Anta eyes cooperation with major global brands

Anta Sports Products Ltd, China's leading sportswear company, is looking for possible collaboration with a global sports brand to explore international markets, said a company executive.

Zheng Jie, president of Anta, said in an interview with China Daily that the company delivered a record performance in the first six months ended June 30.

"We are expecting a global brand that is complementary to Anta's current multiple brand portfolio," said Zheng, adding that each of its existing brands has unique market positions.

Zheng said the diversified demand for sportswear in China had created more opportunities for its multiple brand strategy.

Anta's revenue in the first half reached 10.55 billion yuan ($1.54 billion), up 44.1 percent year-on-year and its profit rose 34 percent to 1.94 billion. Gross profit increased 3.7 percentage points to 54.3 percent.

Newly acquired high-fashion sports brand FILA has boosted Anta's strong growth. With 1,248 stores in China - an increase from 162 stores last year, FILA, positioned as a high-end sports fashion brand targeting high-end consumers, has witnessed a strong surge, contributing to the greatest growth in the group, according to Zheng.

Retail sales of Anta branded products and other branded products during the period increased by 85 percent to 90 percent year-on-year respectively.

In comparison, leading Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning's revenue growth in the first half was 17.9 percent, reaching 4.71 billion yuan. Revenue from Li Ning's apparel business rose 30.7 percent year-on-year in the first six months of the year, accounting for the bulk of the company's total revenue.

Meanwhile, Anta's operating profit margin dropped from 25.9 percent to 25.5 percent due to increased spending on sales and distributions.

Profits allocated to shareholders declined from 19.8 percent to 8.4 percent due to a net foreign exchange loss recorded during the financial period. Anta's apparel sector earned revenue of 6.06 billion yuan, or 57.5 percent of the total revenue, up from 50.5 percent in the previous financial period. Of which FILA has played a major role, with growth exceeding 85 percent.

Footwear, mostly contributed by Anta branded products, took up 38.9 of revenue, reaching 4.1 billion yuan.

The group has 11,316 stores, covered by its single-focus, multiple brand strategy, positioning its brands across the mass market to high-end market spectrum.

Ding Shizhong, chairman and CEO of Anta Sports, said that since the beginning of 2018, it was clear to Anta that China has set itself the goal of becoming a sports powerhouse and the sportswear industry is entering a golden era of rapid growth with unprecedented infrastructure development.

"Whether or not the brands can seize these opportunities will be the key to the success of each company," said Ding.

He added that Anta must build up its own capacity to innovate to ensure that they can rival international brands to "provide consumers with value-for-money sportswear products of high international standards".