Unscripted Interview — Heartfelt Guest: ALOCS Guo Haitao

It’s like this — sometimes chasing down interviews with guests can be exhausting, but the moment you receive their replies, all the waiting feels worth it: because what General Manager Guo from ALOCS said really moved me. After all, my copy of the Tibet edition of Lonely Planet has been sitting on my bookshelf all this time. — Editor Xiaoniu

ALOCS

A high-end domestic outdoor cooking and dining brand

In 2007, ALOCS entered the Chinese market, headquartered in Ningbo, Zhejiang. As a leading high-end outdoor cooking and dining brand in China, ALOCS has always been committed to developing high-end outdoor cooking and dining products and services, consistently staying at the forefront of industry development.

In 2010, it completed its nationwide distribution network, creating high-quality products with a fresh concept, high-standard raw materials, and user-friendly design. Currently, the ALOCS product line is divided into five major categories: cookware, stoves, tableware, campfires, and flashlights; in terms of application, it is categorized into three series: hiking, road trips, and leisure travel.

Editor: As a brand specializing in outdoor cookware, how do you view the current hot topic — the relationship between the outdoor industry and the tourism industry?(Such a broad question~ *covers face*)

But then, the heartfelt Guo...

Guo Haitao, General Manager of ALOCS

From the perspective of an industry practitioner, we at ALOCS hold two views on the relationship between outdoor activities and tourism:

1]Shared origins, interdependent existence

At their core, both outdoor activities and tourism are about human exploration and discovery of the unknown and the new.

Looking at the development process of both,the outdoor industry places more emphasis on developing individuals' skills to adapt to the environment, while the tourism industry focuses on commercial services.The development of the tourism industry began with serving the general public, whereas the outdoor industry evolved from a niche pursuit of early pioneers into a full-fledged industry. From the very beginning, the two industries have had an interdependent relationship, much like a long train where the outdoor industry acts as the locomotive driving progress. Take tourist destinations, for example — when we open the attractions featured in Lonely Planet, many of those tourists crowded into popular spots were initially drawn by the accounts written by solitary backpackers. And those backpackers were precisely the earliest pioneers of the outdoor industry.

So,the growth of the travel industry meets the rigid demands of mass consumption, while the development of the outdoor industry serves as the driving force behind fulfilling that demand.

2]Industry evolution, deepening integration

In recent years, as the outdoor industry has evolved,outdoor sports activities have become increasingly specialized.Originally, the outdoor concept was broadly dominated by mountaineering. Today, it has transformed into a diverse collection of industries, including rock climbing, stream tracing, skiing, hiking, road trips, camping, kayaking, and more. Mountaineering itself has become a widely popular fitness activity across the country, no longer limited to just initial enthusiasts or national-level programs. Even extreme mountaineering has been commercially operated for many years.

Many once-niche activities have suddenly become mainstream sports.This spontaneous expansion in industry breadth has led to an urgent need for greater maturity across the entire outdoor industry.Meanwhile, the tourism industry has long had a more mature industrial foundation than the outdoor sector. Under the pressure of industry growth, tourism needs to continually develop in the direction of deeper, experiential travel. Outdoor activities with broad market potential are evolving toward tourism industry models, whilethe tourism industry is incorporating well-developed outdoor activities as branches of immersive travel experiences.

The natural complementarity of resources accumulated through the development of these two industries makes their integration inevitable.

Editor: As an exhibitor, what are your thoughts on the 2017 Asia Outdoor Exhibition’s pioneering move to establish an [Outdoor Travel Theme Pavilion]? How does it benefit your brand?(Such an unabashedly shameless plea for compliments!)

However, wise General Guo~

Guo Haitao, General Manager of ALOCS:

This will be an event of milestone significance!The Asia Outdoor Exhibition has sent a clear signal to the domestic industry at just the right time.

For many years, there have been many different voices within the outdoor industry on how to define outdoor activities. A major point of debate was whether the "general outdoor" activities aimed at the general public fall under the scope of outdoor categories. In reality, however, the rapid development of the domestic outdoor industry in recent years is precisely the result of the popularization of outdoor sports among the general public. Against the backdrop of a sluggish national economy, such rapid growth in the outdoor industry is especially commendable.

From the very beginning, ALOCS was established with the hope of creating“EASY OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE”and bringing people a relaxed outdoor lifestyle. In the initial market environment where lightweight gear was paramount, the journey was fraught with challenges. It is precisely because we stayed true to our original vision that we have won the love of the public. Especially since early 2015, when we were the first in China to launch a series of original outdoor travel fresh-brew coffee equipment products such as “Café,” “I Café,” and “Magic Café,” which received widespread acclaim, further strengthening our conviction.

We are deeply grateful for the efforts made by the Asia Outdoor Exhibition in advancing the development of the industry,

and we also look forward very much to taking a brand-new perspective

to re-examine our outdoor industry.