Over the past month, the Chinese market has welcomed a new wave of first-store openings from overseas sports and outdoor brands.
Luxe.CO has observed that three cycling and outdoor brands from the UK, Finland, and France have each chosen to establish deep partnerships with Chinese capital, Chinese brand enterprises, or local partners with operational experience. These collaborations are aimed at better capturing the growing opportunities in China’s burgeoning sports and outdoor market. Specifically:
After securing investment from Zhonglu Co., the parent company of Shanghai Forever Bicycle, British high-end bicycle brand FACTOR swiftly entered the Chinese market, opening its first store in September at HKRI Taikoo Hui in Shanghai. This marked the brand’s official launch in China.
Finnish outdoor sports brand ONEWAY, backed by 361° Group, opened its first Greater China store at Zhenghong City in Zhengzhou. Since 2013, the brand has relied on 361° to expand its presence in China. Following a period of channel adjustment, it relaunched its omnichannel strategy in 2024 and is set to resume offline retail in 2025.
French high-end outdoor lifestyle brand EIDER opened its first Greater China store at Global Harbor in Shanghai. EIDER first tested the Chinese market through e-commerce in 2023. Now, following the signing of a local licensing partner, the brand has officially begun its in-depth development of the Greater China market, starting from Shanghai.
FACTOR
In September, British high-end bicycle brand FACTOR opened its first store in China at HKRI Taikoo Hui in Jing’an District, Shanghai.
Founded in 2007 by the BF1systems team, FACTOR draws from a deep heritage of cutting-edge engineering. BF1systems provides metal and carbon fiber materials, as well as fluid dynamics technology services, to top-tier automotive manufacturers such as Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Lamborghini, as well as Formula One teams.
FACTOR integrates Formula One racing technology into its bicycles. Aerodynamics, carbon fiber craftsmanship, and precision manufacturing have always been at the core of its R&D. Flagship models such as the Ostro VAM, O2, and Hanzo have helped professional riders achieve outstanding results in top-level competitions and have become technological benchmarks in the high-performance cycling sector.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, FACTOR served as the official bicycle supplier for the Australian national team, helping them break the world record in the team pursuit and win the gold medal.
The brand’s Shanghai flagship continues its philosophy of “aesthetic performance,” creating a brand space that combines high-performance cycling, fashionable lifestyle, and premium experiences. The store showcases several of FACTOR’s star models that represent its top-tier technology and design, including the Aluto all-terrain gravel road bike, the Ostro VAM Watercolour Limited Edition, and the Hanzo Track Paris Edition, which helped the Australian team break the world record at the Paris Olympics.
As China becomes one of the most dynamic markets for high-end cycling globally, FACTOR aims to build a long-term connection with the local cycling community.
In March of this year, Zhonglu Co., the parent company of Shanghai Forever Bicycle, issued an announcement stating that its controlled entity Zhonglu Advantage had signed a Share Purchase Agreement and Share Subscription Agreement with relevant parties. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Zhonglu Advantage Global Investment Co., Ltd., made a strategic investment of USD 15.26 million to acquire 21.15% of Factor Bikes’ equity. Alongside Xiamen Rosetta One, they jointly invested USD 22.90 million through a designated wholly-owned subsidiary, VSI Cycling Limited, to acquire 31.72% of Factor Bikes, bringing their total ownership to 52.87%.
In July, Zhonglu Co. announced that the transaction had been fully completed. In August, FACTOR issued a statement confirming that the joint venture between Factor Bikes and Zhonglu Co., named Shanghai Factor Bicycle Co., Ltd., would serve as the exclusive representative of the FACTOR brand in China.
Zhonglu Co. Chairman Chen Shan previously stated that the original core team of FACTOR would be retained. The brand’s R&D and marketing teams will remain at its UK headquarters, with only financial and supply chain coordination personnel stationed in China. FACTOR’s core team also emphasized that the equity restructuring will not affect the brand’s established development strategy.
ONEWAY
In September, Finnish outdoor sports brand ONEWAY opened its first Greater China store at Zhenghong City Mall in Zhengzhou. In addition to the Zhengzhou flagship, during the recent National Day holiday, the brand also opened offline stores in cities including Beijing, Jinan, Lintong, Lhasa, and Daqing.
Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Vantaa, Finland, ONEWAY offers an extensive product range in outdoor sports, winter sports, and professional cycling. Its representative products include ski jackets, skis, ski boots, bindings, and poles for skiing and Nordic walking. ONEWAY also supports and sponsors top athletes and teams, participating in major international events such as the Winter Olympics, World Championships, and the Tour de France.
ONEWAY’s ties to the Chinese market stem from its deep collaboration with Chinese sportswear company 361° Group.
Public records show that in 2013, 361° Group and ONEWAY entered into a strategic partnership and jointly established a joint venture called Zhonglan Sports Goods Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Zhonglan”), with 361° Investment Company and ONEWAY holding 70% and 30% of the shares respectively.
Zhonglan holds ONEWAY’s resources in Nordic sports and outdoor products and is responsible for expanding the outdoor equipment and cycling markets in the Chinese Mainland as well as Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. 361° is in charge of organizing the joint venture’s team and overseeing daily operations in product design, production, distribution, and promotion across the region. ONEWAY, in turn, provides product design, R&D, and technological innovation support.
In 2014, ONEWAY entered the Greater China market, offering professional gear across three key categories, skiing, cycling, and outdoor, to meet the needs of outdoor sports enthusiasts. Following a period of channel restructuring, ONEWAY began expanding its distribution again in 2024, establishing a presence on major e-commerce platforms such as Tmall, JD.com, and Douyin, and is set to relaunch offline retail in 2025.
In just one month, ONEWAY has opened new stores in several cities, including Grand Emporium (Zhengzhou), Golden Resources Mall (Beijing), Yuhuan Ginza (Jinan), NEW-MART(Daqing), Wangfujing Mall (Lhasa), and Wangfujing Outlets (Lintong). The new stores primarily feature the brand’s Fall/Winter 2025 outdoor footwear and apparel collections, with key product lines including NUUKSIO, SISU, and LUXE, covering professional skiing, high-performance outdoor, and urban outdoor lifestyle wear.
EIDER
In September, French high-end outdoor lifestyle brand EIDER opened its first Greater China store at Global Harbor in Shanghai.
EIDER was founded in 1962 by George Ducruet in the alpine town of Chamonix, located in the heart of the French Alps. The brand is named after the eider duck, a species native to the Arctic. Since its inception, EIDER has focused on developing professional outdoor products to meet the needs of outdoor sports enthusiasts. Its product lines cover a wide range of activities, from climbing and skiing to hiking and travel.
The Shanghai flagship store embodies the brand’s signature “French outdoor aesthetics” as its core design concept, incorporating natural elements such as mountains and glaciers into its interior décor. The store features several of EIDER’s core collections, including the M-SERIES, which represents peak technical performance, and the C-SERIES, which interprets urban outdoor style.
In 2006, EIDER signed a licensing agreement with K2 Group of South Korea, entering the Asia-Pacific market via South Korea. In 2009, K2 Group acquired the trademark rights to EIDER in South Korea, and in 2020, it purchased the global trademark rights from EIDER’s parent company, the CALIDA Group.
EIDER first entered the Chinese market in 2023 by launching a Tmall flagship store and a Douyin Global flagship store. However, the brand currently does not operate any official stores on Chinese e-commerce platforms.
With its Shanghai store as the starting point, EIDER has officially begun a new phase of deep market development in Greater China. During the National Day holiday, EIDER also opened its first store in Northeast China, located at Fortune Shopping Plaza in Jilin City, Jilin Province.
According to Asia News Hub, EIDER’s China business is currently operated by a newly established company founded by the former design director of Semir Group. This company has signed a brand licensing agreement with K2 Group covering production, distribution, and marketing. Over the next two to three years, the company will focus on Korea-made products while developing items that align with local fashion trends to meet market demand.
EIDER plans to expand to 15 to 20 stores and achieve KRW 45 billion (approximately RMB 220 million [approx. USD 30.2 million]) in sales by 2027.
EIDER is already present in Europe and Taiwan, China. Since autumn 2023, it has partnered with renowned French outdoor retailer Snowleader for sales in Europe and has collaborated with a professional distribution agency in Taiwan for wholesale operations. The brand is also preparing to enter the U.S. and Japanese markets.
| Image Credit: Official websites and WeChat accounts of the respective brands
| Editor: LeZhi
