Outdoor sports are picking up, with Amazon's annual revenue in this category approaching $75 billion

In the past two years, the global epidemic has been volatile due to the emergence of new coronavirus variants. However, as global research on the new coronavirus deepens, some countries in Europe and North America have gradually relaxed their policy restrictions on the epidemic.

Under the influence of the epidemic, people around the world have become more aware of the importance of health, and their enthusiasm for outdoor sports and physical exercise has increased. Overall, the outdoor sports market in Europe and the United States is in a leading position in the world, and the market demand for outdoor sports products remains stable.

For European and American countries, the government's issuance of epidemic subsidies during the epidemic promoted residents' consumption, which to a certain extent promoted the development of the outdoor industry. At the same time, the increase in the penetration rate of e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, eBay and Wish also led to the rapid development of the outdoor products industry in European and American countries.

Amazon's outdoor sports products revenue reaches $75 billion a year

For people in Western countries, Amazon is like domestic platforms such as JD.com and Taobao. It is their main shopping platform. Amazon's data can largely reflect the development trend of the market.

Recently, Profit Whales, a full-service marketing agency for Amazon brands, released a detailed data-based market guide for Amazon's sports and outdoor products, which mentioned that Amazon's sports and outdoor products market revenue will reach US$74.96 billion in 2022.

According to the guide, Amazon's sports and outdoor segment is on the rise, with an annual growth rate of 10.03%, and the market size is expected to be worth US$99.86 billion by 2025.

In 2021 , Amazon's revenue in sports and outdoor activities was $4.8 billion, with approximately 50 top brands accounting for 35% of the market share, and the rest (approximately 2,000) brands accounting for the remaining 65% of the market share.

Under the influence of the epidemic, people began to exercise at home, and the sports and outdoor industries also benefited from it. The sales of basketball accessories category peaked in June 2020, exceeding US$50,000, while in June 2019, the sales of this category barely exceeded US$10,000.

According to Business Wire, sales of fitness equipment generally increased by 170% during the lockdown caused by the new coronavirus, and it was this period that strengthened Amazon's overall position in the market.

In addition, Profit Whales conducted precise data analysis on 5,000 sports and outdoor products based on the BSR principle and found that the average number of reviews for these products was 4,500, while the average cost per product was only $21. Since the number of product reviews depends largely on the effectiveness of advertising and visual content, the guide also includes analysis and suggestions for related product photography, PPC advertising, and cross-channel marketing.

Some of the points that sellers should pay attention to are as follows:

l   Bowflex was the most popular brand, with revenue of $59,141,349;

l   The best performing keyword is “weights” with a PPC bid of $1.45 and 283,138 monthly searches;

l   The PPC bid is $0.87, the average CPC for brand consulting is $0.55, and the monthly advertising cost is generally $235;

l   Pinterest sports product search keywords: Gift for under $50/dogs/kids/runners.

The development of Amazon's sports and outdoor products sector is inseparable from the efforts of Chinese sellers. During the epidemic, sellers from production areas such as China provided a large number of high-quality and low-priced outdoor products, further promoting the growth of the outdoor sports market.

According to data from the China Research Institute for Industry Insights, the global outdoor products industry's revenue in 2020 was nearly US$160 billion, a year-on-year increase of 28.33%. It is expected to reach US$236.34 billion by 2025, with a CAGR of approximately 6.86% from 2021 to 2025.

As the global outdoor sports market is booming, some of my country's outdoor sports brands have also delivered satisfactory results.

Annual revenue of 842 million yuan, Zhejiang sales growth is rapid

Recently, Zhejiang Nature Outdoor Products Co., Ltd. (Zhejiang Nature) announced its 2021 annual report. In 2021, Zhejiang Nature's operating income was 842 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 44.91%, and the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 220 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37.59%.

Zhejiang Ziran is a high-tech enterprise that integrates the research and development, production and sales of outdoor leisure sports products, hunting and fishing equipment. The company's products mainly include automatic inflatable cushions, inflatable beds, outdoor bags, headrest cushions, etc.

Its products are mainly sold to developed countries and regions such as Europe, North America, Oceania, etc. through OEM, ODM, and a combination of OEM/ODM. It has established good and stable cooperative relationships with more than 200 brands in more than 40 countries around the world, and has accumulated high-quality global customer resources.

It is reported that the growth of Zhejiang Natural's operating income during the reporting period was mainly due to the increase in comprehensive production capacity and the rapid growth in sales revenue of inflatable mattresses and waterproof bags. The main reason for the increase in net profit was the increase in comprehensive production capacity brought about by the production of some investment projects built in advance with self-raised funds, as well as the sales growth of new inflatable mattresses and waterproof bags.

Zhejiang Natural also encountered the problem of rising costs in its operations. In 2021, its operating costs were 516 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 49.62%, mainly due to transportation costs related to fulfillment costs, rising raw material prices, labor costs, and increased manufacturing costs.

At the same time, Zhejiang Natural has been continuously increasing its R&D investment to enhance its core competitiveness. During the reporting period, R&D expenses increased by 42.41% compared with the same period last year.

Zhejiang Natural currently has a bright future for development, but as a foreign trade company that mainly deals in consumer products, its future development also faces certain risks.

For example, the risks of changes in the macro-economy and market demand. If the global macroeconomic development fluctuates greatly in the future, or if international trade policies change drastically, it may have a significant impact on its business development.

Zhejiang Natural's export business is mainly settled in US dollars, and future operations will also face the risk of exchange rate fluctuations. If the exchange rate fluctuation increases, it will also have a certain impact on the company's operating performance.

In addition, Zhejiang Natural is also facing a series of risk factors such as fluctuations in raw material prices and the continued spread of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world.

When talking about the business plan for 2022, Zhejiang Nature stated that it will promote the company's further development by standardizing operations and improving governance, developing new products based on the outdoors, continuously increasing technological research and development, working together to reduce costs and increase efficiency, orderly advancing fundraising and investment projects, and strengthening safety, energy conservation and environmental protection.

Zhejiang Natural's latest first quarter report of 2022 shows that its operating income in the first quarter was 330 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 46.61%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 84.98 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37.82%.

It can be seen that Zhejiang's natural development momentum is still very rapid, which is closely related to the rapid development of the global outdoor sports market.

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