China signals: Salomon’s $3B ambition, smart glasses boom, coffee chain collabs

This week’s three stories share a theme: brands are finding new ways to enter consumers’ daily lives — whether through lifestyle ambition, wearable tech, or a cup of coffee. Amer Sports raised its Q3 outlook and laid out ambitious targets at its Investor Day — Salomon aims to hit $3 billion in revenue by 2028, with its China store network expanding from fewer than 100 in 2024 to around 350 today. Smart glasses sales more than doubled in the first eight months of 2026, driven by the convergence of tech and fashion through collaborations like Ray-Ban Meta and Rokid x Bolon. And a growing wave of fashion labels, from Thom Browne to Clot, are partnering with coffee chains like Manner to embed themselves in consumers' daily routines. Why Salomon's Sportstyle pivot and China expansion matter for Amer Sports' growth Market intel: Global sporting goods group Amer Sports has raised its 2026 third-quarter revenue growth forecast to 20%–22% year-on-year, from 18%–20% previously, with adjusted operating margin expected to slightly exceed the upper end of its 13.5%–14% guidance. The group now targets low-double-digit to mid-teens annual revenue growth over the long term, with adjusted operating margin expanding by more than 30–70 basis points annually. On September 16, the day before its Investor Day, the group said Salomon aims to exceed $2.5 billion in revenue by the end of 2026 and reach $3 billion by 2028. The brand had already passed the $2 billion revenue mark in 2025, meaning the new target represents adding another billion dollars in just a few years. Sportstyle, the brand’s fashion and lifestyle division, currently accounts for about 40% of Salomon’s revenue, followed by performance footwear at 30%, winter sports at 15%, and apparel and bags at 15%. China is expected to become a key growth engine, with Salomon's local store network expanding from fewer than 100 in 2024 to about 350 today. Amer Sports said Greater China delivered strong double-digit growth in the second quarter, and the company expects Salomon to reach $1 billion in China revenue “pretty soon.” Amer Sports’ broader brand portfolio includes Arc’teryx, Salomon, Wilson, Peak Performance, and Atomic. Market indicator: Salomon’s $3 billion target represents a strategic pivot from technical trail-running specialist to broader lifestyle brand. The Sportstyle division, already 40% of revenue, is the vehicle for this transformation—moving beyond Salomon's traditional image to attract younger and female consumers. This is a deliberate diversification away from the brand's core performance heritage, and it's working: Sportstyle has become the largest revenue category, surpassing performance footwear. China is central to this shift. The retail network has expanded dramatically from fewer than 100 stores in 2024 to around 350 today, and the brand is targeting $1 billion in China revenue. This aggressive expansion reflects both the scale of opportunity and the competitive necessity—brands like Arc'teryx, Descente, and Kolon Sport are all racing to capture China's premium outdoor and lifestyle market. The challenge is maintaining credibility in performance while chasing lifestyle growth. Salomon's advantage is its 70-plus years of trail running heritage and technical credibility, which gives it authenticity that pure fashion brands lack. But scaling Sportstyle without diluting the brand's performance DNA is delicate. Salomon's playbook—expand China retail, diversify product categories, and leverage heritage—offers a template worth studying for other outdoor brands eyeing the lifestyle market. What the smart glasses boom means for EssilorLuxottica, Kering and luxury eyewear in China Market intel: Sales of smart glasses on major Chinese platforms more than doubled year-on-year in the first eight months of 2026, rising 1.2 times, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. The strong growth reflects growing consumer demand for smart wearable devices, with China's market drawing increasing international attention. Research firm Omdia expects global smart glasses shipments to grow more than 70% this year to 15 million units, while China's shipments are forecast to double to 2.1 million units. Chinese smart glasses makers are increasingly adopting augmented reality technology, including real-time displays of text and images. Smart glasses have successfully transitioned from bulky tech gadgets into coveted high-fashion accessories through major collaborations between technology giants and luxury eyewear houses. Highly popular releases include the Meta x EssilorLuxottica (Ray-Ban Meta) collection, Google's Android XR partnership with Kering (Gucci), and domestic crossovers like Rokid x Bolon. By incorporating contemporary aesthetics—such as sleek titanium, transparent acetates, and gradient tints—smart glasses now complement diverse styling trends, offering a blend of high-tech functionality and "quiet luxury" runway appeal. Voice interaction was the most preferred smart-glasses function in a 2025 China consumer