Timberland has 110 stores in China but sees the potential to more than double that figure within three years. In a Q&A in the Wall Street Journal, CEO Jeffrey Swartz discussed China's growing appetite for the outdoor lifestyle and gear.
“The role of outdoors in Chinese culture – it screams at you,” said Mr. Swartz. “They're not going to go climb a mountain. What they are going to do is hang out in the park on Saturday or Sunday and have a picnic. That's outdoors and outdoor adventure.”
The article noted that a number of competitors, Adidas, Wolverine World Wide and The North Face, are also making inroads into China. But Swartz told the Journal that his company can connect with Chinese consumers is by highlighting its environmental credentials. These includes its touted carbon-neutral goals and commitment to community service by its employees.
“We actually get more credit for environmental thoughtfulness in China than we get for environmental thoughtfulness in places where we've been doing it at least as long. It will be a very interesting test as our social-media strategy starts to work in China. We're going to focus it on outdoors through the lens of Chinese experience and sustainability – through the lens of the data that we've seen.”
