{"id":9486,"date":"2022-02-16T07:30:35","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T07:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=9486"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:44:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:44:25","slug":"will-chinese-sports-brand-anta-overtake-nike-and-adidas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/will-chinese-sports-brand-anta-overtake-nike-and-adidas\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Chinese sports brand Anta overtake Nike and Adidas? \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

With sales of Nike and Adidas in China weakening, can Chinese brands like Anta step in to fill the gap? Juliette Pitt<\/strong> looks at how the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and a partnership with Eileen Gu are helping to cement Anta as a market leader<\/h2>\n

China\u2019s athleisure market is booming. As more and more Chinese people make fitness part of their daily schedule, China\u2019s sportswear market has become the second-largest in the world behind the US. In 2019, the retail value of the Chinese sportswear market reached an estimated RMB 316.6 billion (\u00a336.8 billion).\u00a0<\/span>Foreign athletic wear has long been favoured by Chinese consumers, with brands such as Nike and Adidas maintaining a leading position in the market over domestic Chinese brands<\/a> primarily due to their high quality.<\/p>\n

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However, in recent years the direction of the sportswear market has shifted, and Chinese sports brands such Anta and Li Ning are rapidly closing in on foreign companies. Whilst these brands are virtually unheard of outside of China, they are becoming ubiquitous in their home country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Anta (established in 1991) is currently ranked third in terms of market share behind Nike and Adidas. In the first half of 2021 alone, Anta Group generated revenues of RMB 22.8 billion (\u00a32.6 billion), markedly exceeding the revenue levels of Adidas by RMB 4.5 billion (\u00a3500 million) and doubling that of Li-Ning\u2019s. Furthermore, Anta topped online sales on Tmall with Nike and Adidas coming in second and third, respectively. Industry experts predict that if Anta continues at its current growth rate it will soon overtake Adidas in market value and marginally trail behind Nike. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, there is still room for growth for foreign sportswear brands, but they need to understand the reasons behind Anta\u2019s rapid rise if they want to succeed in the market.<\/p>\n