探路者，中國戶外用品第一股用極致守護見證“高光”時刻

“可上九天攬月，可下五洋捉鱉”是如今的中國，也是中國運動服飾品牌創下的功績。從中國南（北）極考察隊的企鵝服，到珠峰測高隊員的高海拔攀登連體羽絨服，再到中國航天員的艙內工作服，這背后都有著同一個身影——中國戶外用品第一股探路者（300005，SZ）。

探路者自成立以來，一直嚴格把控產品品質，并建立有效的質量標準體系，嚴格制作并執行內控標準達50多項，參與起草國家標準和行業標準25項。財報顯示，2020年探路者研發投入為4200余萬元，占營業收入比（研發強度）為4.63%。

“自2015年以來，冰雪運動、冰雪文化旅游相關的產業迎來蓬勃發展。探路者也充分利用這一寶貴資源，通過簽約知名代言人推廣滑雪運動和裝備，贊助和舉辦專業、大眾滑雪賽事，參與重點科技項目等方式開展系列推廣。”在探路者集團戶外副總裁、品牌管理部負責人韓曄看來，隨著疫情常態化、東京奧運會和北京冬奧會的相繼舉辦，大大激發了大眾對健身的需求，像探路者這樣以科技力為核心的戶外品牌正迎來“最好的時代”。

從2008北京奧運開始十五年極致守護

早在2008年，探路者便成為唯一入選北京奧運會特許供應商的戶外用品企業。借助北京奧運會的影響力，一舉拿下中國市場同類產品銷量和市場占有率第一寶座。

2020年，探路者參與了科技部“科技冬奧”重點研發計劃和“冬季運動與訓練比賽高性能服裝研發關鍵技術”項目的兩項子課題。歷經6個月研制、數十次對比測試后，共篩選出三種100%國產化、耐低溫、防護等級達到國際Level 1的防護材料配方。特別是根據運動員和保障人員實際需求，參與攻克耐低溫保障服裝的關鍵技術，研發出仿鵝絨結構的高保暖絮片，既提升了絮片的保暖性能又降低了絮片的重量，以達到輕量保暖的效果，性能優于目前國際一線品牌產品15%以上。

“這些研發成果可以讓冰雪運動健兒在備戰和參加比賽時，穿著具有自主研發核心技術的比賽裝備，讓工作人員、裁判、技術官員有更加輕薄且保暖的裝備保駕護航。”探路者集團副總裁韓曄表示，“同時，我們希望能夠幫助大眾更科學、安全、健康地參與到冰雪健身中，助力‘三億人參與冰雪運動’，為群眾性冰雪運動及其產業提供更多的社會服務和科技保障。”

把握市場動向打造時尚科技戶外運動裝備

近年，運動和戶外元素以及功能材料已經成為整個時裝和服裝行業的一匹黑馬。很多休閑裝甚至男女裝都會使用到戶外服裝里一些常用的配件，比如繩扣、繩索、D字環，以及拉鏈卡扣等來作為時裝的時尚要素使用。一些戶外服裝中常出現的口袋設計、3D立體裁剪的版型也成為了新興的設計元素。

作為中國老牌的戶外用品集團，探路者敏銳地捕捉到這一市場動向，把運動和戶外的一些有標識化的設計元素和功能性同大眾審美需求有效結合。期望打造出更加符合大眾審美需求，具有功能性的，更偏向于時尚化的戶外產品。除此之外，探路者還將尖端科技融入產品之中，例如將航天服中的細菌抑制技術（Tief Fresh）運用在運動鞋服上、復刻南北極科考服的極地防寒服，以及與中國航天合作的“航天探路者”聯名系列時尚產品，都得到了市場的廣泛好評。

中國品牌強勁發展沉著應對市場挑戰

改革開放四十年來，隨著我國綜合實力和國際話語權的提升，以及體育綜合實力的增強，中國運動品牌整體上有了飛速的進步。在企業規模、科技創新、品牌塑造、市場份額等方面都有了和國際品牌競爭的資本，在國內外大型賽事的現場也有著越來越多的中國運動品牌出現。

