Many overseas buyers of Arc'teryx products are also Chinese consumers.

Over the weekend, outdoor brand Arc'teryx partnered with artist Cai Guoqiang to host a fireworks display in Tibet's Himalayas, sparking significant controversy. On September 21, both Cai Guoqiang's studio and Arc'teryx issued separate apology statements. Meanwhile, the Shigatse Municipal Committee and government have established an investigation team that immediately rushed to the scene for verification, with subsequent handling to be conducted according to law based on the investigation results.

Although all relevant parties have made statements, consumers appear unconvinced, with some expressing on social platforms that they will no longer purchase Arc'teryx products.

Will the "fireworks show" impact Arc'teryx sales? Multiple consumers who previously purchased Arc'teryx outdoor apparel were interviewed. Some consumers expressed surprise at the company's marketing move that lacked basic common sense, while others believe this incident serves as a warning for brands regarding the boundaries of artistic expression in marketing and related approval processes.

Today, a visit to the Arc'teryx store at Bailian Outlets in Shanghai's Qingpu District revealed that the two-story store still had many customers trying on items or inquiring about various product categories, with more male than female customers. However, during the observed 30-minute period, only two actual purchases were completed.

Sales staff at the store revealed that this weekend's foot traffic showed little difference from previous weekends, with no apparent impact from the "fireworks show" incident currently visible. Store discounts on different products range from 30-10% off, with no notification received from the company for further price reductions.

**Consumer Buying Spree**

Based on publicly available performance data, while Arc'teryx's high pricing has consistently faced "not worth it" criticism, these earlier controversies haven't prevented the brand's growth momentum and market presence in China.

Arc'teryx's parent company Amer Sports doesn't separately disclose revenue for individual brands, but the sales situation for Arc'teryx can perhaps be glimpsed through the classification of various business segments across companies.

In 2024, Amer Sports achieved revenue of $5.183 billion, with the outdoor technical apparel segment centered around Arc'teryx recording full-year revenue growth of 36% year-over-year to $2.194 billion, the highest among its three business divisions. The other two segments - mountain and outdoor apparel & equipment, and ball & racquet equipment - generated revenues of $1.836 billion and $1.153 billion respectively.

Looking at regional breakdown, in 2024, Amer Sports' revenue in Greater China reached $1.298 billion. The largest market was the Americas at $1.859 billion, followed by Europe, Middle East, and Africa at $1.513 billion.

Notably, this trend shifted in 2025. According to the latest second-quarter report, Greater China became Amer Sports' largest market, with revenue growing 42% year-over-year to $410 million; Americas revenue grew 6% year-over-year to $395 million; Europe, Middle East, and Africa revenue was $276 million.

Industry insiders revealed that Arc'teryx's annual revenue has long exceeded 10 billion yuan, and in markets like the United States, Europe, and Japan, many Arc'teryx stores also see significant Chinese consumer spending.

**Intensifying Competition in High-End Outdoor Market**

However, during the earnings call following this year's second-quarter report, Amer Sports Group CEO James Zheng revealed that Arc'teryx will experience net store closures in Greater China this year, including some legacy partner stores and factory outlet stores. Nevertheless, Arc'teryx will continue to significantly enhance its brand image in China by opening large, high-quality stores with higher sales per square foot. "Looking ahead to 2026, after years of rationalizing the store network in the region, we plan to achieve net store openings for Arc'teryx in China."

Management also indicated future plans to proactively reduce discounting and outlet business. Chief Financial Officer Andrew Page believes that "lower outlet sales had a negative impact on technical outdoor apparel's omni-channel same-store sales, so Arc'teryx continues to shift more focus toward full-price sales and limit online and offline outlet sales."

According to the "2024 China Outdoor Sports Industry Development Report" by the National Sports Administration, China's outdoor sports industry reached a total scale of 1.35 trillion yuan in 2024, a 28.6% increase from 2022. The continuously climbing outdoor market scale brings positive prospects for international brand development.

However, Arc'teryx, which previously transitioned from niche to mainstream, now faces an increasing number of market competitors.

For instance, TOPSPORTS (06110.HK), one of Nike and Adidas's largest distributors, has begun expanding into the high-end outdoor sector.

Since 2024, TOPSPORTS has officially announced securing exclusive Greater China operating rights for multiple international brands, including Canadian trail running brand norda™ and Norwegian outdoor brand Norrøna. Among these, Norrøna is viewed by many outdoor enthusiasts as a strong competitor to Arc'teryx, with overseas pricing even higher than Arc'teryx. Industry professionals previously indicated that within the community, Norrøna is "on par with" Arc'teryx, and it depends on how TOPSPORTS operates this brand. If executed well, it might capture a slice of this market.

Following the "fireworks show" incident, a visit to Shanghai Qingpu Outlets revealed that adjacent to the Arc'teryx store were Korean brand KOLON SPORT and THE NORTH FACE, with KOLON SPORT's Greater China operations secured by Anta. All three sports brands' outlet stores, including Arc'teryx, implemented traffic control policies, maintaining specific in-store customer levels while requiring additional customers to wait outside. During the one-hour observation period, both KOLON SPORT and THE NORTH FACE consistently had customers queuing outside waiting to enter.