President and founder of China Outdoor Retailer Association (CORA)

Topic: China the new Frontier 

Tuesday, October 11th - 9.00-10.00am

PRESENTATION OVERVIEW:

China is at the centre of most brands growth plans over the next décade. But to be successful, brands need to really understand China’s unique market dynamics. As with Mark Helds présentation on Europe and Frank Hugelmeyers on North America, Roger will bring his own local expérience and knowledge to revealing what are the key current trends in his own market. Roger brings an exceptional grasp of how the outdoor industry works in China for retailers, brands and manufacturers. His broad experience will be invaluable to understanding the complexities of doing business in China.

RESUME:

Educated in China in Beijing, Roger continued his studies in North America, first attending Oakwood Collegiate Institute and then graduating from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Manufacturing Engineering. His first occupation was as a Software Engineer at GN Nettest working on diagnostic equipment for (ATM) fiber optic networks. He then moved to Sprint Canada and then onto  FloNetwork’s as Director of Product Development, where he was responsible for building the R&D team from 3 to over 30 engineers and testers, before FloNetwork was acquired by DoubleClick in June, 2000.At DoubleClick Roger was Technical Project Manager and leader of the technical sales team for DARTmail.
Roger decided it was time for a change of industry and country and headed back to China, where in 2003 he co-founded Snowpeak Co. (Beijing) to distribute several international snow sports and outdoor brands in the growing Chinese outdoor market. Brand partners included UVEX sports protection equipments (German), Masters hiking poles (Italian), Fox River performance socks (USA). Snowpeak created a national network of outdoor specialty dealers to market and distribute these brands. Snowpeak was acquired by Sunwind Outdoor , one of China's leading outdoor specialty retailers in April 2004 and Roger was made responsible for Sunwind’s product strategy, buying, and marketing. During his tenure, Roger helped grew Sunwind's retail operation from one to six shops in the Beijing area.
In March 2005 Roger left to set up the China Outdoor Retailer Association (CORA), to facilitate the entry of international outdoor products into the Chinese market. CORA provides enabling services for premium international outdoor brands looking for entry or expanding business presence in China. In addition, CORA provides professional services to Chinese outdoor retailers in product training and store merchandising

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