Do you know? Those "middle-class three-piece" brands that make urban elites flock to and are willing to empty their wallets are actually secretly in the pocket of a domestic sports brand.
The now popular "middle-class three-piece set" has evolved from the most classic "Moutai, Fishing and Archaeopteryx", to the standard lululemon of the goddess of yoga circles, to the favorite of outdoor enthusiasts, On, Salomon, and now it has evolved into a new three-piece set of "Archaeopteryx, Kolon, and Descente".
On February 25, 2024, Amalfen Sports released its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024. According to the data, the company's revenue in the fourth quarter reached $1.636 billion, and the annual revenue climbed to $5.183 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18%.
This impressive performance is instructive. In the general wave of consumption downgrade, the Arc'teryx brand can buck the trend and become a dark horse in the downturn.
The core consumer group underpinning its growth is the global middle class, which is still willing to pay for high-quality outdoor gear.
It is worth noting that the success of Arc'teryx is not only due to its product design, but also to the excellent marketing strategy of ANTA Group. As the parent company, ANTA has successfully positioned Arc'teryx as a high-end outdoor lifestyle brand to reach its target consumers.
That's right, ANTA, the domestic sports brand you are familiar with, has quietly built a global brand empire.
So how did Anta turn Arc'teryx, a brand that was considered ugly and dirty in the past, into a favorite of the middle class?
In 1989, a company called Rock Solid Manufacturing was founded in Vancouver, the predecessor of today's Archaeopteryx.
The company's initial goal was to create a first-class climbing harness.
The name "Archaeopteryx" is derived from the first bird on the planet to emerge and represents their dedication to performance excellence and their ongoing quest for innovation and evolution.
Archaeopteryx chose a different path from the beginning.
Instead of following the trend, they focused on improving the actual performance of their products, with the goal of providing users with the most reliable protection in a variety of extremely harsh environments.
To achieve this, Arc'teryx chose the most advanced GORE-TEX fabric at the time, regardless of cost, and pioneered the use of three-layer laminating technology, which significantly improved the waterproof, windproof and breathable properties of the garment.
It's like putting on a layer of protective clothing that can breathe, which can not only effectively resist the invasion of wind and rain, but also keep the body dry and comfortable.
What's more, Arc'teryx pioneered the use of fully waterproof zippers and hot pressing technology, replacing the traditional heavy weathercloth design, making the garment more lightweight and flexible, while also improving waterproof performance and breathability, achieving a breakthrough in performance.
Arc'teryx products are like meticulously crafted works of art, from cutting to sewing, striving for perfection.
To ensure durability, other brands of clothing usually only have one thread sewn, but Arc'teryx insists on three stitches.
You can carefully inspect the costume of the Arc'teryx and you can hardly find any extra threads.
This ultimate pursuit of quality, as well as continuous breakthroughs in technological innovation, has laid a solid foundation for the success of Arc'teryx, making it enjoy a high reputation among professional outdoor enthusiasts and accumulate a good reputation.
It is this pursuit of quality and technical enterprising that has made Arc'teryx today's industry status.
At that time, the Internet and social media were not so popular, and Archaeopteryx was actually not very famous.
On the one hand, the price is relatively expensive, on the other hand, it is very professional, and the style design at that time was also considered not trendy enough, a bit "old-fashioned", so for a long time it was only a niche brand, and some people even joked that it was "exclusive to the elderly".
After all, ordinary people only encounter minor problems in their lives, and the powerful functions of Archaeopteryx are a bit useless for them.
2019 was a pivotal year, as Chinese sportswear giant Anta spent 37.1 billion yuan to buy AmerSports, the parent company of Arc'teryx.
This big deal completely changed the future of Archaeopteryx and gave it the opportunity to develop rapidly.
Anta's plan was clear: they needed a brand that specialized in high-end products, and Arc'teryx met their needs.
Archaeopteryx itself is very powerful, and everyone says that the product is good, but it lacks an opportunity to let more people know about it.
ANTA has designed a new image of "sports luxury" for Arc'teryx, which is different from the traditional very expensive or relatively expensive luxury, which combines the professional functions of outdoor sports with fashion trends and turns it into a new luxury.
At the same time, they have set a challenging growth plan for Arc'teryx: the goal is to achieve annual revenues of 1 billion euros by 2025.
In comparison, in 2018, Arc'teryx only had two stores in China, with a total revenue of just over 10 million yuan.
To achieve this goal, it is clear that a radical overhaul and leap forward will be required.
