Olympics boost prospects for sports industry

Sales double

Gaining recognition from local consumers in the winter sports gear industry can also be challenging.

Vision Industrial Co, based in Xiamen, Fujian province, has produced snowboards and other winter sports equipment for top global brands for 12 years, making 70,000 to 80,000 boards each year, with an annual production value of more than 30 million yuan.

Hu Zhihua, the company's general manager, said this year's Winter Olympics released consumption power and interest from international and domestic customers, adding that Vision Industrial Co's sales have doubled since Spring Festival.

"Eight out of 10 top snowboards are manufactured in China, but we are not ready to develop our own brand," Hu said.

Research and design are still not strong points for many Chinese ice and snow equipment manufacturers competing globally, despite the rise of local winter sports brands such as Nobaday and Goski.

Hu said that to cultivate domestic winter sports brands, it is vital to connect manufacturers with snow sports athletes to develop equipment enabling the latter to perform to their best.

He cited an old northern term, mao dong, which means that Chinese people like to hide at home in the winter.

Hu said: "The Beijing Winter Olympics have fundamentally altered such perceptions and have encouraged more people to venture outdoors and have fun with snow and ice sports. This is the beginning of everything for our industry."