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the outdoor market is booming, and while many clothing brands are seeking new opportunities in the outdoor field, sanfu outdoor, which has already laid out its outdoor business, has delivered a less than optimistic report card. according to the financial report, in the first half of 2024, sanfu outdoor's revenue and net profit both declined. such performance has led the industry to joke that the industry's wind has blown to the outdoor market, but not to sanfu outdoor.

“channel dealers” without operating rights

in the first half of 2024, sanfu outdoor's revenue was 328 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 8.76%; net profit was 8.17 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 27.93%; non-net profit was 3.63 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 58.66%.

according to a beijing business daily reporter, the reason for the decline in performance of sanfu outdoor brand is that the joint venture company klattermusen (beijing) outdoor products co., ltd. established by klattermusen ab will be changed to a joint venture of the company from january 1, 2024, and will no longer be included in the company's consolidated financial statements. in addition, sanfu outdoor also mentioned: "the company terminated its cooperation with arc'teryx on june 30, which also had a certain impact on the company's revenue."

sanfu outdoor was founded in 1997. initially, its main business was to build offline and online retail + experience stores, and organize outdoor events. the industry believes that sanfu outdoor is more like an agent for outdoor sports brands. relying on the agency of foreign outdoor sports brands, sanfu outdoor became a very influential company in the domestic sports market ten years ago or even earlier. at its peak, sanfu outdoor represented more than 400 brands, including the now popular arc'teryx, the north face, and several brands under amer sports. at the end of 2015, sanfu outdoor knocked on the door of the capital market, and its revenue and net profit had formed a considerable scale at that time. in 2016, its net profit reached its peak, which was 35.37 million yuan.

in the past few years when the sports outdoor trend was booming, sanfu outdoor has been somewhat quiet. judging from the performance in recent years, sanfu outdoor has been in a loss-making state. from 2019 to 2022, it lost 29.73 million yuan, 65.45 million yuan, 26.17 million yuan, and 32.94 million yuan respectively.

this was also ridiculed by netizens, saying that the trend of outdoor sports has spread to every corner, but not to sanfu outdoor. in the entire sports outdoor market, companies like anta, pathfinder, and jiaoxia have made a lot of money by relying on outdoor dividends. what's more, companies like metersbonwe and china lilang have also turned to outdoor sports or involved in outdoor sports to seek new opportunities. on the contrary, sanfu outdoor, which was the first to enter the sports outdoor market in china, did not enjoy this industry dividend and its performance has been declining.

in the view of cheng weixiong, an independent fashion industry analyst and founder of shanghai liangqi brand management co., ltd., sanfu outdoor is a typical example of getting up early and arriving late. "many famous brands such as arc'teryx and amer sports were previously represented by sanfu outdoor, but now it is anta that is making a profit. this is related to sanfu outdoor's own operating model. sanfu outdoor is a channel provider, mainly responsible for brand distribution, and has no real power over brand operations. as the market becomes hot and brand awareness increases, brands either withdraw their own operations or are acquired, which to some extent affects sanfu outdoor's performance." cheng weixiong said.

a “slow-paced” transformation

although it has cooperated with many popular brands such as arc'teryx, onpao, and the north face, as an agent, sanfu outdoor has limited gross profit and limited operating rights. it seems that it only plays the role of a "seller", which is the so-called channel merchant in the industry.

in the past two years, with the popularity of the outdoor market and the increase in the recognition of multi-sports brands, many brands have gradually taken back the agency rights and established their own channels. for example, after ending the cooperation with arc'teryx, sanfu outdoor said that it affected its profits.

perhaps sanfu outdoor is aware of the problem and intends to change this passive situation. sanfu outdoor is transforming from a single channel operator to the direction of brand matrix building and operation.

in 2021, sanfu outdoor completed the acquisition of the two core trademarks "x-bionic" and "x-socks", 34 related trademarks, 25 patents, 4 proprietary technologies and other ip ownership projects in china, becoming the permanent owner of the "x-bionic" and "x-socks" brand trademarks and related patents in china, and invested heavily in operating this brand.

subsequently, in 2023, sanfu outdoor successively won the exclusive agency rights of crispi and houdini in china, and the cooperation with klättermusen was further developed from exclusive agency to joint venture. in addition to these three brands, sanfu outdoor's exclusive agency brands also include la sportiva, mystery ranch and danner. according to financial report data, in 2023, sanfu outdoor turned losses into profits, and the growth of x-bionic became a certain factor.

a relevant person in charge of sanfu outdoor said that in the first half of 2024, sanfu outdoor will establish the x-bionic brand operation department, houdini and crispi brand operation department, la sportiva, mystery ranch, danner brand operation department, and outdoor channel operation department; each brand group must establish its own independent online and offline operation team.

according to sanfu outdoor's previous financial reports, panshanshu's sales reached 50 million yuan in 2022 and its revenue was 117 million yuan in 2023. in the first half of 2024, the panshanshu joint venture's revenue was 79.9 million yuan and its net profit was 14.78 million yuan.

although the overall performance has declined, the brand business of sanfu outdoor's acquired own brands and established joint ventures has achieved growth, which is hope for sanfu outdoor at present.

however, brand operation means huge investment. sanfu outdoor revealed: "the company's major organizational restructuring in the first half of the year led to an increase in labor costs. at the same time, the corresponding expenses for planning and designing the relevant brand image and retail image of each brand increased." according to financial report data, in the first half of 2024, sanfu outdoor's sales expenses increased by 6.97% year-on-year to 119 million yuan: management expenses increased by 3.75% to 44.46 million yuan: research and development investment increased by 90.82% to 9.4 million yuan.

"sanfu outdoor is the agent of many foreign high-end outdoor sports products and displays its cooperation with many well-known brands on its official website. this model may enrich the product line in the short term, but in the long run, we need to be wary of the risk of brand homogeneity. if sanfu outdoor wants to truly improve its performance, it should clarify its own brand positioning, focus on a specific segment, and create unique brand value and differentiated competitive advantages. at the same time, it should strengthen brand building and market promotion, enhance brand awareness and reputation, and attract and retain loyal consumers." said zhan junhao, a well-known strategic positioning expert and founder of fujian huace brand positioning consulting.

beijing business daily reporter zhang junhua