在發展階段和防控疫情常態化、中外大型體育賽事集中舉辦的背景下，體育用品業擁有利于發展的宏觀環境的同時，一場市場話語權爭奪戰也悄然打響。面對來自國際國內品牌兩個方面的激烈競爭，韓曄表示探路者將從三個方面做戰略部署：首先是實施‘多品牌’戰略。目前公司的品牌矩陣由Toread（主品牌）、Toread.X（運動時尚品牌）、Discovery和Toread kids（童裝品牌）構成。四個品牌滿足不同細分市場的各類需求，為消費者提供科技化、專業化、時尚化的運動裝備。其次是打造‘國之重器’。與國家重大戰略合作，如中國航天、南北極科考、珠峰測高。探路者的裝備隨著神舟、天舟飛船升上太空，搭乘雪龍號抵達南北極，極致保護測高隊員登頂珠峰。相關合作不僅積極對接了國家戰略，也增強了公司的科技研發能力，提升了公司品牌形象和美譽度。最后是注重自主科技研發。從2008年探路者研發中心創立，目前中心面積已超7000㎡，是亞洲最大的戶外運動研發中心。僅在2020年，公司就獲得了20項行業大獎，取得專利共8項。其中自主研發的極地仿生科技Tief得到了深化發展，已取得了包括防水透濕科技、防曬科技、干爽科技、保暖科技、多功能防護科技、涼感科技、防靜電科技、智能光變科技等多項自主研發成果。這些科技也讓探路者在激烈的市場競爭中能夠脫穎而出。

機遇與挑戰并存數字賦能或成新前景

“從需求側來看，更多人參與冰雪運動意味著更多的需求和更大的市場。目前來看，許多參與者還屬于初次體驗和初級消費階段，培養大眾對滑雪運動的喜好和消費的不斷升級是各方面需要共同努力的；從供給側來看，裝備制造商要以顧客需求為導向，注重細分市場，抓住‘三億人參與冰雪’帶來的良好機遇。

受新冠肺炎疫情影響，許多中高端消費回流至國內，為國內品牌提供了機遇。“雙循環”新格局、體育強國建設和健康中國戰略、人均可支配收入的提高、疫情引發大眾對健康需求的提升給體育用品業提供了利于發展的環境。但同時，疫情導致的停工停產、經濟下行，以及國際品牌的競爭和能否順利完成數字化轉型，都將成為本土品牌未來將要面臨的重要挑戰。在這個機遇與挑戰并存的時代，只有不斷創新、提升品牌實力、把握好“變”與“不變”才能夠穩步前行。

“戶外運動產品將借助中國冰雪運動的蓬勃發展繼續提升消費黏性，未來將會結合人工智能、虛擬現實等技術，以及元宇宙概念下運動新場景，注重科技創新和數字賦能的應用。”對于探路者今后之路，韓曄說。

Chinese sportswear brands have made remarkable achievements in recent years. From the penguin suit of China’s South （North） Polar expedition， to the one-piece down jacket of the Everest surveying team， and the cabin work clothes of Chinese astronauts， there is the same figure — Chinese outdoor brand TOREAD （300005， SZ）.

Since its establishment， TOREAD has been strictly controlling product quality and establishing an effective quality standard system， strictly producing and implementing more than 50 internal control standards， and participating in drafting 25 national and industrial standards. TOREAD’s R&D investment in 2020 was more than 42 million yuan， accounting for 4.63 percent of its operating revenue， according to the financial report.

“Since winning the bid in 2015， the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games has generated huge business opportunities， with booming industries related to winter sports and culture tourism. TOREAD also makes full use of this valuable resource to promote skiing and equipment by signing well-known spokespersons， sponsoring and holding professional and mass skiing events， and participating in key scientific and technological projects.” In the view of Han Ye， vice president and director of brand management department of TOREAD， with the normalization of the pandemic and the holding of the Tokyo Olympic Games and Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games， the public’s demand for fitness has been greatly stimulated， and outdoor brands like TOREAD， which take science and technology as the core， are ushering in the best era.

From Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to High-tech Olympics， fifteen years of technological innovation

As early as 2008， TOREAD became the only outdoor products company selected as the official supplier for the Beijing Olympic Games. With the influence of the Beijing Olympic Games， it won the first place in the sales and market share of similar products in the Chinese market.

TOREAD participated in two sub-projects of the Key Research and Development Plan of High-tech Olympics of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Key Technology of Research and Development of High-performance Clothing for Winter Sports and Training Competitions in 2020. After 6 months of development and dozens of comparative tests， three kinds of 100 percent domestic protective material formulations with low temperature resistance and international Level 1 protection grade were screened out. In particular， TOREAD participated in the development of key technology for low-temperature resistance clothing， and developed the interlining for warming batts of goose down-like structure according to the actual needs of athletes and support personnel， which not only improves the warmth retention performance of wadding but also reduces the weight of wadding， so as to achieve the effect of lightweight and warmth retention. The performance is more than 15 percent better than the current international first-line brand products.

“The research and development results will enable athletes to wear competition equipment with self-developed core technologies when preparing for and participating in competitions， so that staff， referees and technical officials can have lighter and warmer equipment.” “Meanwhile， we hope to support 300 Million People Participate in Winter Sports in a more scientific， safe and healthy way， and provide more social services and scientific and technological support for mass winter sports and its industry，” Han Ye said.

