Outdoor Boom Revived by 'Sanrini' and 'Gopcore Look'... Entering a Second Golden Age

Outdoor Activities Regain Popularity Among MZ Generation
Increase in Hiking, Camping, and Other Outdoor Activities
GoPcore Look Trending for Unrestricted Daily Wear
Industry Accelerates Efforts to Build a Youthful Image

BYN Black Yak, 'bcc' EXO Kai photoshoot. Photo by BYN Black Yak

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The outdoor industry, which experienced a golden era riding the hiking wear boom in the late 2000s, is once again entering its second heyday. This resurgence is due to the increase in outdoor activities caused by COVID-19, with camping and hiking becoming highly popular among the MZ (Millennial + Generation Z) generation, along with the trend of 'Gorpcore looks,' making it natural to wear outdoor clothing in everyday life.

According to the industry on the 8th, the sales of nine major outdoor brands including The North Face, Nepa, Black Yak, Kolon Sport, and K2 increased by an average of 23% in the first half of this year (January to June). Last year, the total sales of these brands also rose by 16% compared to the previous year, continuing the upward trend.

Youngone Outdoor, which operates The North Face in Korea, recorded sales of 544.5 billion KRW last year, growing 25.8% year-on-year, with operating profit increasing by 65.1% to 133.1 billion KRW. F&F generated 440.7 billion KRW in sales from its licensed brand Discovery Expedition alone, and The Nature Holdings saw sales rise 28% to 371.1 billion KRW through strong National Geographic Apparel sales. K2 Korea’s sales also rose 14.2% year-on-year to 402.2 billion KRW.

The domestic outdoor market began to grow rapidly in the late 2000s, fueled by the hiking wear boom. At its peak in 2014, the market size reached around 7 trillion KRW, but it gradually lost favor among younger consumers, shrinking to about 2 trillion KRW by 2018. Since then, it has shown a gentle decline, standing at 2.388 trillion KRW as of 2020, remaining in the 2 trillion KRW range to date.

However, a turnaround began with the onset of COVID-19. As outdoor activities gained attention over indoor ones due to the pandemic, hiking became hugely popular among young people, with a large increase in hiking enthusiasts who treat it as a hobby, such as 'Sanrini' (hiking beginners) and 'Honsanjok' (solo hikers). Hiking, which once had a somewhat old-fashioned image, transformed into a culture among the MZ generation that involves taking 'proof shots' before and after climbs.

This trend soon led to the normalization of hiking wear in daily life. As hiking wear that did not look like traditional hiking clothes gained popularity, the ‘Gorpcore look’?which can be worn not only for outdoor activities but also in everyday life?became trendy. Gorpcore is a portmanteau of 'gorp,' referring to outdoor clothing, and 'normcore,' meaning ordinary style. In Korea, the trend was also driven by hip-hop musicians frequently wearing such styles. Premium overseas outdoor brands like Arc'teryx, Fj?llr?ven, and Salomon also became widely known.

The outdoor industry is actively adopting strategies to shed its old-fashioned image by employing models popular with the MZ generation. Currently, K2 features actors Park Seo-joon and Suzy as models, while Nepa, which had used actress Jun Ji-hyun as a model for eight years, has appointed Yoo Ah-in as its new face. Eider has signed girl group IVE member Jang Won-young and actor Park Bo-gum as models, and Black Yak has exclusive models including singer IU, Kai, and actor Son Seok-gu.

K2, model Suzy wearing the Scene Air Hoodie./Photo by K2