Anta profits surge as sales rise 22.5%

Anta's products display at an expo in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, May 10, 2014. [Photo provided to China Daily]

To strengthen the stylish elements in its product, Anta has also teamed up with ethnic Chinese fashion designer Anna Sui to launch the "Anna Sui for Fila" collection in 2014.

James Zheng, executive director and Anta brand president, said: "We have adopted the multi-brand strategy and diversified product portfolio method to capture the opportunities in various high potential markets. And we are confident sales performance will stay good in the year 2015."

Ding, the chairman, said the company was scouting for suitable international brands for possible merger and acquisition deals, and indicated that the company was in advanced talks with some of them.

Meanwhile, the company plans to further reduce store numbers in 2015, and to expand its e-commerce channels. The number of Anta stores by the end of 2014 was 7,622, 1.7 percent down from 2013. Fila and Anta kids sportswear stores stood at 519 and 1,228 by the end of last year.