【CSGF News】WFSGI President: Learn to Exercise

　　While visiting 2013 China Sport Show, WFSGI President Mr. Motoi Oyama said, most Chinese have not started to truly exercise, so it is needed to encourage the public to foster habits of regular exercise, so as to promote further development of Chinese sporting goods industry.

　　Densely-populated China is undoubtedly a huge market, but the per capita sports consumption level is not high. According to Mr. Motoi Oyama, one important reason is that Chinese have not truly understood what sport or exercise is. Most Chinese use Anta or Li Ning as casual or travelling apparel. As a result, sporting goods manufacturers in China produce cheap and low-end casual wear.

　　As President and CEO of Japanese sports brand ASICS, Mr. Motoi Oyama has in-depth understanding of this industry. He said, nowadays in China, most people do not know about different functions of various kinds of sports shoes, so they only buy one pair of shoes to do different sports. In contrast, in New York, many people go jogging every day, so they buy varied running shoes and also use specialized shoes while doing other sports. If doing exercise becomes a habit of most people in China, they will understand the necessity of functional sporting goods, and in this way professional running, climbing or tennis shoes will have bigger market.

　　The current situation may also relate to the economy. A great many Chinese would not like to buy expensive functional products, so this market is still small. However, the annual growth rate of Chinese sporting goods industry has reached 27%, which may indicate that there will be more demand for professional sports consumption in the near future.

　　As for the government’s support for domestic brands, Mr. Motoi Oyama said, based on Japanese experience, the greater role of government lies in training people’s exercise habits, i.e. developing the market. Japanese companies do not get preferential policies; however, the Japanese government has realized the importance of national health and fitness and developed a national health plan. Different kinds of sports were introduced into primary and middle schools in early times. People have been encouraged to foster habits of doing exercise. All these strategies have enhanced the demand for sporting goods. At present, Japanese even in small towns are doing different sports.

　　China has a population of nearly 1.4 billion; about ten times the population of Japan, so Chinese market is huge. Mr. Motoi Oyama thought, Chinese government needs to guide the masses to move, in order to better tap the market potential of the sporting goods industry.

　　The sporting goods industry in China is experiencing rapid development, but the international competitiveness of domestic brands is very limited. Mr. Motoi Oyama offered the following suggestions: the diversity of consumer demands in overseas markets should be seriously researched, including what kinds of functional products they like. For example, Asians are relatively thin and light-weighted, thus having little demand for air cushions of sports shoes, while Americans are tall and need more cushions. Therefore, the details should be considered, including climates. If somewhere is rainy, the waterproof materials will be more practical.

　　Mr. Motoi Oyama attached great importance to the mental function of sports. Sports can cultivate not only the body but also the mind. ASICS is actually an abbreviation in Latin, meaning “sound minds belong to strong physiques”, which is also their corporate philosophy.