The Paper reporter Zhu Xi
An epidemic has brought unprecedented challenges to many industries, especially the sports industry.
With the gradual control of the epidemic, people pay more attention to physical health and exercise, which makes the participants in this industry see more hope to overcome difficulties.
The three-day VICTOR Brand Conference was held in Nanjing International Youth Cultural Center from September 7th to 9th. As a window to see the trend and creativity of badminton, this brand conference has also made many people see the confidence of all parties in the industry in the post-epidemic era.
The epidemic situation has improved, and the market confidence is more sufficient.
"Seeing that there are as many partners attending the meeting as in previous years, we have more confidence." Many of the participants in this brand conference are dealers in the badminton industry, and they can be said to be the most sensitive people in this industry. After experiencing the trough after the epidemic, they can also feel the rebound of the sports industry best.
VICTOR’s exhibition released the latest badminton equipment including ARS-100X, TK-RYUGA, VG1, P9200Ⅱ and HelloKitty co-branded products, and it was also an order meeting for these dealers in the first quarter of 2021. The number of participants and the order quantity of dealers have naturally become the most intuitive angle to spy on an industry.
"I feel that the impact of the epidemic is gradually fading and the sports industry is recovering rapidly." Mr. Zhang, a sporting goods distributor from Xiamen, told The Paper that his biggest feeling is that the scale and participants of the annual brand conference are no different from the past. "All the business partners I know are here, and everyone doesn’t want to miss this order fair."
He doesn’t shy away from the fact that business is difficult in the first quarter. After all, no one expected that the epidemic would be so serious, but since the second quarter of this year, the sales of badminton equipment have rebounded in retaliation. "On the one hand, everyone has been holding back for so long, and they also realize the importance of exercise to health, and badminton is one of the easiest sports to get started; On the other hand, the market environment also requires everyone to make small profits but quick turnover and go to inventory. "
Although there was hardly much profit in the first two quarters, Mr. Zhang was full of confidence in the next sporting goods market. "After experiencing a 50% slump in the first quarter and retaliatory growth in the second quarter, I believe this market will gradually stabilize, especially the improvement of the epidemic, which will actually allow more people to participate in badminton."
This statement has also been confirmed by VICTOR. A staff member of the organizer of the brand conference told The Paper that their analysis of sales big data found that "the epidemic did not bring much change to the sales of high-end products, but the entry-level products showed an obvious rise after the epidemic. This also proves that more people are involved in badminton. "
Of course, for VICTOR, the challenge brought by the epidemic is also real, with destocking and new product development and sales at the same time, and dealers are also experiencing big waves.
"Under this epidemic, some small sporting goods dealers have to close down due to problems in pressing goods and capital turnover." A dealer from Beijing told The Paper that the market in this sub-sector like badminton is becoming more and more mature, and it will face difficulties if it fails to keep up with its size and operation.
But for the future market, he is as optimistic as Mr. Zhang in Xiamen. "The improvement of the epidemic situation is real, and sports venues have been opened everywhere. Therefore, even after the retaliatory rebound, sales in the third quarter declined slightly, and I believe it will gradually stabilize."
Driven by the competition, the industry will be upgraded in all directions.
Compared with the confidence in words, the order quantity may be a more direct manifestation of the confidence of these badminton industry participants.
The plans of several dealers interviewed by The Paper are the same-the order quantity of products in the first quarter of next year will remain at least the same as that in the same period of last year, and even increase slightly.
In the eyes of these sporting goods dealers, the gradual resumption of the competition in the second half of the year and the Tokyo Olympic Games next year will further stimulate the badminton market.
VICTOR also announced the resumption of a series of well-known badminton amateur competitions in China, such as "Shuangxiong Club", "Victory in Hand", "My Fair Lady" and "Victory Youth", among which "Shuangxiong Club" has been resumed nationwide.
"Only when there are more events and new products are interesting enough, consumers will increase their consumption of equipment and supplies." A dealer thinks that the sports market is picking up, and the whole industry needs upgrading, whether it is brands, dealers or consumers.
"As far as the badminton industry is concerned, the demand for products is flexible, the coverage is wide, the added value of products is high, the industrial chain is long, and the driving effect is strong. Therefore, every link of this industry needs to be changed, so that everyone can work together to expand the market in Qi Xin."
Nowadays, online live broadcast has also become the focus of attention of industry participants. As the spokesperson of VICTOR, Cai Yun, the Olympic badminton champion, tried new products during the brand meeting, and admitted that he had tried badminton breaking and online courses.
At present, the former captain of the China badminton team in the field of badminton training is planning to use online courses to better spread badminton. "Online courses spread badminton skills without being limited by offline space and geography, and at the same time, more people can see professional knowledge and skills through developed self-media platforms."
At the same time, he said that he is also trying some cross-border violations. "Personally, I feel that there are various possibilities, so that I can try more in different fields and know how much my potential is."
Talking about the national badminton and the ongoing badminton super league, Cai Yun also thinks that we should take a long-term view and pay more attention to the performance of national players. "It is a torment for athletes not to compete for a long time, and the postponement of the Olympic Games has also broken the original gradual preparation process. After a long wait, there may be an adjustment of self-status."
Athletes are like this, so is the sports industry. Under the challenge of the epidemic, all industries are adjusting themselves, and the sports industry needs more and more comprehensive industrial upgrading in the future.
Editor in charge: Pu Yaolei
Proofreading: zhangyan
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