The Development Trajectory of 14 International Ski Brands in China

An increasing number of international ski brands stepped up market development in China during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Luxe.Co reviewed the growth trajectory of the above 14 brands in China and came up with the following 9 conclusions:

1. Three of them entered the+
2. Chinese market 10-20 years ago.
3. They took the most important actions in 2008, when Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics and in 2015, when Beijing won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.
4. They have shifted from multi-brand retail to DTC format, with more and more ski brands opening direct-sale stores.
5. Many of them opened their first retail stores in China after 2015, 3 brands opened their first stores in 2020 and 4 brands opened their first stores in 2021.
6. Beijing is their first choice to open their first China-based stores.
7. 11 brands have partnered with Chinese companies to advance market expansion in China.
8. 11 brands have expanded their e-commerce channels and shown preference for Tmall and WeChat applet.
9. Fashionable and high-end items have become the two major trends. Ski suits, for example, of five brands are priced up to RMB 10,000.
10. Some brands have started to lay more emphasis on fashionable and full-season products.

Price Range of Ski Suit of 14 Brands:

Opening Day and Location of First Stores:

12 of them have Established Partnerships with Chinese Companies and Investors:

The Latest Actions and Market Expansion of the 14 Brands in China:

BOGNER

BOGNER and the Chinese down clothing brand Bosideng established a joint venture in December 2021. On December 23, BOGNER opened the first China-based direct-sale store in WF Central, Beijing. It plans to open the second direct-sale store in Hang Lung Plaza, Shanghai. The brand has also opened an online store on China’s e-commerce platform Tmall.

BOGNER also opened pop-up stores in Shanghai, Beijing, and Lake Songhua Resort, Jilin.

Earlier in 2018, BOGNER opened its first franchise at Thaiwoo Ski Resort, Chongli County, Zhangjiakou City.

Burton

Burton entered China in 2002. Since 2005, Burton has been sponsoring the National Snowboard Team of China. The Burton China Office was established in Beijing in 2008. Burton China was established in 2013.

In 2019, Burton opened the online store on Tmall and the first flagship retail store in Longfu Temple, Beijing. The second retail store was located in HKRI Taikoo Hui, Shanghai, in 2020. Burton and Hillhouse Capital Group established a joint venture in April 2020. As of today, Burton has altogether 6 direct-sale stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Lake Songhua Resort, Jilin and Chongli County, Hebei.

Burton implements dual-operation strategy in China, with Beijing office focusing on skiing, the sport, while the Shanghai office on ski culture and lifestyle.

Burton unveiled the latest collection, ANALOG, at TX Huaihai, Shanghai and invited 13 influencers in skiing and street fashion to present the “Design Unlikely Futures” photography exhibition in December.

DESCENTE

DESCENTE registered Beijing DESCENTE Co., Ltd. in 1994. Cooperating with ITOCHU Corporation and ANTA Sports Products Limited, it established the joint venture DCH and introduced DESCENTE to China, in 2016.

DKL (DESCENTE KINETIC LAB), a retail outlet of DESCENTE and its first global experience center, was opened in Beijing in November 2021. As of today, DESCENTE has 195 retail stores in China and online stores on major E-commerce platforms in China such as WeChat applet, Tmall and JD.com.

DESCENTE teamed up with designer KAZUKI KURAISHI to launch DESCENTE×KAZUKI KURAISHI snowboard suit collection in January 2022.

Fusalp

The first pop-up store of Fusalp in Mainland China was opened in Galeries Lafayette, Beijing, in Nov. 2019.

Fusalp opened its first retail store in Mainland China in Hangzhou Tower in November 2020. Afterwards, another two retail stores were opened at Grand Gateway 66 and Taikoo Li Sanlitun, Beijing, successively. Fusalp opened a boutique store at SKP-S, Beijing, in October 2021 and the online store on Tmall two months later. The brand also opened pop-up stores at Réel Mall, Shanghai in 2019 and 2021.

HEAD

HEAD authorized PLAYNOW (Fujian) Sports Goods Co., Ltd. and introduced its tennis rackets to China in 2007. It introduced winter sports products to China through Nanjing B.C.Sports Prodoucts Co., Ltd. in 2016.

HEAD registered the official WeChat account in October 2020. As of today, HEAD has opened altogether 7 outdoors franchise stores and ski resort stores in Chongli County, Hebei, Xi’an, Jilin, Guangzhou and Shanxi. It has also opened online stores on Tmall and JD.com.

