Sports Brand Positioning Across The Outdoor Market Positioning Embarrassment

Rapidly developing Outdoor products The market is not only a new professional outdoor brand, but also a huge sports brand army. At present, Adidas (franchised store), Lining (franchised stores), Anta, 361 degrees have launched outdoor products, Puma also intends to focus on outdoor sports products in 2013. With the increasing pressure of survival, can outdoor sports break through in the field of subdivision? What opportunities are left for sports brands?

　 Sports brands pour into each other

The third major sports brands in the world PUMA (Puma) In 2013, it announced that it will focus on outdoor sports products in 2013 and continue the transformation and cost reduction plan in the second half of 2012. Francois-Henri Pinault, President of Puma group's PPR group, said publicly that PPR will continue to build a portfolio of life and leisure brands around Puma when Puma returns to the right track. He believes that there are two sports segmentation market potential, one is extreme sports, and the other is outdoor sporting goods market.

In fact, Puma is not the first sports brand that wants to split the market for outdoor products. Previously, Adidas and Lining had entered the field of outdoor sports. The former set up an independent outdoor outdoor store in China. The latter launched a sub brand Li-Ning Adventure (Lining exploration), and opened several stores in Tianjin, Beijing and Shenyang. In addition, according to a press survey, Anta and 361 degrees have launched outdoor products in domestic sports brands.

It is not blind for sports brands to enter the outdoor products market. Due to the high degree of coincidence between the two customers, sports brands have an innate advantage in cutting the outdoor products market. In addition, there is a trend of life in both sports brand and outdoor brand.

　 Embarrassment of market positioning

Data show that the total retail sales of China's outdoor products industry in 2011 have reached 11 billion yuan, up 57.82% over the same period last year. In the past ten years, the average growth rate of outdoor products market in China has exceeded 40%. In sharp contrast, the sports industry in recent years has become so crowded that it has to turn to a breakthrough in the field of subdivision. The report on China's outdoor brand department store released in 2011 by the China National Business Information Center showed that in 2011, sales of outdoor fashion sporting goods sales increased by 23.9% over the same period, while the growth rate of sporting goods retail sales was only 6.7%.

Although the market for outdoor products is promising, it is still necessary to pinpoint the location of the industry.

Reporters at a shopping malls outside Fuxing Gate Street found that the price of professional outdoor brand single tops, such as Columbia and Pathfinder, were over 1000 yuan, while the 361 degree outdoor products were in the hundreds of yuan. In the promotion of shopping malls, although the former 50 percent off is still higher than the latter, consumers do not seem to have a cold to the latter. It can be seen that consumers of outdoor products have strong brand awareness.

In addition, there is little difference between the price of outdoor shoes and ordinary sports shoes in Anta's flagship store in Beijing. Guide shopping, the main function of outdoor shoes is waterproof, "it is no problem to wear under the light rain."

Compared with the two brands mentioned above, the outdoor products explored by Lining are more professional and outdoor in terms of function and technology, and the product structure is relatively comprehensive, including outdoor clothing, shoes, accessories and so on.

Liang Qiang, director of the Institute of outdoor leisure economics, Tianjin University of Finance Economics, said the professional outdoor athletes are right. Shoes and clothing The demand for technical force is relatively high. If the function fails to meet the requirements of outdoor sports equipment, the product may be faced with unsalable sales. Before the mature R & D team and management personnel are available, the traditional sports brand should not blindly follow suit, otherwise the risk will be huge. At the same time, Liang Qiang pointed out that the direction of sports brand development in outdoor areas depends on the positioning of the brand. If it is to continue to use sports goods brand, the outdoor series will complement the traditional product line, or the initial test of water. If you really decide to enter the outdoor sports brand, you will reopen the brand, operate and grow independently. The specific choice of outdoor market segments should not be generalized.

　 Aiming at the three or four line city

According to the survey of the China National Business Information Center, the proportion of outdoor sporting goods sales in the first tier cities in 2011 accounted for 36.2% of the total sales of sporting goods, 31% for the second tier cities, and 21.1% for the three tier cities. But in terms of growth rate, the sales of outdoor sporting goods in the first tier cities increased by 16.2% in 2011 compared with 20.3% in the second tier cities, while the three line cities were far ahead of 46.3%.

"At present, there are more than 700 outdoor brands in China. These brands have occupied the channel resources of the second tier cities in China. Later, those who want to enter the second tier cities compete with these brands." Liang Qiang suggested that the sports brand that plans to enter the outdoor market can focus on the three or four line cities with strong urban sports atmosphere.

However, the imbalance of China's market development determines that outdoor sports can not blossom everywhere in the three or four line market in the short term. "Enterprises must conduct pre market investigations before laying up sales outlets, including the consumption of local outdoor products and the level of residents' consumption. As a young market, how to educate and influence more potential consumers to engage in outdoor sports has become an important condition for the outdoor products market to usher in the blowout development era. Liang Qiang said.