store previously focused on retailing French brands. Affected by the winter Olympics ice and snow craze, the company also began to produce its own brand of snowboards, targeting entry-level skiing enthusiasts. “A complete set of imported veneers, bindings and veneer shoes starts at about 5,000 yuan, while a complete set of domestic brands only costs more than 2,000 yuan. Many novice skiers will use the latter as their first choice.”
“More and more domestic ice and snow equipment brands are gradually leading the trend and trend of social networks because of their style, quality and high cost performance, thus driving consumers’ enthusiasm for purchasing.” What is worth buying (56.710, -0.85, – 1.48%) Zhang Yuang, head of the commercial operations department, said that from January 1 to February 20 this year, ski tools including skateboards and ski poles, ski clothing, ski accessories including gloves, helmets, and scarves and other ski equipment Sales volume increased by 173% year-on-year, and sales of its Chinese brand Anta increased by 134% year-on-year.
Domestic snowboards are expected to overtake in curves
Although domestic brands are emerging in terms of ski clothing and ski accessories, international brands still have a strong position in the selection of hard-core equipment. Status – Reporters visited and found that serious ski enthusiasts generally recognize international first-tier brands. Looking at ski resorts such as Nanshan, Huaibei, Jundushan, and Yuyang, they are also the main show venues for brands such as Burton, Capita, and Atomic.
It is not that China does not have the production capacity of ski equipment. On the contrary, China’s supply chain supports the world’s huge ski equipment industry group. Take Burton as an example. This American brand founded in 1977 is well-known in the ski industry. The price of a snowboard ranges from 3,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan. Currently, the snowboard category has a market share of 30% to 40% in China. %. But the brand publicly stated that as early as 2018, most of the company’s skis were manufactured in China.
“The small ski industry and high technical barriers are the main reasons restricting the development of domestic professional ski equipment brands.” Xu Nick said that as more beginners join the ski circle, Asians’ aesthetics and The mismatch in product styles dominated by Europe and the United States has caused an increasingly obvious market vacancy, and domestic brands have more opportunities to “stand out”.
Domestic brands took the lead in “breaking” a hole in the field of snowboards. The average customer price of the Lingxia brand is about 1,600 yuan, and its flagship product “Little Blackboard” has topped the snowboard category on Tmall. Nobaday targets mid-to-high-end players, with an average customer price of about 4,000 yuan. Canadian player Max Parrot won the gold medal in men’s snowboarding slopestyle at the Winter Olympics using Nobaday.
Snow Owl Technology has set the price of its THE WHIP brand snowboards at 65,000 yuan. “The integrated bracket design, carbon fiber material upgrades, and the complexity of the supply chain are all factors that determine that other companies are unlikely to make the same product within two or three years. This is why we can sell it so expensively.” The person in charge of the company said. In addition, Snow Owl Technology is also building its own brand Overide, priced at 2,500 yuan to 4,800 yuan, integrating national trend elements and exploring overseas markets.
Ski equipment manufacturing looks forward to national confidence
Although there are more and more ski enthusiasts in China, many ski shop owners told reporters that many citizens’ ski consumption is mostly a one-time experience. Skiing and playing in the snow entertainment activities, ordinary experiencers becomeThe conversion rate for �� enthusiasts is not high. “Ordinary experiencers mainly rent, and only enthusiasts may continue to buy skis and snowboards.” A store owner told reporters.
How to promote the transformation of consumers from experiencers to enthusiasts? Li Xiaoming, chairman of the Municipal Ski Association, said that in the post-Olympic era, the entire ice and snow sports still need to speed up the establishment of relevant standards, systems and norms. “Only when China’s ice and snow sports develop greatly can the ice and snow equipment industry develop healthily, sustainably and long-term, and ski equipment manufacturing companies will have the soil for growth and the motivation to expand.” Li Xiaoming said.
In Xu Nick’s view, in order to expand the market for domestic ski equipment, in addition to enriching a variety of price ranges, it is also inseparable from the external environment, such as the construction of the basic environment of the ski resort and the improvement of the teaching system: ” Whether the ski equipment rental staff can recommend suitable snowboards based on height and weight, whether the cable car capacity of the ski resort can meet the needs of skiers, and whether the ski resort instructor can update the teaching system to attract novices to get started quickly will directly affect whether consumers will buy more skis. This is the first trip to a ski resort.”
It is worth noting that the market is also calling for ski equipment that is truly suitable for Chinese people. During the visit, the reporter found that as the popularity of ice and snow sports rises, more and more young people tend to buy domestic products.
“The bone structure and facial contours of Europeans are very different from those of Asians. Many people will find that buying foreign snow goggles will cause the nose to get stuck, leak and fog.” Hu, a ski enthusiast The gentleman told reporters that the same situation also exists on snowshoes. “Although the inner boot size of many foreign snowshoes is suitable when you put them on, and you can slide with your knees bent, the big toe will be too strong when you stand upright, making it impossible to stand for a long time. This is also related to the differences in foot types between races.”
“The development of the ice and snow equipment industry is not about following Europe and the United States. We must have national self-confidence, strive to establish industry standards that suit the characteristics of the Chinese people, and adapt ourselves.” Li Xiaoming said.
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