Will Arc'teryx's "fireworks" explode on Anta?

Author | Xie Yunzi

Editor | Zhang Fan

Cover Source | IC photo

Due to a "mountain - blasting event", Arc'teryx, an outdoor brand highly sought after by the middle class, has been pushed to the forefront of public opinion.

People generally question whether the "biodegradable" fireworks set off by Arc'teryx in the Himalayas in Tibet will have an impact on the fragile ecosystem of the plateau region. On social media platforms, many outdoor bloggers have accused Arc'teryx of this behavior, stating that this incident completely goes against the "Leave No Trace" concept that outdoor brands should convey.

Early on the morning of September 21st, the official WeChat account of Xigaze City, "Cloud - topped Everest", issued a situation report, stating that an investigation team had been established and immediately dispatched to the scene for verification. Subsequently, Arc'teryx also issued an apology letter.

In the letter, Arc'teryx stated that it needs to be more professional in evaluating the boundaries of artistic expression and more humble towards nature. It promised to cooperate with the team to review the ecological impact of the project under government supervision, invite a third - party for evaluation and take remedial measures based on the results. At the same time, it will promote environmental protection programs and cultural public welfare projects in Tibet.

However, the sentiment at the consumer end has quickly spread to the capital market.

On September 22nd, Anta Sports opened lower with a gap. The stock price once fell by more than 5%, and the total market value evaporated by HK$12.5 billion at one point. As of the close of the day, Anta Sports was quoted at HK$95.55 per share, with a 1.29% decline in the stock price.

Arc'teryx is a high - end Canadian outdoor clothing brand. In February 2019, a consortium led by Anta Sports completed a tender offer for Amer Sports, the parent company of Arc'teryx.

Under the leadership of the Anta Group, Arc'teryx has become a representative of the "Three Essentials for the Middle Class". In February 2024, Amer Sports was relisted on the US stock market. Anta Sports also mentioned that due to operations such as share placements by Amer Sports, Anta's shareholding has dropped to 39.49%.

At the 2024 earnings conference, the management also revealed that the Anta Group received a positive profit of approximately RMB 200 million from Amer Sports for the first time. In that year, Amer Sports' net profit was US$73 million (approximately RMB 512 million). Anta Sports' "profit attributable to shareholders", including its share of profits and losses of associated companies/joint ventures and the dilution of equity from Amer Sports' share placements, was approximately RMB 15.6 billion. Calculated based on the "first - time positive profit of RMB 200 million", Amer Sports' net profit contribution to Anta is less than 2% of its own.

That is to say, Amer Sports' revenue growth rate has little impact on Anta Sports. The setback of the Arc'teryx brand in the fireworks incident mainly affects the reputation of Anta Sports' management and operation capabilities.

In August 2024, FILA, the main brand of Anta Sports, launched the "Natural Migration Plan" with Tmall's Super Brand Day. On the day of the event, it fully adhered to the environmental protection concept of "Leave No Trace". From this perspective, Anta Sports has a clear idea of operating outdoor brands internally.

This seems to mean that the root of Amer Sports' current marketing crisis lies more with its Chinese team.

Arc'teryx's overseas apology letter also stated that it deeply regrets the fireworks show on the Qinghai - Tibet Plateau, as this behavior does not match the brand's environmental protection values and expectations. "We are communicating with relevant artists and the Chinese team to adjust our working methods to avoid similar situations."

It is worth noting that this incident occurred after Amer Sports' recent personnel adjustment.

According to information on Amer Sports' official website, in June this year, Jeffery Ma was appointed as the President of Greater China. Public information shows that Ma Lei has rich experience in the sports industry. He has previously served as the CEO of Zhongqiao Sports and held senior management positions at Topsports and Adidas.

Behind the personnel changes is the slowdown in the growth of Arc'teryx - related businesses.

In the first half of 2025, Amer Sports' revenue was US$2.709 billion, a year - on - year increase of 23.5%. Among them, the revenue in Greater China was US$856 million, a year - on - year increase of 42.4%; the revenue in the Asia - Pacific region was US$311 million, a year - on - year increase of 46.7%.

However, in this quarter, the revenue of the technical functional clothing department where Arc'teryx belongs was US$509 million, with a year - on - year increase of 23%, but a decrease of 11 percentage points compared with the same period last year. At the same time, the same - store sales growth rate of this department also slowed down significantly. In the second quarter of 2025, its same - store revenue growth rate was 15%, a significant decline from 26% in the same period last year.

The picture is taken from Amer Sports' financial report

Facing a growth bottleneck, Arc'teryx has expanded its footwear department business. At a conference call, Arc'teryx CEO Stuart Haselden also said that footwear is currently one of the key growth categories for Arc'teryx. The revenue from the footwear business accounts for about 10% of the company's total revenue and increased by more than 60% in 2024. A series of new footwear products will be launched in the second half of this year.

In the sports brand industry, the revenue from footwear business is an important indicator to measure a brand's professional sports strength. To some extent, Arc'teryx, which is gradually becoming a luxury brand, does need to regain its professionalism.

Zheng Jie, the global CEO of Amer Sports, also said that one of the growth drivers that Arc'teryx can leverage is to expand its footwear product line. In Greater China, Arc'teryx will continue to focus on optimizing its store network rather than blindly expanding stores.

It is reported that Arc'teryx will have a net reduction in the number of stores in Greater China this year, including closing some historical partner stores. However, the number of brand - owned stores will still increase steadily, with a focus on large - scale, high - quality, and high - efficiency stores. Facing the slowdown in Arc'teryx's growth, Amer Sports has also started to promote Salomon.

The financial report shows that as of the end of June, the number of stores in Amer Sports' outdoor sports department where Salomon belongs reached 256, a year - on - year increase of 58%. The number of stores in the department where Arc'teryx belongs was 227, a year - on - year increase of 12%. Also, due to the overall good performance in the second quarter, Amer Sports recently raised its performance guidance for the third quarter of 2025, expecting the revenue in the third quarter to increase by more than 20% year - on - year. In addition, the adjusted operating profit margin is expected to reach or exceed the upper end of the previous guidance range of 12% - 13%.

In contrast, for Anta Sports, which has a "dual - engine drive" relationship with Amer Sports, the impact of this "mountain - blasting" incident may continue.

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