survey, suggesting people are looking for a more natural way to interact with technology. Market indicator: The smart glasses boom is a case study in how technology becomes fashion. The turning point came when tech companies stopped trying to make fashionable tech and started collaborating with brands that already understood fashion. By partnering with iconic eyewear brands like Ray-Ban and Bolon, tech companies made smart glasses stylish rather than geeky. The result is a product that appeals to both tech enthusiasts and fashion-conscious consumers—a rare crossover success. What's particularly interesting about China is that consumers seem very interested in the interactive element—especially voice interaction, visual recognition, and hands-free AI features. This suggests Chinese consumers are not just buying smart glasses as fashion accessories but as functional tools that enhance daily life. The market is evolving quickly, and the brands that can balance style with substance will win. For luxury brands, this trend signals both opportunity and disruption. Luxury eyewear houses like EssilorLuxottica and Kering are already partnering with tech companies, recognizing that the future of eyewear is smart. For brands that haven't entered this space, the question is whether they can afford to stay on the sidelines. As smart glasses become more integrated into daily life—for navigation, communication, and information—the brands that own this category will have a significant advantage in shaping how consumers interact with the world. How Manner, Luckin Coffee and Chagee are turning fashion collaborations into daily rituals in China Market intel: A growing wave of fashion brands are teaming up with coffee and tea chains in China. Rest & Recreation, the South Korean fashion label founded in 2022, partnered with Manner Coffee on a co-branded collection featuring a glass tumbler and accessories in RR's signature light blue palette. The collection includes a beach towel available via Manner's points mall and the tumbler with set meals, alongside branded pop-ups in Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, and Wuhan. Manner, founded in Shanghai in 2015 and now one of China's largest specialty coffee chains with over 2,000 direct-operated stores, also collaborated with Fantastic Man and Thom Browne on a week-long lifestyle campaign combining coffee, fashion, and reading. The campaign featured a limited-edition Tiramisu Latte and a co-branded set with a canvas tote, alongside specially designed packaging featuring literary quotes. Offline, Manner created a themed space at its North Bund Guoke Riverside store in Shanghai, while 12 stores nationwide introduced temporary reading corners. Chagee teamed up with Hong Kong streetwear brand Clot, founded by Edison Chen, in a matcha-themed collaboration launched September 16. Clot contributed to the visual design, featuring forest-green motifs, traditional Chinese patterns, and dragon elements across co-branded cups and removable double-layer sleeves. The collection includes three new drinks and lifestyle products such as a tote bag, thermos, and rug, combining Eastern tea culture with Clot’s streetwear aesthetic. Crocs also collaborated with Luckin Coffee on a summer collection featuring a co-branded Classic Clog and accessories inspired by urban coffee culture. Market indicator: Coffee chains have become a new physical platform for fashion brands to engage consumers in China. The appeal is clear: coffee shops are part of daily routines, reaching people in moments of relaxation and socializing rather than in retail settings where they might feel pressured to buy. For fashion brands, this is a way to become part of everyday life, not just special occasions. Manner is leading this trend, having collaborated with names including Louis Vuitton, Thom Browne, and Fantastic Man, as well as luxury cars, lifestyle and beauty brands. The strategy works because it creates cultural value for both sides: fashion brands get broad exposure and cultural relevance, while coffee chains get fashion credibility and differentiation. The co-branded products — tumblers, totes, charms — also serve as affordable entry points for consumers who can't afford the fashion brands' main lines, creating aspirational touchpoints without the price barrier. For brands looking to reach younger consumers authentically, coffee collaborations offer a lower-cost, higher-frequency alternative to traditional pop-ups. As the lines between retail, dining, and lifestyle continue to blur, these partnerships may become a standard part of the marketing playbook. The key is authenticity—collaborations that feel forced or purely commercial tend to fall flat. The most successful ones, like Manner x Thom Browne, create genuine cultural moments that consumers want to be part of.

China signals: Salomon’s $3B ambition, smart glasses boom, coffee chain collabs

How 2026 welcomed ‘Too Cool’ back

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China signals: Salomon’s $3B ambition, smart glasses boom, coffee chain collabs

How 2026 welcomed ‘Too Cool’ back