Looking for opportunities in danger, Xinhua sports found after an interview that although the current situation is grim, relevant practitioners and researchers in the sports industry are still very confident about the future of the sports industry.
At the beginning of the new year, a sudden outbreak of new coronavirus caused many domestic industries to experience a cold winter. Among them, China’s sports industry, which is gaining momentum in 2020, has also been greatly impacted due to its strong offline aggregation and other characteristics: sports retail stores have closed down, sports events have been extended, easily even canceled, the consumption of sports tourism in the spring festival cycle is stagnant.
Looking for opportunities in danger, Xinhua sports found after an interview that although the current situation is grim, relevant practitioners and researchers in the sports industry are still very confident about the future of the sports industry. During the epidemic, practitioners realized the importance of online layout. After the epidemic, “health and physical exercise” returned to the public view, consumer demand and kinetic energy will increase, and the sports equipment and equipment industry will benefit, drive further upgrades and innovations.
△On February 3, a fitness enthusiast did yoga in his living room. Xinhua News Agency
practitioners attach importance to the layout of online
due to the infectivity of the new coronavirus, the sports competition and performance industry, which focuses on offline and has strong aggregation, took the lead in stepping on the “brake”. In addition, sports tourism, offline training and other sports industry fields that have not been pre-arranged online are also “hardest hit areas”. Through this crisis, all walks of life in the sports industry have realized the importance of online layout.
Sportswear and sneakers enterprises with relatively mature development in China have made use of the achievements of online transformation this time to deal with the epidemic crisis through the marketing strategies of e-commerce platforms and the daily accumulation of community operations, and explore a coping mechanism.
If you have added WeChat to Anta’s offline stores before, most of your friends will see the shop assistants open online actively during the epidemic. The Anta Group, which focused on sportswear and sneakers, shifted its business focus to online during the epidemic, and innovated its marketing model. It launched the “full retail” project, with more than 30000 employees and distributors participating in it, from senior executives to grass-roots employees, they have become WeChat merchants one after another.
In the face of the epidemic, the business team of Li Ning Group also launched emergency response strategies at the first time and formulated several sets of plans. At present, the e-commerce turnover is in a stable recovery state.
Well-known fitness brands Keep and outdoor equipment brand Pathfinder have all strengthened the e-commerce platform business. Eminentrestful Sports, which focuses on offline sports training, has also begun to explore online training and teaching services.
Small and medium-sized sports enterprises with weak anti-risk, in this epidemic, in addition to finding ways to reduce offline costs, have also begun to use online as remedial measures.
△Keep and Xinhuanet released a series of home fitness videos (screenshots).
Fitness equipment is on sale
The sudden epidemic has made people realize the importance of cherishing health and active exercise. According to relevant reports from Xinhua News Agency, after the SARS epidemic in 2003, Beijing set off a new round of sports fitness climax, and some sporting goods such as badminton racket, pulling balls and rope skipping equipment began to be out of stock. During the period of the new crown pneumonia, due to the rise of e-commerce and express delivery channels, the rebound and upward movement of the fitness equipment industry have begun to emerge.
Jingdong big data shows that during the Spring Festival this year, the demand for “House consumption” exceeded that of last year, among which the turnover of fitness training and game equipment was 200% of the same period last year, people in northeast China and Sichuan have the fastest growth in fitness/yoga consumption.
After the Spring Festival, consumers’ purchase of home fitness equipment continued to soar. In the first week after the festival, the turnover of dumbbell on Jingdong platform increased by 60% year-on-year, the turnover of chest expander increased by 109% year-on-year, the turnover of rope skipping increased by 56% year-on-year, and the turnover of rowing machine increased by 134% year-on-year, the turnover of self-operated yoga mats increased by 150 percent year-on-year. From February to now, the turnover of self-operated yoga mats increased by nearly 6 times year-on-year. keep e-commerce, the fitness platform, also said that the overall sales volume increased significantly compared with the same period last year. Yoga mats, foam roller, fitness bracelets, etc. all sold better.
“Because the prevention and control measures of this epidemic are to let everyone isolate themselves at home. How to realize fitness exercise in a relatively non-professional space and maintain healthy habits will be helpful to sports equipment and equipment, including some fitness Internet models to provide some opportunities.” Wang Shirley, director of Tsinghua University Sports Industry Development Research Center, told Xinhua sports.
“If the government has more accurate and inclusive facilities in community sports facilities and venues in the future, it will also bring a strong impetus to the entire sports industry.” Wang Shirley thinks that community sports will be a powerful scene in the future.
△On February 3, a medical student used the soybean oil barrels at home as dumbbell fitness. Xinhua News Agency
the momentum of public health consumption will increase in the future
when it comes to the greatest opportunities brought by the epidemic to the sports industry, many practitioners have mentioned the change of consumers’ health concept. The constantly activated mass consumption habits and kinetic energy will benefit the sports industry in the future and also the confidence of the industry in the future.
“For everyone, through the epidemic, the importance of protecting, building and enhancing body immunity is recognized, and health awareness is awakened and improved. The consumption motivation that really comes from the public has also been strengthened through this epidemic. And these are a foundation for the long-term development of the sports industry.” Wang Shirley said.
During the quarantine of Chengdu resident Gou Hanlin at home due to the epidemic, he has been paying attention to fitness training through the short video platform. Recently, he has installed a variety of fitness apps including keep in his mobile phone, and started a treadmill through online shopping. “Because of the epidemic, we can only exercise at home now. I look forward to a hearty run outside after the epidemic.” He told Xinhua sports.
According to the National Fitness Program (2016-2020), by 2020, the number of people participating in physical exercises will increase significantly, and the number of people participating in physical exercises once or more per week will reach 0.7 billion, the number of people who often take part in physical exercises reaches 0.435 billion, and the total scale of sports consumption will reach 1.5 trillion yuan. Under the support of the policy, even if affected by the epidemic, the short-term development is frustrated, it will not change its good posture of holding its head forward.
With the implementation and promotion of national prevention and control work, Beijing and other governments have given appropriate quotas of water and electricity subsidies to skating and skiing places affected by the epidemic and other measures, let the relevant sports enterprises survive the temporary “cold winter”.
“We believe that after the epidemic, consumers’ pursuit of health and sports will continue to rise, and consumer demand is stronger than in the past. We are full of confidence in the future market potential.” Wu Yonghua, executive director of Anta Group, also expressed optimism about the industry. (Wang Meng)