As robots gain unprecedented popularity, 361 DEGREES has swiftly entered the robot wearables industry. On the evening of August 18, 361 DEGREES announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, 361 Degrees (Xiamen) Sports Technology Co., Ltd., has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Standard Robots (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Standard Robots"). The partnership aims to leverage both parties' respective advantages and resources to establish strategic cooperation in robot clothing, footwear, accessories, and embodied intelligent robot materials.

According to public information, Standard Robots is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the research, development, and application of industrial-grade mobile robots. Its core business covers the full-chain services of autonomous mobile robots and flexible logistics solutions.

Based on information disclosed by 361 DEGREES, the cooperation model involves both parties jointly establishing a company focused on the AI intelligent field and creating a "Future Sports Exploration Laboratory." They will develop clothing, footwear, and accessories suitable for robots (robot wearables), establish strategic cooperation in embodied intelligent robot materials, promote deep integration between traditional footwear and apparel manufacturing with artificial intelligence, and accelerate transformation in the smart manufacturing and retail industry value chain.

With the Robot Conference and Robot Games being held in Beijing, robots have become the hottest topic of the moment. 361 DEGREES' entry into this field has sparked considerable skepticism: "Is this just riding the hype?" "Why would a sports company make robot wearables? It doesn't make sense..."

Independent retail analyst Ma Gang views 361 DEGREES' entry as more like riding the hype wave. Ma Gang stated bluntly: "Making shoes and clothing for robots is somewhat incomprehensible. Human demand for smart wearables is much stronger than robots needing human-style wearables. Wristbands that became popular years ago and the currently popular smart glasses are all combinations of technology and wearables. Making wearables for robots is like producing clothing for pets. For robots, they already come equipped with necessary protective gear when manufactured. This move by 361 DEGREES seems more like chasing hot topics."

Additionally, another perspective suggests that 361 DEGREES' foray into robot wearables represents an attempt at transformation. From a performance perspective, 361 DEGREES' development over the past two years can be described as impressive. According to financial data, 361 DEGREES achieved revenue of 10.07 billion yuan in 2024, up 19.6% year-over-year, with net profit of 1.15 billion yuan, up 19.5% year-over-year. This year, 361 DEGREES successfully joined the ten-billion revenue club.

This represents a milestone for 361 DEGREES. When standing alongside the three major domestic sports giants in the over ten-billion revenue category, 361 DEGREES may want to advance further. After all, third-ranked XTEP achieved revenue of 13.58 billion yuan in 2024, making surpassing it not entirely impossible.

361 DEGREES stated in its announcement that through partnering with Standard Robots, the 361 Group accelerates integration of artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing genes, opening a new chapter in brand transformation and upgrading. This strategic layout marks 361 Group's strategic transition from a traditional sports brand to a "technology + sports" ecosystem enterprise.

Ma Gang analyzed: "361 DEGREES' development pace has been quite slow in recent years. In product planning and marketing, it lags behind the industry's top three, making upward breakthrough extremely difficult. Catching up with XTEP won't be easy. 361 DEGREES' development has been overly conservative. Taking running as an example, XTEP has invested most aggressively in products and marketing, reaping the richest rewards. 361 DEGREES follows a trailing strategy, which carries lower risk but also misses some opportunities. For instance, outdoor categories have been booming in recent years, but 361 DEGREES has few standout products."

"From current development perspective, for 361 to break through in industry rankings or consumer perception, it needs a highlight capable of igniting brand development, like ANTA's Arc'teryx, Li-Ning's trendy China Li-Ning brand, or XTEP's running shoes... Actually, 361 DEGREES has been seeking breakthrough points in recent years. Its children's line and cross-border business have shown decent growth, but performance in adult sports equipment appears somewhat lackluster. This requires further consolidation by 361 DEGREES, otherwise advantages in its core market will be eroded by brands like ERKE and Qiaodan Sports. 361 DEGREES should firmly grasp mid-to-low-end consumers and capture some consumers from brands like ERKE and Qiaodan Sports, which might better achieve breakthrough," Ma Gang added.

Regarding development-related issues, attempts to contact 361 DEGREES for comment were unsuccessful by press time.