Peaky Climbers: Breaking Down China’s Great Outdoors Boom
Looking for our Bag & Accessory blog? Find it here
10 years ago, the thought of young, Chinese office professionals ditching the office, bars and restaurants in their city for a weekend’s hiking near Mount Siguniang (四姑娘山) in Sichuan province, or to the trails near Miaofeng (妙峰山) in Beijing, was pretty remote. Yet today, thousands of young Chinese across the country are doing exactly that, and at a scale that is faster and more numerous than their western counterparts. This should be of particular note to outdoor sports manufacturers, in particular apparel and equipment producers.
Out and about in China
In this blog, we’ve summarised the three main things you need to know to understand the ‘great outdoors’ trend in China. We’ve also used our proprietary panel of Chinese consumers, our Cultural Intel Community (C.I.C.), to give some real life examples to the trend.
COVID is sparking a desire to disconnect from the pressures of daily life.
COVID-19 policy in China has changed motivations and practicalities of daily life, and how people spend their free time. When there have been periods of freer movement in the last two years, the result has, to no great surprise, been a fall in foreign travel interest and a surge in intent to discover the great outdoors in China. According to GWI, 375 million Chinese reported being less interested in travel as a result of COVID-19 in their country. At 26% this is a higher proportion of the population than in the US, where that figure stands at 99 million.
Tiffany from Anhui says, “People crave for going outside after a long period of lockdown caused by COVID-19. Especially camping related items become popular.”
An escape from the population density of COVID-19 city life, as well as a relatively more affordable means of spending one’s free time in the absence of other amenities such as bars and restaurants, can partly explain this. But so too does a desire to get out into the great outdoors and disconnect, as well as living a more healthy, socially bonded life. This can be explained as the speeding up of a counter-cultural phenomenon in China of criticising an always-on, tech-obsessed culture, and trying to solve feelings of disconnectedness by having real life experiences.
Cramping our style: population density has become more of a driver for escapism during COVID
Joyce from Shanghai says, “When basic living conditions are improved, more and more people realize that it's important to live in a healthier way, such as participating in sports activities, keeping fit, eating green foods, etc. eas where they can enjoy the natural beauty while doing their favourite sports”
Looking at the data, we can see that Chinese respondents are almost doubly as likely to feel this sense of disconnectedness from technology compared to their US counterparts. 19.9% of respondents surveyed (i.e. a representative figure of the population) agreed with the statement therefore, whilst this figure dropped to 13.1% for the USA.
Feeling disconnected from real relationships as a result of using the internet
Below shows a Universe (total population surveyed) of 759m, a Responses (those who responded to the question when surveyed) of 25k.
Chinese responses to the question ‘Do you agree that you feel more disconnected from your peers as a result of technology’ Source: GWI
US responses to the question ‘Do you agree that you feel more disconnected from your peers as a result of technology’ Source: GWI
2. The value of the Great Outdoors trend is substantial in China, and is faster-growing than the West.
According to Hot Pot’s sister agency The Future Lab, a trend and forecasting expert, the size of China’s outdoor sports industry is expected to surpass £348 bn by 2025. Whilst this is clearly a sizable total value and represents real upsides for brands, especially across the outdoor sports, winter sports as well as specialist equipment sectors, there remains an importance in partnering with true understanding of the Chinese market, as opposed to being lured by this upside.
Speaking about the growth of outdoor specialist fashion and equiptment products, Chuck from Shanghai says, “It’s booming. I was checking some related category sales in Tmall and can see that the category is growing fast, with social buzz and search intent for products in the space growing too”. As shown below, our own research, using GWI data, indicates that COVID-19 has seen Chinese interest in outdoor activities such as hiking, and long walks, for example, at higher proportions than in the UK.
A massive 456m Chinese respondents agree that COVID-19 has peaked their interest in hiking, long walks and other outdoor activities
This dwarfs the UK number, which stands at 21 proportionally, against 31% in China.
Why is this? COVID-19 reasons we mention above aside, there is a mounting pressure in Chinese cities, particularly megacities and other Tier 1 and Tier 2 locations, to be always-on at work, for at least 6 days a week.
This is more pronounced than in the West, the data shows with the UK as an example. Jack Ma famously encouraged China’s ‘996’ culture, which promotes long working days for the majority of the week. When it comes to young Chinese and their free time, there is a growing recognition that Great Outdoor pursuits can have great wellbeing benefits, as well as practically giving them a means of literally powering down and switching off.
3. Fashion trends like ‘Mountaincore’ in China offer an opportunity for China entrants to localise.
It’s said that art often imitates life, and if we are to consider fashion as an art-form, then Mountaincore, the latest fashion subculture to emerge from China, is certainly something for brands in related and sub-sectors in fashion and apparel to take note of, and utilise in marketing strategies. Similar to Japan’s Yama style, Shan Xi Chuan Da, or mountain style, has been directly inspired by camping, hiking, skiing and mountaineering, and driven by the social changes brought about by COVID.
North Face China’s CNY capsule collection, 2021.
The aesthetic, which is characterised by mixing technical wear with streetwear essentials, has been growing more and more sophisticated in China: consumers are now not just familiar with global outdoor powerhouses like Patagnoia, Arc’teryx and North Face Purple Label, but increasingly with specialist/niche hiking, skiing and camping brands also having a growing knowledge base.
On Xiaohongshu for example, Mountaincore’s hashtag has 30,000 users, and shows followers how to combine utility shirts, stretchy jeans, logo caps, and technical sandals to create looks. Brands in the outdoor, hiking and skiing sectors, who see the value in China, definitely have an opportunity to localise strategies armed with the insight about emerging trends.
Outdoor is here to stay, with some key subcultures like camping, mountaineering, hiking, skiing and snowboarding lending themselves to opportunities for brands considering entering the market, or optimising existing operations in China.
It is clear that within China, the comparatively severe lockdowns over the last two years, coupled with a desire amongst Tier 1 and 2 inhabitants to live a more socially bonded, healthy, disconnected free time have all been factors in explaining the growth of outdoor trends. Data suggests that China offers a faster growing and valuable opportunity for brands in outdoor, mountain, hiking, skiing and related fields. This can also be said of fashion brands who want to capitalise on the very real, and very popular ‘Mountaincore’ trend in China.
Looking to scale the heights of China? A solo mission is ill-advised.
Say hello at nihao@hotpotchina.com to discuss your brand’s strategy for entering or optimising your strategy and execution in China.
