--- title: "Kelong: Not chasing the trend, yet outperforming the trend" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/280803221.md" description: "ANTA Group released its financial report showing that the revenue of the Kelong brand in 2025 is expected to reach 80.219 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%. Kelong has become the fastest-growing brand within the group with a growth rate of 59.2%, demonstrating a steady and professional spirit. Despite fierce market competition, Kelong adheres to a differentiated strategy, hosting community activities to convey sustainable outdoor values. Kelong's professional genes have a long history, having supported peak climbing as early as 1980, becoming an official sponsor of the Olympics, and collaborating with Antarctic research teams. In September 2025, Kelong will become the official partner of the Chinese national climbing team" datetime: "2026-03-27T13:37:35.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/280803221.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/280803221.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/280803221.md) --- # Kelong: Not chasing the trend, yet outperforming the trend On March 25, Anta Group released its financial report showing that in 2025, the group achieved revenue of 80.219 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%. The revenue from "other brands," centered around Kelong and Descente, surged by 59.2% year-on-year, with Kelong becoming the fastest-growing brand within the group. In the public's perception, Kelong is like the two small trees in its logo, quietly growing without making a fuss. This understated brand temperament forms a striking contrast with its hardcore performance of being the fastest in growth. Currently, domestic outdoor brands are fiercely competing, with most players frantically expanding stores, spending heavily on marketing, and rapidly occupying market share, racing in the internal competition of traffic and scale. Kelong, however, appears particularly different: it is not pushed by "short-term gains," nor is it caught up in the heated battle, but instead remains steadfast and focused on its "professional" origin. At the same time, it hosts a variety of community activities, films outdoor documentaries, and continuously accumulates and conveys sustainable outdoor values, engaging in "output-agnostic" slow work. Yet Kelong still stands out, which is not only a victory of an unconventional path but also a brand growth story that begins with precise strategic judgment and adherence to a differentiated path. The Underestimated "Professionalism" There is a common misunderstanding about Kelong from the outside world. An interesting phenomenon is that many people discuss Kelong as a "fashion outdoor" brand, simply because of its high aesthetic appeal—simple design and attractive color schemes. But this is precisely the biggest misunderstanding of Kelong—it is far more substantial than just "good-looking." As early as 1980, Kelong began its world expedition and exploration assistance, supporting over 50 summit climbs, leaving its footprints on the 15 highest peaks in the world; in 1988, Kelong became an official sponsor of the Olympic Games; in 2012, Kelong collaborated with Antarctic research and expedition teams—this area, with an average temperature of minus 55°C and wind speeds reaching over level 12, is the most brutal testing ground for outdoor gear, allowing Kelong to continuously explore the wisdom of coexisting with nature in extreme environments. This professional gene has been honed by Kelong for more than half a century and continues to "grow" to this day. In September 2025, Kelong became the official partner of the China Mountaineering Association and the Chinese National Climbing Team, embarking on a new chapter with Chinese climbing sports. Just on March 25, Kelong officially released the new battle uniform "Chili" designed for the Chinese National Climbing Team, which will accompany athletes throughout the entire 2026 season. This battle uniform, inspired by the "Vermilion Bird," uses professional technology to support Chinese athletes in their fearless ascent on the rock walls. In the field of trail running, Kelong has also established deep roots. From mass participation to top-tier events, the brand's layout in the trail running sector has already taken shape. Kelong has not stopped at conventional event operations but has deeply integrated the concept of sustainable development, taking the lead in focusing on "zero-carbon event management." On one hand, Kelong has been the title sponsor of the Donghai Yunding Mountain Running Race for four consecutive years, working with the event organizers to promote carbon reduction practices throughout the entire event chain. Starting from the details of event organization, it effectively reduces carbon emissions across the entire event chain. On this basis, through standardized carbon trading, it offsets the unavoidable carbon emissions of the event, forming a carbon-neutral closed loop, pioneering the "zero-carbon event management" in domestic commercial trail running events. On the other hand, Kelong has just officially announced that it will be the title sponsor of the top domestic trail running event—the Ninghai Trail Challenge—from this year until 2030. This strong