Outdoor sports enthusiasts enjoy climbing on Changchong Mountain, a paradise in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province on August 29, 2022. Photo: IC

Leading Chinese sportswear brands reported strong growth in the third quarter, paving the way for combined annual revenues to exceed the 100 billion yuan ($13.82 billion) mark this year. 

Analysts said that strong marketing and good quality will enable the companies to continue to make gains in the market, shrugging off the impact of COVID-19. In comparison, foreign sportswear giants such as Nike and Adidas were waning in the Chinese market.

The leading domestic sportswear companies released their third-quarter earnings last week. Xtep International Holdings said its retail sales grew by 20-25 percent year-on-year. 

ANTA Sports Products said its retail revenues grew by single digits and its FILA brand recorded 10-20 percent growth, and 361 Degrees International said its growth in the quarter reached double digits, while its children's clothing segment saw revenues rise 20-25 percent. 

The top domestic sports brands' first-half revenues reached a combined 47.71 billion yuan, and with their growth momentum showing no signs of slowing, the full-year figure is expected to breach 100 billion yuan, news portal jiemian.com reported.

Domestic sports brands have grasped the trend of the rise of "China-chic", combining Chinese cultural elements and trendy designs to meet the demand of younger consumers, Zhang Qing, CEO of Key Solution Sports Co, a consulting firm for the sports industry in China, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"They are making continuous efforts in marketing and promotion, such as Anta's cooperation with the Beijing Winter Olympics, and Xtep's sponsorship of various running sports," Zhang added.

Despite the impact of the pandemic, outdoor camping and other outdoor sport activities began to expand, coupled with the country's major effort to promote fitness. The trends have spurred consumption of sports goods.

Producers have confidence in the nation's economic future and market demand for sports products will likely continue to rise, Zhang said.

These results were announced as foreign sports brands continued to report declining results, which analysts said was related to their taking sides in the Western' smear campaign led by the US against China's Xinjiang.

Adidas said its sales in greater China area dropped by double digits, which the company attributed to COVID-19's impact and inventory take-backs. It was the sixth consecutive quarter in which the company reported a decline. 

The company's global sales increased 11 percent to 6.408 billion euros ($6.31 billion) in the quarter and it cut its full-year guidance to a mid-single-digit percentage growth, down from a mid- to high-single-digit forecast previously.

Last week, Stella International Holdings, an original equipment manufacturer for Nike and other brands such as Under Armour and Timberland, said that its third-quarter revenue growth was 4.8 percent, while the figure for the first three quarters was 13.5 percent. 

In September, Nike said its China sales fell 16 percent over the year to reach $1.65 billion for the June-August quarter. 

As domestic sports brands become more competitive in terms of quality, professionalism and popularity, as well as their improvement of the public's brand awareness, consumers no longer favor international brands, Zhang said.


Global Times