The first manifestation of the change is the rapid expansion of sales channels.
Under the operation of ANTA, Arc'teryx has entered a stage of rapid increase in the number of stores.
In September 2020, Arc'teryx opened its world's largest flagship store, the Arc'teryx Alpha Center, on Huaihai Road in Shanghai.
The location is expensive, across the street from Hermès, and the store's annual rent is in the tens of millions of dollars, reflecting Arc'teryx's clear goal of entering the high-end market.
After that, Arc'teryx opened many stores in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, such as the best locations in the city center, and they were all next to big luxury brands such as Hermès, Tiffany & Co., and Zegna, emphasizing that they are high-end brands.
By 2022, there will be more than 150 physical stores of Arc'teryx, and even a highest-altitude experience store has been opened in Shangri, so that more people in other places will know about this brand.
In addition to increasing the number of offline stores, ANTA has also made great efforts in product and marketing.
They accurately grasped the preferences of young people and completely reinvented the clothing design of Archaeopteryx.
In the past, in order to facilitate outdoor rescue, Archaeopteryx's jacket often used orange, yellow, red and other very conspicuous colors.
Now, they're using softer, funkier colors like cloud blue, misty green, black, etc., which are more in line with urban trends.
Taking into account the body shape characteristics of Asians, the clothing size has been adjusted, and smaller sizes such as XS and 2XS have been added.
In addition, they have launched a collaboration with the SystemA collection, which includes skateboarding brand Palace and German high-end fashion brand Jil Sander.
These products cleverly combine professional outdoor style and street trend elements, so they have successfully attracted the attention and love of many young consumers.
Anta has invested heavily in marketing, spending money on advertising, and has also invited popular celebrities such as Liu Wen, Bai Jingting, and Li Xian to endorse them.
Archaeopteryx was smarter, played with social media, and started viral marketing.
For example, the "Archaeopteryx Shower Challenge" they launched on TikTok became popular all over the Internet, with more than 200 million views, making Arc'teryx instantly the top of the trend.
A large number of "birdmen" have emerged on Xiaohongshu, who show their Archaeopteryx outfits, share purchase strategies, and exchange cleaning and maintenance experiences, forming a large community of Archaeopteryx enthusiasts.
At one time, the name "Birdman" became very popular and became synonymous with fashionable hipsters, and everyone felt that owning an Archaeopteryx costume meant that they had status and taste.
Even Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon, who is worth $5.1 billion, once wore an Archaeopteryx vest instead of his own brand of clothes when he gave a public speech.
It can be seen how popular and recognized Archaeopteryx was at that time.
It was not for nothing that the Archaeopteryx suddenly became popular, and it caught up with the good times.
Now that everyone's life is better, coupled with the impact of the epidemic, more and more people have begun to play outdoor sports.
Camping, frisbee, biking, hiking, etc., have become the new way of socializing, especially those of the middle class, who especially enjoy these activities.
Their requirements for outdoor equipment are also getting higher and higher, and Arc'teryx has quickly become their favorite brand because of its good quality and beautiful design.
But its staggering price has drawn a lot of criticism, with some saying that it is a marketing-only brand, with ugly, expensive designs and inflated prices.
Some regular customers are worried that Arc'teryx will be too trendy and will reduce professionalism, so they start to stop buying.
Loyalty of new customers is also difficult to guarantee, because as soon as a more popular brand emerges, they are likely to immediately like the new one, just like the Canada goose before it, and quickly lose its shine.
To put it simply, if Arc'teryx wants everyone to recognize its luxury positioning, it is not enough to rely on products, but also to have a deep brand story and cultural connotation to support.
Now Anta is also starting to look for the next popular product, such as salomon.
This move implies that it may not be so easy for Archaeopteryx to keep on fire forever.
The answers to these questions can only wait for the test of time.
So do you think Archaeopteryx, a once-unknown brand, will always be as popular as it is now?
Information sources:
Top business district, top store, top experience, Arc'teryx's top ambition - 2020-09-22Shanghai Hotline
Sohu News - Anta announced: 37.1 billion yuan to officially acquire Amer, the parent company of "Arc'teryx".
One bird, two trees, three roads, the middle class is surrounded by ANTA - Financial World WEEKLY Beijing Financial World Culture Media Co., Ltd.2025-01-19
Wearing it is equal to an elite boss and a fashion hipster? Recently this "bird" has become popular, will you buy it? ——Qianjiang Evening News2022-10-21