partnership with China's "Diamond Trail" in trail running opens a new chapter for trail running in China. It is this consistent professional capability, uncompromising from extreme environments to urban daily life, from professional arenas to outdoor mountains, that helps Kelong continuously establish itself in the outdoor field, constantly evolving its product development capabilities, and winning entry into core outdoor scenarios. **Between Conservatism and Aggression: Kelong's Third Path** It is worth studying that Kelong, holding the entry ticket, has not chosen aggressive expansion in a "strike while the iron is hot" manner. In an environment where the outdoor industry is generally expanding rapidly, Kelong's style appears quite unique; what it cares about is the rhythm of expansion and the control of boundaries. "Restraint" is the term most frequently mentioned by Kelong's brand chairman, Ding Sirong, in public interviews: whether in product development, marketing, or sales, restraint is essential. However, this "restraint" is not conservatism but a conscious trade-off: prioritizing the long-term value of the brand over aggressive expansion, embodying Kelong's unique business wisdom. This uniqueness is first reflected in the pace of store openings. By the end of 2025, Kelong will have 209 stores in China, with a net increase of only 18 stores throughout the year. This number, for the fastest-growing brand within the group, seems somewhat "counterintuitive." It is important to note that under the same growth curve, facing the immediate effect of rapidly accumulating revenue by opening more stores, other brands may have multiplied their store numbers several times. This is a wisdom of "retreating to advance." Kelong's store strategy focuses not on "expansion" but on "quality cultivation," investing resources in those landmark locations that can truly carry the brand value, continuously refining the single-store model, ensuring that each store operates efficiently rather than relying on quantity to achieve scale. Therefore, Kelong precisely lays out its flagship stores in core high-end business districts of high-tier cities, using Beijing Huamao, Chengdu Taikoo Li, and Shenzhen MixC as pivot points, creating a flagship store matrix and upgrading stores from sales terminals to brand experience venues, thereby continuously enhancing single-store output and brand momentum without blindly expanding the number of stores In February 2026, Kolon unveiled the "KOLON ATLAS Kolon Nature Collection" brand experience flagship store at Beijing Huamao Shopping Center. The store features a "RE-CRAFT Fiber Recycling Zone," specifically showcasing the entire chain of old clothing recycling—consumers can see how old clothes are dismantled and remade into new fabrics. Meanwhile, the store has also opened an independent community space, regularly hosting film screenings, sound bowl meditation, handmade workshops, and other activities. In the precious space of Beijing Huamao, Kolon has ceded valuable space to sustainable concepts and user interaction—here, the value measurement standard is no longer the short-term numbers of space efficiency, but a deeper connection between the brand and consumers. This pace of opening stores and the proactive sacrifice of space efficiency is not about moving slowly, but about moving far, deeply and thoroughly focusing on the positioning of "high quality," directly avoiding the dilution of brand value caused by excessive expansion. **How "hard to quantify" investments build a brand moat** Kolon's investment in brand building is also somewhat unconventional—more energy is focused on slow investments that are difficult to quantify, from shooting documentaries to convey brand value expressions, to community activities practicing the "Leave No Trace" philosophy. These "slow efforts" are destined not to yield immediate returns like hard advertisements and live-streaming sales, but they build Kolon's most solid brand moat. Kolon's investments are not light, and the cycles are long, severely testing strategic determination. What it is doing is not "brand packaging," which is superficial work, but the fundamental construction of the brand's core, a deeper investment related to user empathy and resonance. First is the expression of brand value. In early 2026, Kolon donated professional equipment worth over 2 million yuan to forest rangers in Gongshan County, Yunnan, and simultaneously released the documentary "The Path of the Cedar: Departure." The documentary focuses on female forest rangers who patrol in high-altitude forests. This group represents the purest and most enduring "relationship between humans and nature." Kolon's focus on them is a tribute to the "guardians," which itself is an act of consciously binding the brand concept to natural values. In fact, since 2023, Kolon has been continuously providing long-term support to frontline forest rangers and patrollers. In 2023, coordinated by the World Wildlife Fund, Kolon, in collaboration with the Qinghai Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau and the Shenzhen One Earth Natural Foundation, donated professional outdoor equipment to patrollers in the Sanjiangyuan, Northeast Tiger and Leopard, Giant Panda, and Qilian Mountain national parks, ensuring support for field patrols In 2024, Kelong officially