Winter Olympics creates bonanza for global equipment brands

冬奥会为全球装备品牌创造财富

The Olympic flame for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is on display at the Olympic Tower in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 20, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Yong)

2021年10月20日，2022年北京冬奥会的圣火在中国首都北京的奥林匹克塔展出。（新华网/王勇）

NANJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Decked out in a stylish snowsuit and ski goggles, 32-year-old Li Yang leisurely sampled the heady pleasure after hurtling down from a snow slope at a ski resort in the city of Huai'an, east China's Jiangsu Province.

南京1月17日电(记者李阳)--在中国东部江苏省淮安市的一个滑雪胜地， 32岁的李阳身着时尚的雪衣和滑雪护目镜，从雪坡上冲下来后，悠闲地体验着令人陶醉的快感。

"It's just trendy and cool to feel the joy of winter sports before the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics," said Li, an IT engineer who had driven about three hours from Jiangsu's Nanjing to participate in a local ice and snow festival, hoping to destress a bit from the day-to-day grind.

“在即将到来的北京冬奥会之前，感受到冬季运动的乐趣是算是一种潮流，”李说，他是一名It工程师，从江苏南京驱车约三个小时参加当地的冰雪节，希望减轻一点日常工作的压力。

"It is my second time coming here. This time, I bought my gear rather than renting it. Many of my friends have their own equipment now," Li added. "My whole set is made by Chinese brands, costing no more than 5,000 yuan (about 785 U.S. dollars), and is of great quality."

“这是我第二次来这里。这次，我没有租而是买了自己的装备。我的很多朋友现在都有自己的装备了。”李阳补充道。“我的整套装备都是中国制造，售价不超过5000元（约合785美元），质量也不错。”

The Beijing Winter Olympics will kick off in less than a month. Chinese manufacturers long ago perceived their golden opportunity as the Games have ignited unparalleled enthusiasm for winter sports and the country has made massive investments to enhance infrastructure.

北京冬奥会将在不到一个月的时间内开幕。相应的，中国制造商早在很久以前就意识到了他们的冬奥会这一难得的机遇，因为奥运会点燃了人们对冬季运动无与伦比的热情，中国也为加强基础设施进行了大量投资。

Over 346 million Chinese people have participated in winter sports activities since Beijing's successful bid in 2015, making the country's goal of engaging 300 million in winter sports a reality, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics.

根据中国国家统计局的数据，自2015年北京申奥成功以来，已有超过3.46亿中国人参加了冬季体育活动，实现了长久以来中国想让3亿人民参加冬季体育活动的目标。

China has also experienced explosive development in recent years despite being a latecomer to the world of winter sports. It now has 654 standard ice rinks, a surge of 317 percent from 2015, and the number of ski resorts reached 803, up from 568 in 2015.

中国在近年来经历了冬季运动的爆发式发展，成为了冬季运动世界中的后起之秀。现在我国拥有654个标准冰场，比2015年增加了317%，滑雪场的数量从2015年的568个增加到了803个。

In Jiangsu, for example, where snowfall is often light in winter, local governments have encouraged private investment into snowmaking facilities to make artificial snow and issued vouchers to stimulate spending on winter sports, as the province has now built 45 ice and snow sports venues.

例如，在冬季降雪往往较少的江苏，地方政府鼓励民间为造雪设施投资，进行人工造雪，并发放代金券来刺激冬季运动支出，该省目前已建成45个冰雪运动场馆。

All this has fueled the business of equipment makers and bodes well for the long-term market. According to China's development plan, the total scale of the ice and snow sports industry will hit 1 trillion yuan by 2025.

所有这些都推动了设备制造商的业务的发展，也是拥有长期市场的好兆头。根据我国发展规划，到2025年，冰雪体育产业总规模将冲击1万亿元。

Increasingly more stores selling winter sports equipment including suits, helmets, gloves and snowboards are now popping up in large Chinese cities, though sometimes the prices for skiing-related merchandise are considered a bit high.

在中国的大城市里，销售冬季运动用品的商店越来越多，包括滑雪套装，头盔，手套和滑雪板，不过有时关于滑雪之类商品的价格被认为有点高。

"For average skiers, a whole set could run from 2,000 to 10,000 yuan, but I think most buyers are white-collar workers, earning above 10,000 yuan a month," said Wang Juan, a sales manager at a chained store in downtown Nanjing, Jiangsu's provincial capital city.

江苏省会南京市区一家连锁商店的销售经理王娟（音译）说：“对于普通滑雪者来说，一套雪橇的价格在2000到1万元之间，但我认为大多数购买者都是月收入在1万元以上的白领。”

Data from the online marketplace JD.com showed that during last year's Double 11 shopping spree, orders for ski equipment increased by 23 times year on year on the platform, while the transaction volume for ice sports equipment increased 15 times year on year.

