The Nihon Keizai Shimbun published a report on February 5, entitled "Business Opportunities in China" by reporter Yuya Suzuki, compiled below:

In the summer of 2023, a reporter traveled to Hangzhou, capital of China's Zhejiang Province. A specially opened local campground was crowded with people traveling with their families in tow, children playing in a stream and parents setting up deck chairs to relax. While most of the tents are local Chinese brands, one family's kitchenware is made by a Japanese company. Noboru Sasaki of the merchandise management division of Japan's Swallow Industries, which owns an outdoor brand, is said to have spotted the business opportunity when he was scouting campgrounds in the area.

China's outdoor goods market is enjoying a period of rapid growth. The epidemic has led to a surge in interest in outdoor recreation, and 2020 has been dubbed the "first year of camping" in China. The core market size of China's camping economy has already reached RMB 74.8 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach RMB 248.3 billion in 2025, according to data from China's Amedia Consulting.

On the other hand, Yano Economic Research Institute survey shows that the size of Japan's domestic outdoor supplies, facilities and rental market in 2021 was 444 billion yen (1 yen is about 0.05 yuan - our note), is expected to expand to 516.8 billion yen in 2025. Although there is no simple analogy, China's market is huge and has already surpassed that of Japan. In China, outdoor sports consumers are mainly from the affluent class, Japanese products are more expensive than Chinese domestic products, but because of the superior quality of the same not lack of sales.

Swallow is also actively expanding its business in China, starting with attending outdoor exhibitions in China and looking for qualified Chinese companies to open local agencies. In addition, the company also hired a Chinese-speaking marketing manager to strengthen the management system.

Shin Sasaki told reporters, "We want to attract a multi-level customer base from entry-level to intermediate players."

Other large outdoor products manufacturers are also focusing their attention on the Chinese market. Pearl Metals, which operates the outdoor brand Deer, opened its first overseas store in a shopping center outside Shanghai in July 2023, specializing in tents and bicycles.

Another Japanese outdoor goods maker, Snowbike, also set up a joint venture in China, where it rapidly expanded its store count to 22 in 2023, with a flagship store opening in Beijing that year. In addition to outdoor products and apparel, the store also has a restaurant, which aims to cultivate more fans in China.

Snowbiz said, "We hope to expand our quality customer base through product experience and organizing events."

Major brands are looking forward to the Chinese outdoor market, and Yosuke Takanami, managing director of Pearl Metals, believes that, given the growing number of campgrounds in China, which is in the cultivation period of camping culture, "although customers are mainly concentrated in the affluent class at the moment, China will become a big and attractive market after the customers are expanded to middle-income class ".