Competition heats up between foreign brands in outdoor sportswear market


Many outdoor brands lacking a clear brand identity will soon die out in South Korea, said Columbia Sportswear Korea CEO Cho Hyeong-rae at a press conference last week.

“It will happen before 2015, regardless of the volume of their revenues, but depending on the public recognition of the brands. Now it will be all about developing new technologies and establishing a significant image,” said Cho.

The outdoor market here has grown explosively during the past few years, becoming one of the biggest in the world following the U.S. and Europe. The Korean market is assumed to be worth about 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion) and to soon surpass 5 trillion won. Foreign brands such as The North Face, Millet, Mont-bell and Columbia have been leading the market so far.

The overriding opinion is, however, that the market is oversaturated, with about 45 local and international so-called “major” brands in competition. In U.S. or European countries, only two or three brands are established enough to be called major, Cho said.

Reflecting the unstable market, brand rankings in terms of sales are known to fluctuate more than with other clothing brands.

“We no longer disclose the rankings of outdoor brands in terms of sales, as the companies are very sensitive about it,” said a spokesperson for a local department store.

Gearing up for the winter season, foreign brands, which drove the outdoor boom here and still take up a large proportion of the high-end market, are coming up with new technologies and marketing strategies to secure their positions.

U.S.-based brand Columbia is focusing on introducing new technologies, namely the upgraded Omni-heat, a thermal reflective fabric. It is also airing a new TV commercial featuring Iceman Wim Hof as a way to differentiate the brand from others that have TV celebrities for models.

France-based Millet and the U.S.-based The North Face, which established relatively friendly images among foreign outdoor brands, are giving away gifts such as trekking shoes or inner jackets, depending on the amount of purchase.

Other foreign brands that target even more high-end consumers choose to go low-key in terms of advertisements and be expensive.

Canada-based Arc’teryx is one of the most expensive outdoor brands currently sold here. According to research by Seoul YMCA in February, its Gore-Tex Active Shell 3L for men was sold at 884,000 won here, about 57 percent more expensive than the average price overseas, 563,300 won.

The brand’s total sales, however, is on a steady rise: It marked 14 billion won in 2009, 19.6 billion won in 2010 and 24.5 billion won last year.

Mountain Hardwear, the most expensive line run by Columbia Sports, is not well known among the general public here but is popular among outdoor enthusiasts interested in extreme sports.

The brand is high-end not just because it is expensive, but because it targets a professional group, said a spokesperson of Mountain Hardwear.

“The brand does not do any TV commercials but prints a few ads on professional magazines, though not so frequently. We support not regular mountain climbers but speed climbers ― athletes who run up high mountains with minimum equipment within, for example, 10 hours. We distinguish our brand by focusing on a more challenging and innovative sport,” she said.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldcorp.com)