This year, market size of outdoor sports sector in China expected to top 3 trillion yuan

　　Sea fishing enthusiasts try their luck in Yantai, Shandong province, in October.TANG KE/FOR CHINA DAILY

　　Young Chinese consumers have shown a growing interest in outdoor activities such as cycling, fishing and hiking, enabling them to get closer to nature as the weather warms up and driving a rapid growth in sales of outdoor sporting equipment and accessories.

　　Besides traditional outdoor sports brands that focus on pure outdoor activities and emphasize the professional attributes of their products, a growing number of new outdoor sports brands have emerged in China over the past few years and they have integrated with more outdoor lifestyles and related mentality, said LeadLeo Research Institute, a market research provider.

　　With the rise of outdoor sports as a lifestyle, Sanlitun Taikoo Li, a shopping complex in downtown Beijing, is gradually transforming its underground level of the south area into a gathering place for outdoor sports brands.

　　Domestic outdoor gear and apparel maker Uppervoid has launched its first brick-and-mortar store in North China at Sanlitun Taikoo Li. Before that, outdoor sports brands such as New Balance and tennis sporting goods maker Wilson opened their stores in the same area in a bid to attract more young customers.

　　“Chinese consumers have been paying more attention to the design and styles of outdoor sports products and participants have shifted from professionals to the general public,“ said Zheng Zijiong, an analyst of LeadLeo. “Both professional and leisure settings of outdoor sports have their own participants, and the niche and mass markets have coexisted. Many young female consumers living in top-tier cities have become the main group of consumers.“