The cold winter is the peak season for down jackets, jackets and other outdoor clothing.
“One step to the north in three steps, a goose in five steps” is a slightly exaggerated description of the street scene in the coming winter.
In January 2021, the topic of down jacket brand Canada Goose being sold out was easily discussed Hot search. In February, the company’s financial report showed that in the three months ended December 27 last year, sales increased for the first time since the epidemic. Among them, the mainland Chinese market had a significant stimulating effect, with sales during the period rising by 41.7%.
On January 28, 2021, The North Face announced its quarterly report as of December 26 last year, showing that revenue in Greater China increased by 11%, of which the mainland China market increased by 15%. %.
Ma Wen, president of Greater China of North Face’s parent company, VF Group, pointed out in a recent interview: “At the beginning of winter, North Face’s products were sold very fast, and we also quickly carried out sales. In response, increase China’s inventory supply.”
Bosideng data shows that during the “Double Eleven” period in 2020, the online retail sales of Bosideng’s down jacket business increased by more than 35% year-on-year. Brand growth exceeds 25%.
Behind the popularity of mainstream outdoor brands, most of them regard waterproof and windproof performance as the core selling point of their products. Interestingly, many of them use the same fabric.
GORE-TEX laboratory, bending finished fabrics degree test. Put on a prismatic logo, and you have to queue up to get a number
Functional fabric GORE-TEX may be the real winner hidden behind the cold winter
Windproof, waterproof and breathable, down jacket brands such as Moncler and Canada Goose, which often cost more than 10,000 yuan, have become frequent users of this fabric. Moreover, this top functional fabric company rarely takes the initiative.
The brand with the same name as GORE-TEX fabric belongs to the American Gore Company. Gore is the Chinese name of his family name GORE.
In 1958, the Gores founded the company in a basement in Newark, Delaware, USA. Eleven years later, their son Bob Gore discovered a new multifunctional polymer, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), and registered it as the GORE-TEX trademark.
In 1976, the GORE-TEX brand was officially established, and Gore received its first commercial order for the fabric. Five years later, the world’s first space shuttle was launched in the United States, and astronauts wore spacesuits made of GORE-TEX fabric to perform the first space mission.
Currently, the company’s three major business departments are medical products, electronic industrial products and textiles. The GORE-TEX brand closest to the public belongs to the Textile Division.
Gore’s China Marketing Director Zhu Jun told Jiemian News that GORE-TEX currently adopts a licensing system of cooperation – that is, authorized brands can use fabrics and end products during the licensing period. Only after passing the laboratory test can you get the GORE-TEX hangtag and then go on the market.
Not only Moncler and Canada Goose, but also outdoor brands Arc’teryx, Kelalite, Salomon, and BURTON, and sports brands Nike, Adidas, ASICS, Fila, and Under Armor. Luxury brand PRADA, fashion brands Supreme, Stüssy, etc. have all obtained GORE-TEX authorization.
But when choosing partners, GORE-TEX is relatively cautious
According to reports, the first step is to inspect the brand production factory to ensure that the partner Quality supervision and environmental protection are in place during the production process.
After that, Gore will provide suggestions on fabric selection according to the applicable environment where the brand customer plans to release the product. After the product is formed, it will be taken back to the laboratory for wear resistance testing. Mechanical bending test, simulated wind and rain environment test, comfort test and field test.
For shoes, GORE-TEX places the product on an artificial foot model, and then walks hundreds of thousands of steps.
Failure to meet standards in any test means that the product must be redesigned. Only end products that pass laboratory testing can get the diamond-shaped hangtag given by GORE-TEX.
The Chinese mountaineering team wears Bosideng GORE-TEX series clothing. In the Chinese market, we see good opportunities
Li Ning, Pathfinder, Youngor, Peacebird, Biyinlefen… The number of Chinese brands on GORE-TEX’s authorized cooperation list is also increasing day by day.
Down jacket brand Bosideng is one example. When Jiemian News visited Bosideng’s physical store, it found that products using GORE-TEX fabrics were the series with the highest average selling price in the store, with one model retailing for more than 6,000 yuan.
Browsing Bosideng’s official online flagship store also shows that the cheapest GORE-TEX product is priced at more than 2,000 yuan.
According to the news released by Xinhua Sports in early 2021�Compared with the black label, the waterproof performance is reduced, but the comfort is improved, and the latter is also the main selling point of the white label. The launch of the white label series has just broadened the application scenarios of the product. GORE-TEX is no longer just for outdoor use.
In fact, in this wave, it is not just GORE-TEX that has changed.
For example, old sports shoes New Balance and Onitsuka Tiger have recently returned to classic models using GORE-TEX fabrics. Although it is difficult to see obvious changes in the appearance of these old models, they are functional. The blessing gives it hope for a “second spring”.
In cooperation with many brands, GORE-TEX’s logo has evolved from a small logo hidden in the corner to being highlighted and enlarged or even laid flat on the entire product. It plays an increasingly important role. The more it looks like a trendy icon.
However, outdoor giants represented by Beifang are obviously not willing to “rely on others” and have begun to independently develop alternative materials.
Because GORE-TEX entered the outdoor fabric market earlier, Beifang cooperated closely with GORE-TEX in the early days. Until October 2019, Beifang released its independently developed FUTURELIGHT waterproof technology, and also launched corresponding jackets, down jackets and ski suits.
According to reports, the waterproof principle of Beifang’s FUTURELIGHT waterproof technology is achieved by adding nano-scale pores during the production process.
North Face’s classic jacket, once used GTX fabric. (Photo source: The North Face) This move naturally triggered speculation from the outside world: Can the outdoor giant surpass GORE-TEX, which has occupied the market for decades, if it enters the market in person?
Fabric is the core of outdoor products. Being able to produce and sell it by yourself is a great thing for Beifang to save costs and enhance its image. The newly released FUTURELIGHT at that time was considered very popular. Possible alternative to GORE-TEX.
North Face stated in the promotion that compared with traditional GORE-TEX, FUTURELIGHT is lighter and has four times the breathability with the same waterproof performance.
Currently, North Face products on the market that originally used GORE-TEX, represented by the 1994 Retro Mountain Light classic jacket, have all replaced the fabrics with their own FUTURELIGHT.
But some people don’t buy it. Some consumers pointed out that after comparison, they felt that the FUTURELIGHT fabric was averagely strong and not as tear-resistant as GORE-TEX.
In fact, the current market environment is completely different from that of 50 years ago.
Zhu Jun told Jiemian News: “Relatively speaking, outdoor brands have a longer product development cycle, and sometimes it may take two years to complete product design in advance. As for leisure and sports brands as a whole, The market response speed is very fast, sometimes it only takes 4 to 6 months to complete the research and development of one season of products.”
This period of time, with German Wolfpaw (China) CEO Zhang Yifen There was little difference in the advance nature of product planning in previous interviews.
However, at present, the trend of “speeding up” in the functional fabric market is very obvious. Especially for brand customers, the pace of product design, research and development, proofing, and promotion is generally faster and the cycle is shorter. short.
GORE-TEX, as the largest “supplier” in the outdoor industry, naturally has a deep understanding: now, it only takes a few months at the fastest for a brand to go from the conclusion of cooperation to the launch of final garments. time.
But in the era of fast consumption where the market is accelerating, this functional fabric giant still regards durability as the “magic weapon for winning.”
Zhu Jun said: “The best way to reduce the environmental impact of functional outdoor jackets or hiking boots is to improve durability, and this can extend the life of the product.”
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