“It’s a pity we couldn’t be there in person this time to join in the celebration, but true to our spirit of endless exploration, we’re currently in the Patagonia mountains of Chile, South America, taking on the challenge of climbing an unclimbed big wall.” At the “Dream Partners – GORE-TEX® Brand and Friends” sharing event held on January 29, 2015, during the 11th ISPO BEIJING Asia Outdoor Trade Show & Fashion Exhibition, a letter was received from David and Yi Siting, the professional mountaineering team champions of the 7th “Endless Exploration – Gore-Tex® Outdoor Dreams Realized” event. At this reunion of old friends among outdoor dream partners, besides outdoor enthusiasts who participated via email, guests including QI Weiqiang, Section Chief of Marketing Planning Department at Subaru (China) Co., Ltd. representing partner brands, ZHANG Heng, General Manager of Beijing Sanfo Outdoor Co., Ltd. representing partner channels, and SUN Bin, Principal of Peak Outdoor Sports School representing outdoor opinion leaders, gathered to share their experiences as dream partners and reminisce about their stories of collaboration with the GORE-TEX® brand. ZHUANG Songming, General Manager of the Apparel Division of Gore-Tex® Textile Business Unit China at Gore, and ZHANG Jingwei, Marketing Director of the Textile Business Unit China at Gore, represented Gore at the event.
The reunion of old friends among the “Dream Partners” not only attracted the attendance of numerous guests but also drew the attention of many ISPO on-site attendees
In September 2013, American traditional climber David Anderson and his wife Yi Siting participated in the 7th Outdoor Dreams Realized event and successfully summited the unclimbed peak—Dayangtianwo Peak—fulfilling their dream. As active participants in the Outdoor Dreams event, the dreams of David and Yi Siting, along with those of countless outdoor enthusiasts, were realized thanks to the GORE-TEX® brand and its friends. On the day of the event, as representatives of the participants in the Outdoor Dreams Realized initiative, although the couple could not attend in person, they kicked off the “partners’” memories and sharing about joining hands with the GORE-TEX® brand to help Chinese consumers realize their outdoor dreams.
Subaru has been collaborating with the GORE-TEX® brand since 2011, providing vehicles for participants in brand events to help outdoor enthusiasts reach their destinations. For this reason, Subaru was also invited to the event as a “Dream Partner.” At the event, QI Weiqiang, Section Chief of Marketing Planning Department at Subaru (China) Co., Ltd., presented a specially produced 2015 Subaru picture book titled “Journey” to the “partners” present. The picture book features the collaboration with the GORE-TEX® brand at the beginning, showcasing the close partnership between the two brands and symbolizing their joint effort to help outdoor enthusiasts go further.
As a cross-industry partner, QI Weiqiang, Section Chief of Marketing Planning Department at Subaru (China) Co., Ltd., shared the journey of collaboration with the GORE-TEX® brand
SUN Bin, Principal of Peak Outdoor Sports School, in recent years has worked with the GORE-TEX® brand to promote and popularize outdoor sports skills and safety concepts through projects such as “Wilderness First Aid and Risk Management” professional training and the Outdoor Pioneer Camp. “In the past, every time I conquered a snow mountain, I was incredibly excited. Now, being able to drive the better and faster development of this sport, and to allow more people to benefit from our platform, is itself a shift from giving a man a fish to teaching him how to fish, and it makes me proud of myself,” said SUN Bin.
Speaking about years of collaboration and future development, ZHANG Heng, General Manager of Beijing Sanfo Outdoor Co., Ltd., believes: Over the past decade, Sanfo Outdoor and the GORE-TEX® brand have grown together. Through our joint efforts, in addition to providing professional GORE-TEX® fabric equipment to outdoor enthusiasts through Sanfo’s channels, Sanfo has also promoted and popularized outdoor sports through its sales channels in collaboration with the GORE-TEX® brand, changing Chinese consumers’ definition of outdoor sports. He also expressed that in the future, he is willing to continue promoting the love for the outdoors together with the GORE-TEX® brand.
At the end of the event, ZHANG Jingwei, Marketing Director of the Textile Business Unit China at Gore, on behalf of the GORE-TEX® brand, expressed gratitude to the “Dream Partners” and joined everyone in writing postcards with messages for the future. ZHUANG Songming, General Manager of the Apparel Division of Gore-Tex® Textile Business Unit China at Gore, collected the postcards filled with visions for the future written by the “Dream Partners” and also presented a “mysterious gift” symbolizing the sweetness of the partnership.
ZHANG Jingwei, Marketing Director of the Textile Business Unit China at Gore, on behalf of the GORE-TEX® brand, expressed gratitude to the “Dream Partners”
At the end of the event, 20 “Dream Partners” raised their glasses together and shared a specially made “GORE-TEX® Brand” cake
In addition to the “Dream Partners – GORE-TEX® Brand and Friends” sharing event, in January 2015, a series of GORE-TEX® brand activities with the theme “Experience the Difference – Ultimate Experience, Feel the Extraordinary” were held at the ISPO BEIJING 2015—the 11th Asia Outdoor Trade Show & Fashion Exhibition. The latest equipment from numerous Gore-Tex® brand partners such as adidas, Arc’teryx, BLACK YAK®, KOLON SPORT, LA SPORTIVA, LOWA, MAMMUT, NORTHLAND, OZARK, Salomon, and The North Face® were showcased. In addition, the “Ultimate Craftsmanship, Achieving Excellence – GORE-TEX® Brand Technology Innovation Sharing Session” and the launch ceremony of the “GORE-TEX® SURROUND® Technology Launch and Call for 100 Outdoor Influencers” were also held concurrently.