Outdoor sports finds a growing market
The outdoor sports market grew from 60 million yuan ($8.9 million) in 2000 to one billion yuan ($128 million) last year.
But Cheng Zhanqun, 56, one of the trailblazers in this business believes the best is yet to come.
An assistant at the Sunwind Outdoor Gears Co in Beijing showing an imported ski. Zhang Wei |
The market is still in its infancy as Chinese outdoor sports enthusiasts remain a minority.
Cheng founded Sunwind Outdoor Gears Co Ltd in Beijing 12 years ago. It was the country's first outdoor gear and clothing store.
With 500,000 yuan ($64,000), Cheng and his friend Zhou Zhi rented three rooms in the basement of an office building, with one serving as the warehouse, one as an office the other as the store.
Cheng said the market grew out of a climbing accident. Between July and August 1994, 10 college graduates and students from Beijing headed for the 6,282-meter Animaqin Peak in Qinghai Province.
The team was led by the city's first outdoor gear vendor who sold some used equipment in his college dormitory. Without any experience in mountaineering and with only six sets of used ice axes and crampons, the team retreated after the team leader died and another member went missing.
The eight survivors returned home to start an outdoor market in Beijing, Shanghai and Xining of Qinghai Province. One of them was Zhou Zhi.
The first two years were a struggle for Cheng and Zhou. In October 1995, the company participated in a sports gear exhibition, displaying a dozen types of sleeping bags and tents. But the three-day exhibition brought in only 3,000 yuan ($385).
That year, the company's monthly sales volume was barely 3,000 yuan, against a rental of 2,500 yuan and utility and water charges of 400-500 yuan.
Backpackers are privy to exotic pristine scenery that far outweights the problems they encounter. File photo |
Luckily, Vaude, a German outdoor gear manufacturer, made the company their agent in North China.
On July 25, 1996, Cheng published a story about outdoor sports and put out a tiny advertisement in a local tabloid.
"This was the turning point," he said. On a good day, the business raked in about 8,000 yuan. The promotion helped develop hundreds of loyal customers. The company opened five chain stores in Beijing and worked with dozens of international brands.
The Chinese outdoor market was a seller's market until 2001. In 1996, there were only two outdoor equipment stores in Beijing, catering to about 10,000 enthusiasts. Last year, the capital had 100 such stores, with 700 nationwide.
The sharp increase in outdoor equipment distributors and retailers has turned the market into a buyer's market, Cheng said. But the client base is still small.
Annual sales for the whole industry is less than that of such single name brands as Nike or Li Ning.
Price wars are also common. Last December, an international outdoor brand cleaned its stock of goods in a big department store in Beijing. All the goods were marked down to 10-40 percent of their original price. In four days, total sales touched 4.5 million yuan, said Cheng.
Sunwind closed down two chain stores in 2005 and has been paying more attention to wholesale instead of retail.
"But we will stick with the market, which has great potential from a long-time view," said Cheng.
(China Daily 01/24/2007 page18)