The first sportswear store of HEAD in Greater China was opened in Beijing at the end of December 2021. Heilan Group, a Chinese clothing company, became the exclusive partner of HEAD for sportswear in Greater China.

Helly Hansen

Helly Hansen established partnership with Youngor Group, a Chinese listed clothing company, at the end of August 2021. It opened the first retail store at SKP Beijing in October and held the first fashion show in China in November. It also opened The Slope, a pop-up store, at SKP Beijing.

As of today, Helly Hansen has opened the Tmall flagship store and 6 retail stores in Nanjing, Shanghai, Beijing, Xi’an and Shenyang. Preparations for another 3 retail stores are under way, which are going to be located in Beijing, Zhangjiakou and Shanghai.

KJUS

In December 2019, KJUS opened the first China-based flagship store at China World Mall, Beijing. So far, it has 11 retail stores in Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Dongguan etc. Other than the flagship store located at China World Mall, Beijing, others are at golf associations and clubs. KJUS has also opened the Tmall flagship store.

Peak Performance

Peak Performance opened the Tmall flagship store in September 2021. In May 2018, the company was acquired by Amer Sports, which was bought by a consortium led by ANTA Group in 2019.

Peak Performance has opened the official WeChat account which has not been operated yet. According to news report of PR Newswire, Peak Performance is expected to open retail stores in China soon.

Phenix

Phenix opened its first China-based uptown general store at Taikoo Li Sanlitun, Beijing, in November 2020.

Phenix was acquired by China Dongxiang (Group) Co., Ltd in 2008. So far, it has 7 retail stores in Beijing, Chongli, Jilin and Harbin, etc. As to e-commerce platforms, Phenix has online stores on Tmall, JD.com and Dewu (an fashion e-commerce App).

Phenix opened a pop-up store in collaboration with Dewu in Altay, Xinjiang, in November, when the brand also teamed up with JD Sports to organize the Phenix Cup Ski Competition in Altay.

ROSSIGNOL

ROSSIGNOL received investment from IDG in 2018. It opened the first boutique store at Taikoo Li Sanlitun, Beijing, in September 2019.

As of September 2021, the brand has opened 9 direct-sale stores in Chinese cities like Beijing, Hangzhou, Shenyang and Shanghai, and has opened stores on e-commerce platforms such as JD.com, Tmall and Farfetch.

ROSSIGNOL has initiated several collaborations recently, including the ROSSIGNOL -CORONA (a beer brand) snow season party in Fulong Town, Chongli and the ROSSIGNOL – BMW HERO ELITE BLACK EDITION skis.

Spyder

Spyder opened the Tmall flagship store in May 2019. With the support of the long-term operator, Tristate Holdings Limited, the brand opened the first China-based flagship store at The Malls At Oriental Plaza, Beijing, in November.

According to the 2021 Mid-term Financial Report of Tristate Holdings Limited, Spyder has opened 48 retail stores in China. There used to be 36 stores in the same period of 2020.

Salomon

Salomon has been authorizing distributors to sell its snowboards in China since the 1990s. It opened offices in Beijing and Shanghai in 2008. As a brand under Amer Sports, Salomon was acquired by the Anta Group in 2019. Anta Group plans to increase Salomon’s revenue in the Chinese market and the direct sales channel to EUR 1 billion, respectively, by 2030.

So far, Salomon has 24 direct-sale stores in China, in addition to 10 franchises in Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Beijing, Shenyang and other cities in China. Salomon teamed up with CANOTWAIT_, a fashion brand founded by Chinese singer William Chan, to launch a collaboration collection in January 2022.

Templa

Templa officially entered the Chinese market and opened pop-up stores at WF Central, Beijing and Réel Mall, Shanghai, in December 2020. The brand has also opened the official WeChat account. At present, Templa’s major sales channel in China is comprised of pop-up stores at Réel Mall and the online store on WeChat applet.

VOLCOM

VOLCOM opened the Tmall flagship store in 2015 and expended online stores on other e-commerce platforms such as JD.com and kaola.com, successively.

Authentic Brands Group, the owner of VOLCOM, entered into an agreement with China Ting Group in 2020, when VOLCOM opened the first China-based store at The Mixc Mall Hangzhou. As of April 2021, VOLCOM has opened retail stores in Sanya, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Changsha, Tianjin and other first-tier cities in China. VOLCOM’s first retail store in Beijing was opened in November 2021 and located in Taikoo Li Sanlitun.

VOLCOM teamed up with NITRO Snowboard and launched the BEAST & BEAUTY snowboard on Dewu in December 2021.