Gifts / Sports & Toys

Recently, the State General Administration of Sport, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the Outdoor Sports Industry Development Plan (2022-2025). The plan proposes that the total scale of the national outdoor sports industry will exceed 3 trillion yuan by 2025 and the long-term goal of becoming a sports power by 2035.

According to Statista, a global market and consumer data research agency, the global bicycle and sports equipment market will exceed 230 billion dollars in 2024. The outdoor sports category has become a popular search category for cross-border e-commerce platforms, and the market demand in North America, Europe and other economically developed regions is particularly strong.

Zheng Changqing, the global vice president of eBay and the general manager of eBay's international cross-border trade business unit in China, said in an interview with this magazine that China is a big country in the manufacture and export of sports outdoor products, and the sports outdoor manufacturing industry is ushering in huge international trade market opportunities.

The overseas appeal of Chinese brands is growing day by day

Yiwu Outdoor Products Industry Association has gathered more than 100 high-quality outdoor products manufacturers across the country. According to the statistics of the Association, the orders of enterprises within the Association have almost doubled, and many enterprises that originally rely on downstream suppliers have also begun to build their own factories to better meet the needs of the market.

Statistics show that during the "Double 11" e-commerce carnival, the sales of mountaineering and camping products increased by more than 100% year on year, and the turnover of many outdoor sports and camping equipment brands in the first hour of November 1 exceeded that of the whole day of November 1 last year. According to statistics, in the first half of 2022, the sales of camping canopy, portable tables, chairs, beds and ski equipment in China increased by 331.8%, 123.1% and 72.7% respectively.

Not only for domestic sales, but also for export sales. According to the head of an outdoor products manufacturer who has been engaged in outdoor products for nearly 20 years and has focused on the international trade market, the company's products are exported to markets such as Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States. In recent years, the supply of products often exceeds the demand.

According to the industry report issued by the China Industrial Textile Industry Association, from January to July 2022, the operating income and total profit of enterprises above the tarpaulin and canvas scale in China increased by 10.5% and 36% respectively year on year, with a good growth momentum. At the same time, China's tarpaulin and sunshade cloth belong to the industrial coated fabric, which has become the largest export product of the industrial textile industry. The export volume of international trade is 3.02 billion US dollars, with a year-on-year increase of 30.4%.

Strong demand for two-round sports category

On July 26, eBay released the "eBay Outdoor Sports Category Sailing Guide" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guide") at the 2022 Shenzhen International Outdoor Sports Expo. The "Guide" shows that with the decline of the housing economy, China's outdoor sports categories are selling well overseas. The sales potential of international trade in such sub-categories as bicycle, electric scooter and other two-wheel sports, indoor fitness, camping and hiking, fishing, golf and water sports is huge. The full range of Chinese outdoor sports products has a manufacturing cost advantage, and the supply side is strong. The appeal of Chinese brands is also growing day by day.

From the whole vehicle to the parts, the demand for the two-wheel sports category is strong. Statista predicts that the global market of bicycles, electric bicycles and electric scooters will exceed 100 billion dollars in five years. China is a major bicycle producer in the world, with its output value ranking first in the world for many years. In 2021, the sales of bicycle parts sold by Chinese sellers on the eBay platform increased by 60% compared with the same period in 2019, and the sales of electric bicycles increased by 67%. From complete vehicles to parts, there is a huge demand in the overseas market. Bicycles, electric bicycles and their brakes, chains, flywheels, wheel sets, etc. are the hot development categories recommended by the Guide for platform merchants in 2022.

In addition, the four categories of indoor fitness have attracted much attention: according to Statista's prediction, the global indoor fitness market will exceed 14 billion dollars in 2025. In 2021, the sales of strength training equipment and aerobic training equipment of Chinese sellers on the eBay platform increased by 230% and 135% respectively compared with 2019. Strength training products, aerobic training equipment, yoga products and intelligent wear products received much attention. The popular development categories include treadmills, dumbbells, barbell pieces and sports bracelets.

