Camping economy fire, how can textile enterprises stabilize the Nuggets track?

How popular is the camping economy? According to the data released by AI media consulting, the market scale of domestic campsites grew rapidly in 2021, with a growth rate of 78%, and the market scale reached 29.9 billion yuan. It is expected that the market scale will reach 35.46 billion yuan in 2022. On holidays, it is becoming a new way for many tourism enthusiasts to have a "trip at home" with a few friends and get close to the wild interests of nature. This kind of tourism consumption and leisure mode characterized by localization and small radius caters to the market demand of self drive tourism and self-service tourism, and opens up market imagination space for tourism related industries.

In particular, with the introduction of various national and local support and incentive policies for the development of campsites, many textile enterprises have seen the market opportunities "exposed" by the continuous warming of the camping economy, and the investment intensity in the R & D and promotion of camping products has continued to increase. On the track of nuggets camping economy, how can textile enterprises go more steadily and further?

"Exposed" big market

As a simple leisure activity, camping not only provides a new channel for releasing tourism demand, but also provides a new track for many textile enterprises. Since this year, the sales of camping tents, damp proof mats, sleeping bags and other products have continued to rise. According to a report released by JD consumer and Industrial Development Research Institute, since April, the search volume of JD camping products has increased significantly by 145% year-on-year, and the turnover of tent / mat products has increased by 229% year-on-year. Products that improve the quality of camping have also received a lot of attention from consumers, and the turnover of canopy tents has increased nearly four times year-on-year. Sales of some entry-level products for outdoor camping, such as hydraulic tents and quick throw tents, continue to rise, indicating that a large number of early-stage outdoor user groups are joining the camping army. Camping tide "fire" out of the circle, providing a broad space for businesses. The market has a large demand for functional products such as windproof, sunscreen, waterproof, wear-resistant, quick drying, ventilation, temperature regulation, etc. For textile enterprises, these new consumer demands have high requirements on the technology and process of fabrics, which is not only a new business opportunity, but also the focus of research and development.

Jiangsu Wujiang Wuzhou rubber and Plastic Co., Ltd. mainly produces tent fabrics. Meizhilong, general manager of the company, told the reporter of China Textile News that since this year, the demand for functional fabrics for tents has increased significantly, and each production line is running at full capacity. "Nowadays, the blowout camping demand puts forward higher requirements for the functionality of tent fabrics. Wuzhou rubber and plastic is mainly engaged in the post-treatment production of tent fabrics, giving new functions through coating, calendering and fitting, and improving the bargaining power of the market. These functional fabrics are very popular with customers, and they are currently speeding up production to keep up with the progress of customers' orders." Meizhilong said so. Zhejiang Ximen new materials Co., Ltd. recently set up a research and development project of aging resistant camping tent fabrics. According to the R & D personnel, the project mainly focuses on the aging resistance of tent fabrics, such as UV resistance, acid and alkali resistance, ozone resistance and so on.

Accelerate the deep cultivation of the domestic market

Some international brands are smelling business opportunities and are stepping up product promotion in the Chinese market. At the 4th China International Import Expo, Decathlon unveiled its roof tent for the first time. Liushujiong, the brand director of decathlon camping, told reporters that this is the first time decathlon has launched a roof tent product in the Chinese market, which was launched in March this year.

Gu Shanshan, President of Kelong sports (China) Co., Ltd., said that the camping economy is an emerging industry in China, and many consumers will not choose products with particularly high prices. Kelong will independently develop camping products that are more suitable for Chinese entry-level consumers.

In the competition with international brands, some domestic brands have also entered the fast lane of development. Most of the tents produced by Zhejiang mugaodi outdoor products Co., Ltd. used to be sold to overseas markets in the form of OEM or OEM products. In 2021, mu Gaodi's domestic private brand business revenue exceeded 306 million yuan, an increase of 90% year-on-year, much faster than the growth rate of 28% of overseas business, and its proportion in the main business has increased from 25% in 2020 to 33%. In the first quarter of this year, the export business of mugao flute increased by 44% year-on-year, while the domestic brand business increased by 98% year-on-year. The management of mugaodi said that the company is taking advantage of the opportunity of accelerating the development of camping economy to explore the upgrading of its own brand concept, in order to obtain a higher brand premium and expand and strengthen its own brands such as "big Mu" and "small Mu".

Liu Shiyun, chairman of Guangdong Jituo outdoor products Co., Ltd., which specializes in tents, sleeping bags, air cushions and other products, has been focusing on the foreign trade camping market. This year, she began to deepen the domestic independent brand market and mainly promoted Jituo brand. "There is a relatively complete supply chain of camping products in the domestic market, which is a favorable condition for the development of independent brands. At the same time, the domestic outdoor tourism terrain is diverse, and the testing link in the research and development of domestic brands is easier." Liu Shiyun said. It should be noted that compared with the long development history of foreign camping brands, domestic camping brands are still in the initial stage of development and still face challenges in their growth. "At present, there is a relative shortage of experienced and capable R & D personnel in the domestic camping industry. In terms of tents, it is the most difficult to design a new structure. Various structures abroad have related products, while domestic tent design started late and has great limitations in creativity." Wang Jigang, founder of the soul of freedom, a high-end tent brand in China, said.

"For a tent, a thread is wrongly nailed, and the whole fabric is wasted. The tent sewing workers need many years of training to mature." Liu shujiong mentioned that the shortage of skilled workers is also a difficult problem for tent production enterprises.

Stride towards the international market

Zhejiang tepson Industrial Group Co., Ltd. recently opened dozens of tent production lines at full power. Pangkun, general manager of the company's tent business department, told reporters: "tepson began to focus more on the domestic market. From less than 10% of domestic trade at first to 20% last year, the proportion is still expanding."

However, some experts remind textile enterprises that for the Chinese market, which is still in the early stage of the development of camping economy, Chinese textile enterprises producing and operating camping products must be cautious in the transformation, balance the proportion of domestic and international markets, and walk on two legs to be more stable. "The camping industry is very popular in Europe and the United States, and has developed more mature, forming a complete operation system. Camping has become a part of the lives of Europeans and Americans, and our consumer habits have not been cultivated." The expert pointed out that affected by the epidemic, the camping economy is more popular overseas, and the market "cake" is larger. According to the data released by the China Industrial Textiles Industry Association, in 2021, the overseas market had a strong demand for China's felt and tents, with exports reaching US $4.4 billion, an increase of 49.6% year-on-year. In the first four months of this year, felt and tents surpassed masks to become the largest export products of the industry, with a year-on-year increase of 27.2%. Recently, a foreign trade outdoor goods enterprise in Jiangsu is working overtime to make a batch of tents exported to Europe. The relevant person in charge told the reporter that the company is mainly for export and domestic tents account for a relatively small proportion. At present, the company's European orders have been scheduled to June next year. Compared with the same period last year, the number of orders received has increased by 100%, but the production capacity is insufficient because the overseas market is in short supply. "About 6000 tents will be produced every day. There used to be a light and peak season, but production has been very busy throughout the year." The person in charge suggested that textile enterprises should not only seize the domestic market opportunities, but also stride towards a broader international market.