The 2014 (9th) Asia Outdoor Show was held from July 23 to 26 in Nanjing. The Asia Outdoor Show has now become the world’s third-largest professional outdoor products exhibition in terms of scale and number of exhibitors, following only the European Outdoor Show and the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, USA. This edition of the show attracted 613 exhibitors, including 195 international ones, accounting for 31.8% of the total. At the press conference on the opening day, the organizers released the latest survey on China’s outdoor industry. According to the report, China’s outdoor market grew by 12.9% in 2013 compared to 2012, reaching a total size of 38.8 billion yuan (2012: 32.6 billion yuan). The core outdoor market reached 15.38 billion yuan in 2013, up 16.2% from 2012.
“After the market turbulence from 2011 to 2012, core outdoor brands are optimistic about the future of the industry.” Over the past two years, the Chinese outdoor market has been sluggish, with intensified brand competition and retail terminal growth outpacing market demand.“In 2013, the distribution of sales channels and market shares looked much more balanced,” said Mr. Jaeger, Chairman of Beijing Demans Exhibition Consulting Co., Ltd., describing the changes in the outdoor market over the past two years. Beijing Demans is a partner of the Asia Outdoor Show in Nanjing and has been conducting research on the Chinese outdoor market since 2010.
“China’s outdoor market is expected to maintain a growth rate of 12% to 15% in the future. Compared to the 1% to 2% growth rate of the European outdoor market, the development of China’s outdoor market is truly remarkable,” Mr. Jaeger analyzed the Chinese outdoor market.
“How many people in China participate in outdoor sports? For such a vast country, that’s indeed a difficult question to answer.” According to the latest survey data, approximately 130 million people engage in various outdoor activities, including hiking and other leisure sports. Meanwhile, according to data provided by the Chinese Mountaineering Association, about 60 million people take part in more specialized outdoor activities, including mountaineering, rock climbing, exploration, and long-distance hiking.
In comparison, Germany has about 80 million residents who regularly participate in outdoor activities such as mountaineering, rock climbing, hiking, and light trekking, accounting for half of Germany’s total population. In China, the percentage of people involved in these activities is still less than 10%.
To promote the development of outdoor sports in China, seven leading outdoor brands formed the China Outdoor Alliance, including Toread, Columbia, The North Face, Kailas, norsports, Skogstad, MobiGarden, along with market partner Beijing Demans Exhibition Consulting Co., Ltd. They officially launched an outdoor public welfare campaign at the 2014 Asia Outdoor Show under the slogan “I Want Fresh Air”.
