Recently, The 41st China Sporting Show 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the "Sports Show") was held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. More than a thousand local sporting goods companies gathered together, regardless of the number of exhibitors or product categories, are a record high in the history of the sports fair show. More than 100,000 visitors from home and abroad attended the meeting, and the development of China's sporting goods industry showed a strong momentum.

This year's sports show, "national wind national tide" has become the key word. From clothing, shoes and clothing to fitness equipment, from indoor sports to outdoor exploration, through the unremitting efforts of generations of sports industry practitioners, a unique charm, unique style of sports products to the market, not only enrich the public's fitness choices, but also bring people a good cultural enjoyment.

Picture source | The 41st China Sporting Show 2024

Integrate Chinese elements to enrich the cultural connotation

This is the sixth time that the Sports Show has come to Chengdu, and the giant panda element is naturally indispensable. Next to the main stage of the Western China International Expo City in Chengdu, a giant panda art installation with a height of 5 meters and a width of 3 meters is very striking. It is composed of 6,000 black and white sports towels in the form of dot matrix. The ingenious creativity has attracted many visitors to stop and take photos.

The Sports consumption and Service exhibition area is one of the four exhibition areas of the Expo, which is closely related to the sports life of the public. As the "old brand" of local table tennis equipment, Red Double Happiness showed the same product endorsed by a number of national team players, and then combined with the table tennis table that will appear in the Paris Olympic Games, so that many viewers could not help but have a try. According to reports, this table named "Paris rainbow", the countertop and base part of the lavender color, the arch design of the base simulates the structure of China's famous stone arch bridge Zhaozhou Bridge. "This table not only combines Chinese and French elements, but also contains the meaning of using table tennis as a bridge to connect the world." Red double happiness marketing manager Guan Yasong said.

In recent years, "national wind national tide" has become a new growth point of sports industry. Wang Zhongwang, founder of upstream Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. is deeply touched by this, more than a year, they have planned and designed more than 100 basketball stadiums, "Among them, more and more Chinese elements such as red walls and green tiles, Xiangyun, Chinese knots and other design orders."

In this regard, Roger, secretary general of the China Sporting Goods Industry Federation, said that the smart integration of the "national wind and tide" in the manufacturing of sporting goods is conducive to helping enterprises cultivate brand culture.

Increase research and development efforts to improve product quality

The fitness exhibition area is the largest section of the exhibition area of the sports show, and many exhibits are quite scientific and technological.

In front of the space bike and space running platform, there are a large number of visitors. The Chinese space station has installed several fitness facilities to meet the physical training needs of astronauts. Hao Hushan, general manager of manufacturer Aoreit, introduced that after the fitness equipment enters space, there are strict requirements on reliability, durability, total weight and overall volume, and it must be "keke and Keke" in design, the material should be light and maintain sufficient stiffness, and the structure should be safe and easy to operate by astronauts. "This requires that we must persist in innovation and make good use of technology." "Hao Hushan said.

In recent years, more and more local sports brands have increased investment in research and development. The midsole technology of running shoes is integrated into the design of football shoes, and the new products of Fuchi Sports are selected for the new trend release and display activities of this sports Expo. "After collecting and researching big data on the foot shape of Chinese youth, we use digital technology to improve product quality and strive to create football shoes that adapt to various environments." Fu Chi Sports executive director Li Junhuang said.

Since its inception in 1993, the Sports Show has become a witness and promoter of the growth and expansion of local sports brands. Looking at the crowded scene in the exhibition hall, Hao Hushan could not help feeling: "We participated in the exhibition of every session of the Sports Show, and grew together with the Sports Show." If enterprises want to maintain an advantage in the fierce market competition, the key is to increase investment in research and development and constantly improve product quality."

Expand overseas markets and actively go to the world

At the Sports Show, there are not a few "time-honored" enterprises such as Red Double Happiness and Aorite. While deeply cultivating the domestic market, they also take the initiative to go overseas to further expand the influence of Chinese sports brands. European professional soccer has introduced Chinese artificial turf technology, FIBA officials have invited Chinese equipment manufacturers to participate in the certification of product standards system, and the weightlifting program of the Paris Olympic Games uses barbell pieces designed and produced by Chinese enterprises.

According to the "China Sports Goods Industry Annual Development Report (2023)" released by the China Sports Goods Industry Federation, in 2023, the exports of football, basketball and volleyball, fitness equipment and artificial grass will achieve growth.

Taking ball games as an example, China's ball products manufacturers are mainly concentrated in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Guangdong, and the industrial agglomeration effect is significant. At the Sports Show, many sports enterprises from Zhejiang will look to overseas markets. From January to April this year, the export of sporting goods and equipment in Zhejiang Province was 10.28 billion yuan, an increase of 24.8%, accounting for 25.2% of the total export value of similar commodities in the country.

According to official statistics, the number of overseas visitors to the Sports Show exceeded 3,000. "The number of overseas buyers at this year's China Sports Show has exceeded expectations." 'Roger said. Promoting the docking of supply and demand has always been the focus of the layout of the Sports Show, and it is also an important demand for Chinese sporting goods enterprises when facing the international market. The organizing committee of the Sports Show organized more than 60 business matchmaking meetings, and the intended purchase amount reached more than 40 million US dollars.

Roger said that the active participation of overseas visitors has a positive significance for exhibitors to expand overseas markets, achieve cross-regional operations, and enhance the international influence of brands, and opens a window for Chinese sports brands and sports manufacturing industries to go to the world.

People's Daily (Page 14, May 30, 2024)