Outdoor sports brand Salomon has launched a new event. On September 13, the Salomon Salomon 2026Gravel Open Route Challenge Chengdu Station had just finished, and on September 20, the challenge in Shanghai Station was about to start. It was estimated that 1000 runners would participate in the two events around the landmark of Xintiandi.

The running competition launched by Salomon is neither a traditional marathon nor the current hot mountain cross-country running, but a city running that is somewhere in between, emphasizing the process experience.

There is no fixed route for this competition, and runners can freely plan. Multiple check-in points will be set up along the way. After completing the first fixed point, runners can freely choose the remaining 15 points and check-in at least 6 points. Returning to the finish line within 2 hours is considered completion.

Unlike the regular racing CP (Check Point) that pursues speed, in this Chengdu station, the Salomon Unplanned Route Challenge has added 6 "slow CPs", where runners can participate in entertainment activities such as pouring tea with a long mouth pot and enjoying Sichuan and Ma tea at corresponding points. This embodies the core of Salomon's advocated urban running lifestyle: a richer interaction between professional sports and urban life.

Salomon was founded in France in 1947 and is a core outdoor brand under the umbrella of Amalfin Sports. In conjunction with this challenge, Salomon has also launched a new GRVL series of products, covering mixed road running shoes, clothing, and more.

In August of this year, at the opening ceremony of Salomon Beijing International Trade Mall flagship store, Salomon President and Global CEO Gillaume Meyzenq mentioned in a media interview that over the past two years, Salomon has been committed to defining a new niche market in the running field - Gravel Running, which is a running method that spans multiple road conditions in cities and mountains.

In terms of running shoe functionality, Salomon focuses on developing the fusion characteristics of running shoes, making them adaptable to hard sidewalks as well as the changing terrain in cities, such as park trails. Behind this is Salomon's overall transformation of the brand: from a mountain performance brand to a modern mountain sports culture brand, bringing outdoor experiences into the city.

Gillaume Meyzenq previously mentioned that the true core of the outdoor craze lies in how people are inspired and, driven by their desire for the outdoors, begin to become more "active" in cities. This statement is also similar to the "light outdoor" positioning emphasized by many other brands.

Will Salomon's anchored "off-road running" weaken its high-performance professional positioning that started with skiing?

In response to this, Salomon replied to the Economic Observer that off-road running is not a maintenance reducing product under the logic of "light outdoor", but a new running lifestyle that has grown from the real needs of runners. A road run in the city may pass through various scenarios such as asphalt roads, dirt trails, gravel roads, grasslands, sandy areas, and forests, and different scenarios have different requirements for the functionality of running shoes.

Previously, the market thought that Salomon was going to transform towards trendiness. In May of this year, Salomon officially announced that Kim Soo jung, a member of the South Korean female singing and dancing group BLACK PINK, would be the global brand spokesperson, marking its first use of a spokesperson. The image of a brand spokesperson also differs from their hardcore image of starting out in skiing. As a result, the market has also questioned whether Salomon should abandon the brand's hardcore performance?

Regarding this, Salomon stated that professional athletic performance and outdoor fashion are not two separate logics. The rise of outdoor fashion is partly due to young consumers appreciating the visible technological and functional features. Professionalism entering daily life precisely indicates that the value of functionality is more enduring than the trend cycle. Salomon's product design has always adhered to the concept of "performance driven".

In 2025, according to Amazon's financial report, Salomon achieved a revenue of $2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 35%. In 2026, Salomon will accelerate its channel layout and open a three story flagship store of over 700 square meters in Guomao in August. The Beijing Wangfujing APM double decker store has already been enclosed. In the first half of 2026, the revenue of the mountain outdoor sector where Salomon is located reached 1.282 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 40%. Salomon is the core brand of Yamafon's mountain outdoor division, which also includes brands such as Atomik and Anmada.

This year, Salomon plans to add 45 new stores, including both direct and cooperative stores, with a net increase of 22 stores in the first half of the year. Salomon stated that unlike Europe and the United States, China is a market dominated by DTC (direct to customer), where brands primarily reach consumers through retail stores and e-commerce platforms, while Europe and the United States typically rely on flagship stores in central cities to showcase their image and expand through wholesale partners. So in China, brand owners must fully tell their brand story in the best locations and deeply participate in large-scale retail operations. The store will open as many stores as possible, turn offline space into a brand narrative field, enhance the influence of the core business district, maintain high-end positioning and expand market share.

(Author Ye Xinran)