The mountaineering school has been around in Korea for over 30 years, but it's just emerging in China. What was KOLON’s thinking behind choosing this timing to bring the mountaineering school to China?
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the mountaineering school, and its first year in China. Classes have just begun. The decision to enter China was based on two considerations: market demand and brand strategy.First, from a market perspective, the development of any industry depends on the size of its user base — both the number and the quality of users. For example, during today’s lecture at the mountaineering school, we learned that about 9 million people in Korea climb at least once a month. In China, that number is estimated to be only around 3 million. With a relatively small base of climbers, many people tend to approach outdoor and light outdoor activities, as well as those close to cities, in a rather casual way. This often leads to issues such as improper equipment use or techniques, resulting in safety concerns. When these negative factors combine, they prevent the industry from reaching a significant scale or maintaining high quality. As part of this industry, we too would be affected. Our mountaineering school can help cultivate safe outdoor habits among participants, and as the number of participants grows, it will naturally drive the development of the entire industry.
Second, from a brand perspective, how do we improve customer loyalty? We are a clothing brand that provides outdoor gear. But when customers interact with our brand, it’s not just about the products or the stores — it’s mainly about communication, what value we can offer them. The mountaineering school offers courses with high-quality instructors and excellent services, which also provide great returns to customers. Whether or not they buy KOLON products doesn’t matter. What matters is that we become friends. In three years, you’ll see the huge returns we gain in terms of customer loyalty.
Q2: What is the positioning of the mountaineering school? What are the training plans in China?
The mountaineering school is positioned for ordinary consumers with either no experience or basic-level experience. Its purpose is to popularize the concept and knowledge of safe outdoor activities, provide practical skills, and make it easier for everyone to enjoy outdoor life.
The Korean mountaineering school has been around for 30 years and has reached a more professional stage. It mainly targets higher-level individuals and provides more advanced training programs. In terms of course selection, important offerings in Korea include big wall climbing and Himalayan climbing to meet the needs of top-tier climbers.
In China, we’re facing a less mature market, so this year we are offering basic outdoor courses that teach outdoor philosophy, history, and how to engage in outdoor sports safely. After completing these, people will discover the joy of the outdoors.
The second course is a basic rock climbing course. When testing the course, we invited experienced domestic climbers to train in Korea and found that operational mistakes and a lack of proper concepts could affect climbing safety. Therefore, starting from the basics is more appropriate.
In the winter of 2016, we will introduce an ice climbing course, also starting from the basics. By 2017 at the earliest, we plan to offer a Himalayan climbing course, considering that China has many high mountains and a realistic market demand. This is also part of our overall course planning.
In the initial stages, teaching will primarily rely on Korean instructors, who have more extensive teaching experience. We have selected 12 Chinese instructors who are influential figures in the climbing community. Last year, they underwent three training sessions in Korea. In the second half of this year, basic courses will be taught entirely by Chinese instructors.
Overall, although we have experience from Korea, the development of the mountaineering school in China will involve many adaptations to better meet the actual needs of Chinese consumers today.
Are the courses targeted at KOLON consumers or general outdoor enthusiasts?
Not just our consumers, but consumers of outdoor gear in general. Enrollment is open online and it’s a broader form of training, with no direct link to KOLON purchases.
What is the difference between KOLON Mountaineering School and existing domestic training programs?
After training, the goals of participants differ. Other training institutions focus on training professionals such as team leaders, guides, and mountaineers. KOLON, however, considers individual experiences, imparting knowledge so that even with your regular job, you can better enjoy life with this expertise.
Another aspect is the number of participants. Other organizations have limited enrollment and are spread out geographically. After training, their impact is also limited. We have larger class sizes — our basic courses have at least 30 participants each. This year, we’ve scheduled six basic courses. We hope these participants will become leaders among their peers. Being outdoor enthusiasts themselves and having received professional training, they will grasp the knowledge scientifically. Thus, they can confidently handle outdoor emergencies and guide others in the right ways to enjoy the outdoors. This is the "spark that starts a prairie fire" approach.
Does KOLON Mountaineering School plan to collaborate with other organizations?
Last year, we explored this direction and considered partnerships with industry players and enterprises, which could lead to rapid development. However, while development speed is important, we prioritize quality. For that reason, we plan to maintain the complete independence of the school for at least the first three years. While collaboration could allow us to leverage external resources, accelerate growth, and attract students more easily, rapid expansion comes with challenges. First, can the instructors handle such growth? Korean instructors would need to travel to China more frequently, and Chinese instructors would need to adapt more quickly — which takes time and can’t be achieved overnight. Second, students need time to absorb the content. For example, after one course, there’s usually a one-month gap, during which we assess feedback and real-world benefits. Take Beijing, for instance — it doesn’t have suitable conditions for outdoor activities all year round, limiting seasonal options. Third, we need time for both students to internalize knowledge and for us to refine our methods. Some of our course materials also need further revision to become more in-depth and specific. Therefore, for the first three years, we’ve chosen to keep the mountaineering school completely independent.