Brand Story 2

I started visiting Japan in 2016. I was recommended by my Hong Kong friend Tara, and we were invited by the organizer of Off The Gird in Japan to participate in the outdoor market in Japan. In the first year, we brought a stargazer tent and the booth was arranged in a corner of the market. Because we did not understand Japanese, the two-day market was quite awkward because we could not communicate. But the biggest gain was that we built confidence. After various market surveys, we established long-term goals and directions...

During this trip, I met many Japanese colleagues and became friends with a Japanese friend who knows Chinese. He used to work in Shanghai, China. He speaks Chinese very well. His name is Manabe. He took the initiative to help me translate and print the product introduction book. We became friends just by meeting once...

In 2017, before leaving for Japan, I prepared souvenirs for Manabe, and he also came all the way from Osaka to visit us. Although some Japanese friends wanted to cooperate with us the following year, they did not get our approval...so they returned empty-handed.

In 2018, we participated in the Go out camping conference in April. Although we have visited music and camping events in Korea and Europe before, the event in Japan feels the most exciting and large-scale. I think there should be no controversy if we call this lifestyle camping culture...

2019 was a breakthrough year for us. In April, we participated in Off the Grid with Mr. Nagashima of Sokit_jp, the general agent of our lightweight tent sub-brand Presents, and received good feedback; in the same year, TFS tents also established a cooperation intention with Mr. Shanme of Teishin Co., Ltd., and officially prepared to enter the Japanese physical outdoor equipment store market...

2020 is a historic moment, because the new coronavirus has changed the lives of many people, but the same crisis also breeds opportunities. This year, we reached a consensus with the Japanese niche brand NERU DESIGN Works that we will release the co-branded cave tent in September 2021.

Neru is a high-end niche personalized brand that is very popular in Japan. This cooperation also represents a new attempt and breakthrough for us in the Japanese market. I think the Japanese market is a touchstone for us. The mature market has given us confidence and let us know that Chinese niche high-end brands can also truly go global. It is gratifying to have a place in such a picky market environment for quality and mountain aesthetics.