Camping-related categories usher in a sales boom

EBay pointed out that camping has become a new way of leisure, and related categories have ushered in a sales boom. Not only in China, but also in foreign countries, outdoor camping is also popular. EBay platform sells 1 camping lamp every 13 seconds and 1 camping cooker every 20 seconds; The number of camping tables and chairs sold by Chinese sellers on eBay in 2021 increased by 85% compared with 2019. Since consumers will also engage in other sports such as fishing while camping, eBay suggests that sellers combine scenarios and data to develop products, which is expected to bring more sales opportunities. Popular development categories include tents, insulated refrigerators, sleeping bags, camping stoves, etc.

In addition, eBay found that there is a huge demand for fishing equipment in the international trade market: China is the world's major fishing gear manufacturing and exporting country, nearly 80% of the global fishing supplies are "made in China", and mature industrial chains and supply chains are spread across the country, and it is expected to enjoy the huge industrial dividends brought by cross-border e-commerce exports. Popular development categories include fishing rod, bait, fishing box, etc.

At the same time, eBay found that the sales of overseas golf products continued to rise: golf was widely popular in Europe and the United States, and more and more middle class and female consumers participated in the game. Allied Market Research predicted that the size of the golf market would exceed 10 billion dollars in 2030. The eBay platform sells one piece of golf equipment every 9 seconds. In 2021, the sales of golf training equipment from Chinese sellers in eBay increased by 70% compared with 2019.

According to eBay analysis, people have expanded outdoor activities after the epidemic, and water sports have sprung up. The innovation of water sports has brought new sales opportunities. Water sports have obvious seasonality and diversified scenes, including coasts, lakes and swimming pools; Popular development categories include surfboards, canoes, goggles, life jackets, etc.

Four strategies to help sellers dig into the 100 billion market

"Because outdoor sports have the dual attributes of sports atmosphere and social atmosphere, it has gradually become a media lifestyle for contemporary young people. In the post-epidemic era, the popularity of outdoor sports market will continue and enter a period of rapid development." Wang Xueli, director of the Sports Industry Research Center of Tsinghua University, said in an interview.

The future goals are also defined in the Outdoor Sports Industry Development Plan (2022-2025). By 2025, the high-quality development of the outdoor sports industry has achieved remarkable results, basically forming a development pattern of effective connection between supply and demand, coordinated development of industry and ecology, demonstration of product and service brands, and continuous innovation of business forms and models. The outdoor sports venues and facilities have continued to increase, the popularity has increased significantly, and the number of participants has continued to grow. The total scale of the outdoor sports industry has exceeded 3 trillion yuan.

According to the data of Tianyan, up to now, there are 204000 enterprises related to outdoor sports nationwide, an increase of more than 20% compared with last year. More than 30000 new registrations were added from January to October this year alone, with consumption of nearly 1 trillion yuan and employment of more than 4.4 million. Among them, the products produced by many enterprises are sold to overseas markets.

Speaking of how to speed up the development of Chinese sports outdoor products and brands with manufacturing advantages, Zheng Changqing said that enterprises should base on products and develop scenarios in depth: through in-depth insight into the consumption habits of the destination market, develop products around consumption scenarios and related scenarios, occupy the minds of consumers, improve customer experience and drive sales. In addition, enterprises should operate in compliance: product compliance certification is the first step to establish a good trust relationship between buyers and sellers, and also the basis for sellers to establish a long-term reputation in the destination market. When expanding their business, sellers need to comply with the product compliance requirements of the local government regulations where eBay sites are located.

Zheng Changqing suggested that enterprises should actively arrange overseas warehouses. He believes that overseas warehouses can help sellers better adapt to the strong seasonal characteristics of outdoor sports categories, make timely delivery and improve the buyer's experience. In view of the problem that the brand premium of outdoor sports products produced in China still needs to be strengthened, Zheng Changqing said that sellers can use the international influence of the eBay platform to build the enterprise brand into a brand with real international influence, so as to gain long-term competitiveness and higher user loyalty, so as to strengthen brand construction.