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Industry Talk

Chinese outdoor segment looks optimistic at Asia Outdoor

The Chinese Outdoor Association, which fully supports Asia Outdoor, published its outdoor industry report for China during the show.

11th August 2015

Innovation in Textiles
 |  Friedrichshafen/Nanjing

Sports/​Outdoor, Clothing/​Footwear

“The Asia Outdoor has developed into a renowned part of the Chinese outdoor industry over the last ten years. Our new partnership with the China Outdoor association will now also offer market data to industry and retail players,” commented Stefan Reisinger, Head of OutDoor, Messe Friedrichshafen.

The Chinese Outdoor Association, which fully supports Asia Outdoor, published its outdoor industry report for China during the show.

Asian market

The market in Asia is continuing to develop, according to the report. Despite a slowdown in growth of the Chinese economy, the Chinese population still has plenty of spending power. In 2014, e-commerce grew by over 50%, with the market still influenced by major international brands.

For now, the shaky state of the Chinese economy is having little effect on the outdoor industry. Since the middle of June the price of shares on the Chinese market has tumbled by around 30% and on 27 July alone a remarkable 8% was wiped off their value.

During the same week the markets did recover, but trust in the domestic economy has definitely been shaken. Similarly to the West, this has an impact on the confidence of average citizens in the country’s investment and saving models. Initially it doesn’t have any effect on their monthly budgets for consumer goods such as backpacks or waterproof jackets.

Outdoor products

The money spent by Chinese people on outdoor products was still on the rise last year, according to organisers. This factor is highlighted by a current study published by the China Outdoor Association (COA) comparing business in 2014 with previous years. However, the COA only looks at core products, i.e. it excludes cheap products that merely pretend to be outdoor and fashion labels that have overly trendy outdoor ranges etc.

“Trickier, however, is the development for major outdoor suppliers planning IPOs in order to finance further expansion in China or abroad. It’s probably too early to say, but it could be good news for smaller outdoor specialists if the big players have to rein in their plans for expansion,” organisers say.

Retail structure

With regards to the retail structure, due to the decline in the outdoor boom over the last couple of years, there is likely to be some consolidation on the market, both on the part of the Chinese manufacturers and smaller retailers. But this doesn’t mean that anyone needs to be concerned about specialist outdoor retail as such.

There will probably be fewer, but therefore stronger market players. The latest development up until 2014 already reveals slightly dwindling development in the number of outdoor retail outlets. A special factor in changes in the outdoor industry is the fast-growing online sector. Last year this rose by 61.7% compared with the previous year.

The development of full-range businesses very similar to medium-sized, European-style enterprises could harness synergy with related ranges. However, at the moment this market is only in its infancy. It’s here that Asia Outdoor proves to be a major hub for a well-oiled community of special firms, organisers believe.

Asia Outdoor

As the biggest trade show for the outdoor industry in China, Asia Outdoor looks back on ten years of experience and has become an established event in the segment. It’s based on the two trade shows in Nanjing and Friedrichshafen working closely together.

At the last Asia Outdoor, 617 exhibitors showcased their outdoor products and innovations over floor space covering 50,000m2. Some 19,002 visitors and 459 journalists came. The Chinese Outdoor Association fully supports Asia Outdoor. At this year’s AGM it decided that all members would exhibit at Asia Outdoor exclusively.

www.asian-outdoor.com

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