For Sarah Xu, challenges and opportunities are separated by a "thin line" and the difference in outcome lies with the amount of effort put into to the getting the objective.
As founder and chief executive of Runtitan Outdoor Manufacturing Co, a leading provider of Chinese outdoor equipment, she knows that her international competitors will present a long-term challenge to her company .
This is, in part, due to China's growing zest for a healthy livestyle and sports, fueled by the nation's excitement of holding the Olympic games for the first time.
"China's outdoor sports industry is undergoing an ever bright prospect as the Beijing Olympics is drawing near," says Xu.
Established in the US in 1995 and brought to China in 1999, Runtitan specializes in the manufacturing and retailing of outdoor sports equipments ranging from sleeping bags, tents, backpacks, luggage and travel accessories to footwear, athletic apparel and outerwear, selling in major supermarkets across China and America such as Metro, Wal-Mart, E-Mart and Loogoo.
The group is now facing the emergence and growing presence of international outdoor sports brands such as Columbia Sportswear, The North Face Cascade Designs and Timberland as they seek to become more established in the market. Xu, however, seems composed and confident about the situation.
"We need more participants joining the massive market to boost this fledging industry as a whole," she says.
Over the past ten years of development, Xu says that the company has established strong distribution channels and brand loyalty in China.
"Most importantly, we know a lot about the needs of Chinese people and its market." she emphasizes. But this was not achieved overnight.
Upon obtaining an MBA degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institution in New York in 1995, Xu set up Runtitan in Pennsylvania, the United States in 1999, aiming to tap into a land where outdoor sports was just starting from scratch.
"At that time, people simply had no idea of what tents or sleeping bags were used for," Xu recalls.
"We launched a 'family outdooring' concept and wanted to bring to the Chinese a leisure outdoor lifestyle, which was not well recognized at the beginning. But it proved to work."
Later In 2001, she set up a camping site at Fengxian, Shanghai, where its manufacturing factory was based, inviting outdoor sports fans to get an idea of outdoor activities.
At the camping site, Xu recalls that they shared the experiences of outdoor sports and showed the participants how to use the equipment.
"It took a decade for people to get to know about the outdoor sports in China," Xu says. "And participants gradually began to taste the fun of outdoor life and brought more friends into this field."
"You need to hold on to your belief, with passion and endurance, which is crucial in the cause you are taking," she says.
In 2004, Runtitan sponsored the CCTV documentary "Juan Antonio Samaranch", the former President of International Olympics Committee (IOC). Xu presents Runtitan's backpack to Juan Antonio Samaranch in person.
The same year, Runtitan also supported and participated in the worldwide cultural event, "From Great Wall to Olympia", which was initiated by the IOC. The company's products were designated as the only outdoor equipment used at the Closing Ceremony of the 2004 Athens Olympics Games.
This year on May 30, on behalf of Runtitan, Xu met Jacques Rogge, President of IOC at Lausanne, Switzerland, the committee's headquarter and presented Rogge with Runtitan M360 outdoor sports equipment, including golden outdoor sports shoes.
The golden shoes which will be housed in the International Olympics Center, is the mascot of the "Shanghai Runtitan Healthy Walking Cup," a public running event, set up in response to the call from the General Administration of Sport of China to raise national consciousness of healthy lifestyles. The annual run, launched in 2007 has attracted citizens from all walks of life, becoming one of the major public sports events in the city, after "Shanghai Marathon" and "Shanghai Healthy Run".
Xu says Runtitan will continue to promote the healthy run to Kunming, Yunnan province on June 28.
"We hope to carry the Olympic spirit throughout China." Xu says.
China's outdoor sports industry is still in its infancy, despite a growing number of participation over recent years, commented Zhang Faqiang, vice-chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee, at a recent mass hiking event in Changchun, Jilin Province on June 21.
