Outdoor garments, warm outlook

International outdoor labels, like The North Face, are embracing the growing market in China. Provided to China Daily

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The brand's design team is originally based in California. But now, it has developed a design team in China to balance the global design elements. For example, a black jacket in the US might be changed to red in China to cater to Chinese consumers.

For some brands, their "investment" gets innovative. For instance, Gore-tex, the well-known company providing waterproof and breath-able fabric to outdoor brands, introduced the Outdoor Exploration Fund to China in 2007. The fund is aimed at helping promising athletes to pursue outdoor sports, by supporting them with the right garments and equipment. There were 300 applicants from China when the sponsorship first started, but this year, more than 10,000 applied.

According to statistics from the China Outdoor Commerce Alliance, outdoor brands in China enjoyed a 47 percent annual growth in profit from 2000 to 2010. In 2010, Chinese consumers spent 7 billion yuan ($1.15 billion) on this sector, and in 2012, the number soared to 14.5 billion yuan.

Local brands are also making inroads into the market. In 2009, there were 286 foreign brands in China, occupying 70 percent of the market share.

Now, there are 405 local brands and 418 foreign brands in China, an almost 50-50 market share.

Sun Guan, president of China Outdoor Commerce Alliance, says the market is still growing, and he sees great potential. He forecasts that China's market will keep growing for at least another 10 years.