来自在线购物平台京东的数据显示，去年双11购物狂欢期间，滑雪装备订单同比增长23倍，冰上运动装备交易额同比增长15倍。

"The Winter Olympics is obviously a catalyst for equipment business, and also a springboard for the equipment makers," Wang said.

“冬奥会显然是滑雪装备交易的催化剂，也是制造商的跳板，”王娟说。

Global brands are trying to position themselves in the bonanza. Athletic wear giant Anta Sports, a sponsor of the Beijing Games, has made use of its deep pockets to partner with European equipment brands. Domestic brand Bosideng has also cooperated with German brand Bogner to establish a joint venture, planning to build about 80 stores across China.

全球品牌正试图将自己定位在这一富矿中。北京奥运会赞助商、运动服装巨头安踏体育（Anta Sports）利用其雄厚的财力与欧洲设备品牌合作。国内品牌波司登还与德国品牌博格纳（Bogner）合作成立了一家合资企业，计划在中国各地建立约80家门店。

A number of clothing brands like Toread and 361 Degrees have come out with their own ski suits, and others, including Running River and Vector, are producing varied personal ski equipment.

一些服装品牌，如探路者（Toread）和361度（361 Degrees），已经推出了自己的滑雪服，其他品牌，包括奔流（Running River）和维蔻多（Vector），正在生产各种个人滑雪设备。

Data from the corporate information provider Tianyancha shows that China saw an increase of more than 1,000 ice and snow sports-related enterprises in 2021. And according to a national development plan for the ice and snow equipment industry, annual equipment sales are predicted to exceed 20 billion yuan by 2022.

来自企业信息提供商天眼查的数据显示，中国2021的冰雪体育相关企业增加了1000多家。根据国家冰雪装备产业发展规划，到2022年，冰雪装备年销售额预计将超过200亿元。

The North American ski sports brand SPYDER started business in the Chinese market in 2019. It currently focuses on first-and-second-tier cities, opening franchise stores mainly in the local mid-to-high-end shopping malls.

北美滑雪运动品牌SPYDER于2019年开始在中国市场开展业务。目前集中在一线和二线城市，主要计划在当地中高端商场开设加盟店。

"The upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics is heating up people's enthusiasm for skiing, which benefits SPYDER a lot, as our revenue is rising steadily. We predict that the opening of the Winter Olympics can further ignite consumers' enthusiasm for skiing, and we hope that it will also 'detonate' our sales by then," said Zhang Weicheng, general manager of SPYDER China.

SPYDER中国区总经理张伟成表示：“即将到来的北京冬奥会激发了人们对滑雪的热情，这让SPYDER受益匪浅，我们的收入也在稳步增长。我们预计，冬奥会的开幕将进一步激发消费者对滑雪的热情，希望届时也能‘引爆’我们的销售。”

TechnoAlpin, headquartered in Bolzano, Italy, is a global leader in snowmaking equipment with a 60 percent share in the global market. The company has served six of the last eight Winter Olympics and will provide snowmaking equipment and automation systems for Beijing 2022. "We have benefited enormously from the 2022 Olympic Games," said Pierpaolo Salusso, general manager of TechnoAlpin's Zhangjiakou offshoot.

Technalpin公司的总部位于意大利博尔扎诺，是全球造雪设备的领导者，在全球市场占有60%的份额。该公司在过去八届冬奥会中服务了六届，并将继续为北京2022年提供造雪设备和自动化系统。“我们从2022年奥运会中受益匪浅。”Technalpin张家口分公司总经理Pierpaolo Salusso表示。

Paolo Bazzoni, chairman of the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce, believes that the boom in winter sports provides opportunities for Italian brands to increase their offerings in the Chinese market.

中意商会主席保罗·巴佐尼（Paolo Bazzoni）认为，冬季运动的热潮为意大利品牌在中国市场的供给提供了机会。

"It is foreseeable that the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in China and the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy will deepen the friendly exchanges between the two countries while promoting the development of tourism, education and other industries," Bazzoni said.

巴佐尼说：“可以预见，即将到来的2022年中国冬奥会和2026年意大利冬奥会将加深两国之间的友好交流，同时促进旅游、教育和其他产业的发展。”

"As more customers are turning from thrill-seeking tyros to true-hearted enthusiasts, the future development of China's winter sports industry definitely has rosy prospects," Wang said.

王娟表示：“随着越来越多的消费者从寻求刺激的新手转向真正的爱好者，中国冬季运动产业的未来发展前景肯定是光明的。”