Beijing was recently awarded the opportunity to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. We checked in with Dieter Tremp, Senior Associate at ISPO, about the impact of that decision on snowboarding and other snow sports in China, as well as on the global snow business.
What changes have you seen in China as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics?
The immediate change was a lot of communication from the Chinese organizers about how the Olympics will be run. Beijing doesn’t immediately strike you as a snow city. Ice skating etc. will be held at the existing Olympic park. Downhill and cross-country will be spread all over. They are scheduling on-snow venues as far as 400 miles away. The closest downhill venue will be, depending on traffic, about 2 hours away. Not too bad when you compare it with some of the other Winter Olympic sites.
The biggest immediate positive impact for our industry is that the announcement is forcing the development of new resorts. In addition, the government is developing major infrastructure such as high-speed rails going up to ski and snowboarding areas. Twelve ISPO China shows ago, in March 2005, there were almost no Western brands in China – and only two snow resorts in all of China. By now there are 20 resorts, and several have world-class 5 star facilities.
The Chinese government is also looking for high numbers of Chinese athletes for the 2022 Winter Olympics. To have top athletes, they need to get a lot of people out on to the slopes. So they are sponsoring mass participation, which of course is great news for brands offering snow clothing and equipment.
ISPO Beijing will once again be held in cooperation with ALPITEC China. Many important brands will be there. With displays of everything from gondolas to snow cannons, it’s almost a separate resort equipment show within ISPO Beijing.
Are brands looking to invest more heavily in Asian markets?
The brands are very aware of the efforts the Chinese government is making and they are poised to provide product.
Overall, westerners are paying more attention to the Chinese consumer. Today Western knowledge of the average Chinese consumer is much more sophisticated. Many action sports brands are targeting the Chinese consumer in the coastal region in the middle class. The middle class in China is affluent by Chinese standards – more and more own their apartments, most of them have a car, smart phone etc.
We are also seeing the rise of the Chinese brands in terms of their ability to compete for good retail space.
The Chinese consumer is also totally in tune with relative standing of different brands. Many of them are looking more to own status symbols, and skis and snowboards do well on the roof of a car.
ISPO Beijing had been filling up well even before the news of Beijing being awarded the Olympics. Our Beijing show looks like ISPO Munich only smaller – we are always asking for additional space and will be using every square centimeter and then some this year. At the moment we have more than 90 American brands confirmed, and 550 brands overall – considerably more than 2015. U.S. brands represent the largest national group of non-Chinese brands, and the brand number is likely even higher, as many Chinese partners of U.S. brands don’t necessarily list all of the brands they will present in their booths.
It is very cool and appropriate that ISPO Beijing is held in the CNCC (China National Convention Center), which is located in the Beijing Olympic Park, immediately next to the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest Stadium) and other Olympic venues.
How has the decision impacted the scene at ISPO’s Shanghai trade show?
Our Shanghai trade show is geared more toward year-round products, such as those distributed by Volcom and GoPro. Pure ski would not get that much out of it. Â However, the Chinese government is also looking to invest in ways to keep its population healthy, such as water sports, and Western brands are watching these developments carefully.
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