Wearing technical jackets to the office, styling ski jackets as winter OOTDs, and taking tennis sneakers onto the streets for a citywalk—these shifts illustrate a growing intersection between outdoor gear and everyday life in China.
As the country’s sports and outdoor market experiences rapid expansion, particularly in the dominant footwear and apparel categories, brands are seeing a broadened reach into lifestyle and fashion circles through scenario-based crossovers. According to China Sports Daily and other industry sources, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of China’s athletic footwear and apparel market has reached 15.9% over the past four years. This growth is driven by the breakout popularity of hiking, camping, skiing, and a heightened consumer focus on healthy living.
Yet, industry stakeholders must remain mindful that while 2024 is a year brimming with major global sporting events, 2025 will see a relative lull. As the brand leverage of marquee events diminishes in the latter half of this year, it becomes increasingly crucial for companies to sustain growth momentum. Success will hinge on the execution of autumn/winter strategies.
Firstly, this period presents a pivotal opportunity for brands to optimize and upgrade their user structure. Sports such as camping, skiing, marathons, and trail running have helped brands acquire a broad base of new users—effectively laying the foundation of the consumer “pyramid.” The next step is deepening engagement and conversion, nurturing loyalty and repeat purchase behavior, and addressing the more sophisticated needs of high-value (MVP) users.
Secondly, the footwear and apparel sector must address increasingly segmented consumer demands and product trends to achieve high conversion. Despite their central role in driving category growth, these products remain challenging in terms of flexible production. Brands often need to forecast trends and pre-stock heavily. With fewer large-scale sports events in the latter half of the year reducing product exposure windows, self-driven marketing efforts will be more important than ever. This makes it essential for brands to accurately anticipate consumer preferences and capitalize on emerging trends to expand market presence and sales.
Of course, challenges often come hand in hand with opportunities.
After all, major sporting events act more as amplifiers than engines of growth. A notable trend in the industry this year is the shift in outdoor sports consumption from individual enjoyment to collective celebration. As one of the most closely connected segments to daily consumer behavior, outdoor sports apparel and footwear must now cater to the dual demands of self-indulgence and social expression.
Tmall’s newly released 2025 Fall/Winter Sports & Outdoor Footwear and Apparel Trend White Paper reveals a new logic for growth: by leveraging increasingly sophisticated festival-based and community-driven operations, the second half of 2025 still presents external opportunities that rival major sports events. At the same time, brands are encouraged to look inward—diving deep into user value and refining product innovation to achieve an ecosystem-based upgrade across their marketing channels.
In a sense, the “Fall/Winter offensive” this year could mark a pivotal moment for the entire industry—bridging the past and the future.
