Sports brand campaign children's wear market in the end who is the winner?
At the end of last month, the children's wear brand Crane Emperor finally revealed its partnership with the sports giant Li Ning. The two well-known domestic brands in Beijing had secretly signed a collaboration agreement months ago to launch the LiNing Kids line, which is set to hit the market next year. "Little Li Ning" isn't alone in this move — local sports brand Anta also plans to unveil its own children’s clothing line in the first quarter of next year. This signals that both Li Ning and Anta will soon be competing directly with global giants Nike and Adidas, who have already established strong footholds in the children's apparel market.
With the "ground snake" facing the "strong dragon," can these emerging Chinese brands carve out a significant share of the children's market? Li Ning and Anta are currently leading the charge among domestic sports brands, while Nike and Adidas remain dominant international players. According to Li Ning’s recent semi-annual report, the company saw a 32.4% revenue increase to 4.052 billion yuan from January to June this year, with net profit rising by 41.6% to 477 million yuan. This marks the first time Li Ning has surpassed Adidas in operating profit. The brand now operates 6,809 retail stores, adding 564 new locations this year. If this growth rate continues, Li Ning could surpass 80 billion yuan in annual sales by year-end, climbing from second place to the top in China’s sports brand rankings.
Anta, which started as a small family workshop, lacks the star power of Li Ning but has grown rapidly over the past two decades. Between 1999 and now, its sales have multiplied several times. In the first half of 2009, Anta reported 6,129 distributors and sales revenue of 2.82 billion yuan. Based on this performance, the company is expected to exceed 6 billion yuan in annual sales, becoming the top brand in China’s sports sector.
Nike, the world’s largest sports product supplier in China, still holds the top position in the market. Adidas follows closely, even securing a slightly higher market share than Nike during the Beijing Olympics. However, despite their dominance, both Nike and Adidas are facing challenges this year. In the third quarter, Adidas reported a 29% drop in operating profit and a 7% decline in sales compared to the same period last year. Nike’s sub-brands, such as Converse and Reebok, have also seen declining performance.
Belle, the largest distributor for Nike and Adidas in mainland China, reported that its revenue from these brands reached 33.2 billion yuan in the first half of 2009 — a 2.5% increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, many international brands have struggled to maintain momentum, with some major agents announcing they will exit the sports apparel business entirely.
While Nike and Adidas still dominate the high-end segment, Li Ning and Anta have been aggressively expanding their retail networks. With the sports market reaching saturation after years of rapid growth, industry restructuring is underway. For both domestic and international brands, finding new sources of profit has become a critical challenge. The competition is heating up, and the battle for the children’s market is just beginning.
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