The Golden State Warriors winning their first NBA championship in 40 years – after cruising past the injury-plagued Cleveland Cavaliers 4-2 in the finals – has brought down the curtain on the 2014-15 NBA Season a week ago.
But for the three million basketball fans in China, there is never such an off-season in summer, as sneaker manufacturers can't wait one more second to bring some of the world's most electrifying stars here to capitalize on their stardom and popularity in order to stay in the fierce market competition.
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Carl Landry (left) of Sacramento Kings and Tony Parker (right) promote their PEAK sneakers at a press conference in Beijing, June 23. [Photo provided to China Daily] |
PEAK Sport, one of the largest domestic sportswear brands originating from Jinjiang city, the so-called "Chinese shoe capital", threw the first punch on Tuesday night by introducing two of its spokesmen – Tony Parker with San Antonio Spurs and Carl Landry with Sacramento Kings – to hundreds of fans at a get-together in Beijing.
Landry was known to lots of Chinese for being a solid teammate of Yao Ming at Houston Rockets from 2007-2010. The current Kings forward said he always valued the partnership with PEAK and wished he could be on the PEAK team forever.
The more powerful evidence of his commitment to the partnership is, perhaps, the cast protector he has been wearing throughout promotional events across China over the past week following a recent wrist surgery.
Parker, who has been nursing some minor injuries, said the recovery has been going well. The six-time NBA All-Star and the 2007 NBA Finals MVP, also plans to play in the FIBA EuroBasket tournament in September.
Both of them received gifts from fans and unveiled new editions of their PEAK sneakers. The pair also watched from the sideline the opening game of a nationwide 3-on-3 basketball league inaugurated by PEAK.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of PEAK launching the summer China Tour for its signed NBA stars, a campaign that witnessed the boom of the game of basketball as well as PEAK's business, according to Xu Zhihua, CEO of PEAK.
"Our domestic market share in the industry has been No.1 for seven years in a row. We'll consolidate the dominance by signing more big stars, supporting pro and grassroots basketball and increasing investment in technology of our products," he said.