Grasp market trends， to create fashionable technology outdoor sports equipment

Sports and outdoor elements and functional materials have become a dark horse in the apparel industry in recent years. Many casual wear and even men’s and women’s wear use some accessories commonly used in outdoor clothing as fashion elements， such as buckles， D-rings， and zipper. The pocket design and 3D draping that often appear in some outdoor clothing have also become emerging design elements.

As a well-known outdoor goods group in China， TOREAD has keenly captured the market trend and effectively combined some iconic design elements and functions of sports and outdoor with the aesthetic needs of the public. They hope to create outdoor products that are more in line with the aesthetic needs of the public， functional and more in fashion. In addition， TOREAD incorporates cutting-edge technology into its products， such as the bacterial inhibition technology （TiEf Fresh） of space suit were used in sports shoes and sportswear， and the fashion products jointly named Space&TOREAD in cooperation with China Aerospace， which have been widely praised by the market.

Chinese brands enjoy strong growth， calmly respond to market challenges

Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up， with the improvement of China’s comprehensive strength and international voice， as well as the enhancement of the comprehensive strength of sports， Chinese sports brands have made rapid progress and competed with international brands in terms of enterprise scale， scientific and technological innovation， brand building and market share. More and more Chinese sports brands appear on the scene of largescale events at home and abroad.

In the new stage of development， with the normalization of pandemic prevention and control， and the hosting of Tokyo Olympic Games and Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games， the sporting goods industry has a favorable macro environment for development， while a battle for market discourse power also started. Facing the fierce competition from international and domestic brands， Han Ye said that TOREAD made strategic deployment from three aspects： the first is to implement the multi-brand strategy. The company’s current brand matrix consists of TOREAD （main brand）， TOREAD.X（sports and fashion brand）， Discovery and TOREAD Kids（children’s wear brand）. The four brands meet the various needs of different market segments and provide consumers with scientific， professional and fashionable sports equipment. The second is to serve the major national strategies， such as China Aerospace， Arctic and Antarctic Scientific Expedition， Everest surveying. TOREAD’s equipment went up into space with the Shenzhou and Tianzhou spacecraft， and travelled by the Xue Long to the North and South Pole， and protected surveying team to reach the summit of Mount Qomolangma. Related cooperation not only positively matches the national strategy， but also enhances the company’s scientific and technological research and development capabilities， and enhances the company’s brand image and reputation. Finally， to focus on independent scientific and technological research and development. TOREAD R&D Center was established in 2008， with an area of over 7，000 square meters， which is the largest outdoor sports R&D center in Asia. The company won 20 industry awards and obtained a total of 8 patents in 2020 alone， among which， TiEf， the polar bionic technology independently developed， has been further developed， and has achieved a number of independent research and development achievements， including waterproof and moisture permeability technology， sun protection technology， warmth retention technology， multifunctional protection technology， cooling technology， anti-static technology， intelligent light change technology and so on. These technologies also support TOREAD stand out from the fierce market competition.

Opportunities and challenges coexist， digital empowerment to bring new prospects to companies

“From the demand side， more people participating in winter sports means more demand and a bigger market. Many par- ticipants still belong to the initial experience and primary consumption stage at present， to cultivate the public’s preference for winter sports and the continuous upgrading of consumption is the joint efforts of all aspects； from the supply side， equipment manufacturers should be customer-oriented， pay attention to market segmentation， seize the good opportunities brought by the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games， but also strengthen the ‘post-Olympic Winter Games era’ market research and judgment.”

Many mid - and high-end consumption has returned to China due to the COVID-19 pandemic， providing opportunities for domestic brands. The new pattern of double circulation， the construction of sports power and the Healthy China strategy， the increase of per capita disposable income， and the improvement of public health demand caused by the pandemic have provided a favorable environment for the development of the sporting goods industry. But at the same time， the shutdown and economic downturn caused by the pandemic， as well as the competition of international brands and whether the digital transformation can be successfully complete， will become important challenges for local brands in the future. In the era of opportunities and challenges， only by constantly innovating， enhancing brand strength， and grasping “change”and “unchanged” can we move forward steadily.

“Outdoor sports products will continue to enhance consumer stickiness through cultural communication of winter sports with the influence of the hot spots of the Olympic Winter Games. In the future， TOREAD will combine artificial intelligence， virtual reality and other technologies， as well as new sports scenes in the concept of Metaverse， and pay attention to the application of technological innovation and digital empowerment.” This is what Han Ye says about TOREAD’s future.

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