Recently, Archaeopteryx's newly launched "Year of the Dragon Limited" clothing has become popular again, and now it is hard to find. On New Year's Day, 46-year-old Mr. Xing came to the Arc'teryx store in Wangfu Central, Beijing, early to line up to buy the "Year of the Dragon Limited". "I came at half past six, and it took me three and a half hours to get a set, which was not easy. ”
"The store opened at 10 o'clock on the 1st, and the 'Year of the Dragon Limited' was sold out at 10 o'clock, and there was no replenishment later. You can take a look at the second-hand platform. The clerk of the Arc'teryx Wangfu Central store said that the "Year of the Dragon limited" models sold in the store, including jackets and T-shirts, have long been out of stock. Zhongxin Jingwei saw on a second-hand platform on the 9th that the original price of 8,200 yuan Archaeopteryx "Year of the Dragon Limited" jacket has been fried to about 12,000 yuan.
Known as one of the "Three Treasures of Middle-aged", Archaeopteryx is a powerful tool for its parent company Amalfen Sports to attract money in the Chinese market. Recently, Amalfen Sports officially submitted a prospectus and plans to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
▲Archaeopteryx Beijing Wangfu Central Store Photo by Zhao Jiaran
The three-year loss exceeded 600 million US dollars, and the gross profit margin was not as good as Anta
According to public information, Amalfen Sports began in 1950 and entered the sporting goods industry in 1986. The company's brands are divided into three categories, namely technical apparel, outdoor performance and ball and racquet sports. Each branch has its core brand, which is Arc'teryx, Salomon and Wilson. The rest of the brands include Atomic, Bikfeng, Amanda, ENVE, and more.
▲Screenshot of the prospectus of Amalfen Sports
In 2019, an investment consortium led by Anta acquired Amalfen Sports to unleash the brand's growth potential by changing its business model, investing in its brand, expanding its geography and developing a multi-channel strategy. According to the prospectus, after the acquisition, the revenue growth rate of Amalfen Sports is accelerating: from 2020 to 2022, the company's revenue will be US$2.446 billion, US$3.067 billion and US$3.549 billion, respectively, with a compound annual growth rate of 20.4%, and the gross profit margin will increase from 47.0% to 49.7% in the same period.
Although the revenue capacity has grown steadily, Amalfen Sports has not yet gotten rid of the loss. From 2020 to 2022, the company's net losses were $237 million, $126 million, and $253 million, respectively, for a total loss of $616 million in three years.
In the first three quarters of 2023, the company achieved revenue of US$3.053 billion, gross margin of 52.2%, and net loss of US$114 million, further widening the loss from the previous year. Among them, Salomon and Arc'teryx contributed $949 million and $941 million in revenue, respectively, accounting for about 30% of the total revenue.
Although the gross profit margin of Amalfen Sports has been increasing in recent years, it is not high compared with Anta's brands such as Anta and Fila. In the first half of 2023, the overall gross profit margin of ANTA Sports was 63.3%, of which the gross profit margins of ANTA, FILA and all other brands were 55.8%, 69.2% and 73.4%, respectively.
According to the prospectus, as of September 2023, the total assets of Amalfen Sports are US$8.147 billion, and the total liabilities are US$8.138 billion, of which the total long-term liabilities are US$6.702 billion. The largest portion of long-term liabilities came from related party loans of US$4,013 million, while loans from financial institutions amounted to US$1,785 million.
The main purpose of the company's IPO is also to repay its debts. According to the prospectus, the company intends to use the proceeds obtained from this offering to repay all outstanding borrowings under existing shareholder loans, including joint venture loans, co-investment loans, etc.
Nearly 80% of Greater China's revenue comes from Arc'teryx
Two days ago, Liaoning's fashion blogger Miss posted a set of photos of herself wearing an Archaeopteryx "Year of the Dragon Limited" jacket and skiing at Songhua Lake in Jilin. She says she is a loyal consumer of Archaeopteryx. "I think Archaeopteryx is both practical and stylish, and I wear it all year round for skiing. ”
Mr. Xing said that the reason why he often buys Archaeopteryx is that there are many types of Arc'teryx and can meet the needs of travel and work. In recent years, Archaeopteryx has also seen a more than just middle-aged people. "Every time I go to the store, I see that there are young, middle-aged and elderly consumers. ”
▲The jacket in the Arc'teryx store was taken by Zhao Jiaran
The Greater China market has become the focus of Arc'teryx and Amalfen Sports in recent years. As of September 2023, there are 63 Arc'teryx self-operated retail stores in Greater China, accounting for nearly half of its total global stores, and Arc'teryx's revenue in Greater China during the period was US$453 million (about 3.25 billion yuan), accounting for nearly half of the brand's global revenue and nearly 80% of Amalfen Sports' revenue in Greater China.
"We believe that we are in the early stages of capturing growth opportunities in Greater China as the Amalfen brand continues to be recognized by consumers in Greater China, and our ability to tailor and execute regional strategies highlights global potential. Amalfen Sports said in the prospectus that the company's investment in the Greater China market has been increasing.
According to the prospectus, as of the end of September 2023, the number of employees in Amalfen Sports Greater China has almost doubled from about 450 in 2018 to 800, and the number of Arc'teryx members in Greater China has also increased from 14,000 in 2018 to more than 1.7 million in September 2023. In 2022, Amalfen Sports' revenue in Greater China reached US$524 million, doubling from US$202 million in 2020, and in the first three quarters of 2023, this figure continued to increase to US$593 million.
For the future growth strategy, Amalfen Sports said that it will further penetrate the main market and strategically expand the market. "Arc'teryx's future growth will build on its momentum in North America and Greater China, seeking opportunities in Europe and the rest of Asia Pacific. ”
After taking the lead in the acquisition of Amalfen Sports, ANTA has also continued to focus on global operations in recent years. According to reports, when Anta released its development plan for the next three years (2024-2026) in October 2023, it mentioned that in the future, the Group will continue to strengthen its multi-brand collaborative management capabilities, global operation and resource integration capabilities, strengthen the three major markets of China, North America and Europe, and increase the overseas expansion of Chinese brands to open up the global pattern of brands.
Source: Sino-Singapore Jingwei