announced its spokesperson Hu Ge, who cleverly conveyed the concept of seamless outdoor experiences to the public through the short film "Alibi." As a special observer for ecological environment appointed by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment for 2024, Hu Ge's partnership with Kelong allows the initiative for ecological protection to reach a broader audience. Kelong's significant investment in these areas is not just a physical contribution, but more like a declaration of values—coexisting harmoniously with nature, which embodies the soul of brand building. For example, Kelong's proprietary IP Kelong "Road" operation laboratory has covered 46 cities nationwide, inviting community members into the mountains through outdoor classrooms and hiking activities. Since 2020, the number of participants has reached 26,974. In 2024 alone, through the "Recycling a Bottle Cap" initiative and various Plogging clean-up actions, over 100 kilograms of mountain waste have been cleared. In the community operation logic of many brands, the value of such activities is merely to "enhance user stickiness," categorized as part of "fan operations." However, the significance of Kelong's "Road" operation laboratory goes far beyond that. It reconstructs the relationship between the brand and users. Here, the brand and users are no longer linear transaction parties, but companions gathered by a shared love for the outdoors and nature, forming a community of shared values. Therefore, Kelong's community operations are not simple offline gatherings; they represent a "warm value choice." It chooses to invest resources in "people" rather than "traffic." It opts to build trust between the brand and users face-to-face in the most straightforward manner. Although Kelong's brand philosophy is ambitious, its core investment remains "the resonance of hearts," constructing a long-term user relationship based on shared values to resist the game of short-term interests with long-term value. **ANTA Group's "Professional Outdoor" Puzzle** A few years ago, the industry was discussing a question: Would the vast outdoor sports brand matrix under ANTA Group turn into a competition for users and resources? However, years later, this competitive struggle has not emerged; instead, these brands have formed complementary and synergistic effects. In ANTA's outdoor landscape, each brand is assigned a clear "persona": Descente represents "hardcore sports," deeply engaged in vertical fields like skiing, with strong professional sports attributes; while Kelong complements the professional path of "the relationship between humans and nature." Kelong continuously anchors its value from this brand differentiation. It does not pursue extreme performance or engage in parameter competitions, but focuses on the positioning of "high-quality companionship," exploring better ways to connect with nature alongside users, continuously giving back to nature with professional experiences learned from it. Of course, Kelong's success is also inseparable from the strong support of ANTA Group's robust middle platform. Supply chain capabilities, DTC models, channel resources, and digital systems are the infrastructures that empower Kelong to focus on product and community development More importantly, Anta Group's patience in management allows Kelon the time to invest in things that do not yield short-term returns at its own pace. This "long-line" mentality is not common in multi-brand operations. Therefore, Kelon is an indispensable piece of the outdoor landscape of Anta Group, providing a unique voice in the dimension of "professional outdoor." Together with Descente and Jack Wolfskin, it forms a complete outdoor brand matrix. The seemingly "non-aggressive" choices made initially—sticking to high quality, deeply cultivating professionalism, and committing to long-term value investment—ultimately built an insurmountable moat for Kelon. In today's context of rising penetration rates of outdoor sports in China, this "warm" and steady growth is far more resilient and vibrant than the short-term prosperity built on marketing hype. Kelon has become the fastest-growing brand within Anta Group, fundamentally representing a powerful victory of a long-term unique and in-depth business strategy over short-term traffic thinking ### Related Stocks - [02020.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/02020.HK.md) - [159928.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/159928.CN.md) - [510150.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/510150.CN.md) ## Related News & Research - [Analyst Reiterates Buy on ANTA Sports with Unchanged $109 Price Target Amid Depressed Valuation and Improving Brand Momentum](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286307885.md) - [ANTA shareholders approve 2025 results, dividend and share mandates at AGM](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286103274.md) - [Victory Outdoor Services: Me vs. Big Ray](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286652458.md) - [A cheerful morning from Victory Outdoor Services](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286648853.md) - [In HelloNation, Outdoor Living Expert Steven McCoy Details Deck Cost Variables for Homeowners in Lexington, SC](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287100418.md)