The Sports Expo: Some Interesting Thoughts, Part 1
1
To show your face or not, that is the question. The Butterfly brand has not set up a booth at the Sports Expo for many years. Of course, as the acknowledged top brand, it seems to have the capital for that. Indeed, even though “Heima Talks Table Tennis” is one of the largest-traffic table tennis gear accounts in China, Butterfly does not deign to advertise here either — because with enough star endorsements, that is enough, even more effective.
Since parting at Chengdu in 2024, Stiga has been absent from the Sports Expo for two straight years. What role can showing your face actually play? It is actually hard to say. Sometimes it may not serve any sales-promotion purpose. Those who know Stiga will still buy; those who do not, still will not. Just like Donic’s huge booth space — though deserted — does not seem to affect market sales.
But showing your face has upsides too. For example, deepening ties with everyone. With real contact, some things become much easier. Like this time I went to the Sports Expo again, happy to see old friends, and to meet some brand managers long acquainted online but never in real life. Being able to meet and chat, the new information you get really is different.
One reason for whether to exhibit at the Expo: the brand may have better plans. For example, XIOM and GEWO are at hotels, holding dinners or new-product launches. One consideration for Stiga not exhibiting is also having a more effective new-product launch each year. Of course, these methods are aimed more at big clients, the distributors, and media, rather than individual consumers.
For some brands, showing your face is especially important, like Aster Table Tennis. Previously it always existed in the role of OEM for many foreign brands; now it openly showcases its own gear R&D strength. This has two upsides. One: foreign brands, including many streamers and influencers, having domestic factories do OEM has become an important trend, and Aster is a very good choice, now widely advertised. Two: strengthening the impression in ordinary consumers’ minds, favorable for promoting more of its own products next.
2
A quality product is the best way to break through. GEWO has been in China only a few years, but its early development was very rapid. Many players’ first impression of GEWO came from one product: the Grape 450. In my personal view, it is hard to call it a very quality product. You can only say it is a cheap tensor with faithful feedback, fairly linear, light and quick to play, easy to control. But from the business-operation angle, it was very successful. From launch, through various channels, it became widely known and really sold hot.
Double Fish’s blades have never been highly rated by the outside world. But this year a Korean-made Zhou Qihao PROJECT Z, with quality and value recognized by many, at least made a strong showing of presence — a groundwork for future advances.
On 729’s huge booth, the most memorable thing was one product name: the Battle III Purple Lightning. It too is fairly hotly discussed online now. Sanwei’s most successful work in recent years is none other than the 75# series blades and the Guobiao 3 rubber.
Clearly, as long as one or two products are successful enough, you not only achieve profit but can even break through.