Foreign brands cash in on Games' snowball effect

The brisk trade at American ice hockey brand TRUE's new Beijing store is typical of the warm welcome foreign outlets are enjoying in China amid the country's winter sports boom.

The store, which opened in October, aims to be a "one-stop shop" for the teenagers who frequent the ice sports center in which it is located, with helmets, gloves, skates and sticks all for sale.

Wang Zhiyong, a manager with the international department of Beijing Capitals Hockey Club, says China's burgeoning winter sports market is like a "blue ocean" for established foreign brands like TRUE.

A report published last year on China's ice and snow industry showed that the value of China's ice and snow industry increased from 270 billion yuan (about $42 billion) in 2015 to 600 billion yuan in 2020.

According to China's development plan for ice and snow sports, the industry will reach a total market value of 1 trillion yuan by 2025.

Li Yanli, a professor at Beijing Sport University, said that the successful bid for the Beijing Winter Olympics has greatly promoted the development of China's ice and snow industry.

It has also enhanced the wider domestic sports market, thus allowing overseas sports manufacturers to explore new investment opportunities.

Data from corporate information provider Tianyancha indicates that China saw an increase of more than 1,000 ice and snow sports-related enterprises in 2021.

At WF Central, an upscale shopping mall in downtown Beijing, a corridor bridge on the third floor is packed with products from more than 10 global winter sports brands, including Bogner, Burton, and Mons Royale.

"We recreated Burton's studio here to inform people of the spiritual connotations of snowboarding sports and culture," a staff member explained.

Zhou Peng, who works at Bogner's outlet in the mall, said the store opened in December. "As many ski resorts opened, one of our ski suits even sold out for a time," said Zhou.

With the Beijing Winter Olympics opening on Feb 4, Bogner is busy bolstering its presence in China's winter sports market, and plans to establish an offline network of about 80 retail stores within five years.

Swedish sports fashion brand Peak Performance is also optimistic about China's ice and snow sports market.

In September 2021, Peak Performance opened its official flagship store on Alibaba's e-commerce platform Tmall.

According to the General Administration of Sport of China, as of Dec 31, 2020, there were 1,888 ice and snow sports venues in the country. It is estimated that number will this year reach 2,900.

"The preparations for the coming Olympics have led to the implementation of support measures in relevant fields, providing a high-quality business environment for enterprises that would like to participate in the sports industry and support sports development, and generating more investment confidence," said Li.

"The Beijing Winter Olympics will drive China to cultivate a complete ice and snow industry chain," said Zhang Xiandong, the Chinese sales representative for Snowit, an Italian online winter travel agency.

"Snowit will take the opportunity to cooperate with Chinese and overseas resorts, jointly promote the development of the industry, and share the opportunities of the Beijing Winter Olympics."

Xinhua