Reported by our reporter Xu Liqing from Beijing
Resilience to resist uncertainty and long-term track prosperity. "This is an industry research report summarizing the past and predicting the future of the domestic sports footwear and clothing industry. From the industry financial report, it can be seen that despite facing certain challenges in 2022, the total revenue of Li Ning, Anta, Tebu, and 361 ° sports shoe and clothing enterprises still increased by 13.1% year-on-year to 99.35 billion yuan in terms of annual performance.
With the recovery of consumption, sports shoes and clothing have also ushered in new opportunities. "Looking forward to the Chinese sports brand market after 2023, driven by the optimization of various macro consumption promotion policies, combined with the increasing support for the private economy in the near future, there will be a pattern of flowers blooming in the future." Chen Jia, an independent international strategy researcher, told China Business Journal.
Not only are domestic sports shoes and clothing brands intensifying their layout, but foreign brands are also targeting the Chinese market. In the next three years, the proportion of products created by China in the overall market of Adidas China will increase from about 10% to over 30%, "the person in charge of Adidas told reporters.
A Hundred Flowers Bloom in the Sports Shoe and Clothing Industry
For sports footwear and clothing enterprises, 2022 is a year full of opportunities and challenges. From the Winter Olympics to the World Cup, 2022 is an absolute year for sports, but at the same time, sports footwear and clothing brands also face some challenges. In such a year, domestic footwear and clothing brands have demonstrated their resilience. Observing the current domestic sports shoe and clothing market, we can see a situation where a hundred flowers bloom, not only referring to the diversity of brands, but also the rich scene displayed by different strategies and strategies of enterprises.
Taking Li Ning and 361 ° as examples, both focus on the development of a single brand and multiple categories.
Li Ning's relevant person in charge told reporters that its strategy is "single brand, multiple categories, and multiple channels". And this strategy will continue. We will also adhere to the principle of "single brand, multiple categories, and multiple channels". This is not only our confidence in the domestic market, but also our confidence in our own brand. We have always believed that doing a good brand and making it better serve consumers is a strategy and strategy that our company should adhere to Qian Wei, co CEO of Li Ning Group, stated at the performance exchange meeting.
In the eyes of independent commentator Ma Gang in the footwear and clothing industry, this is Li Ning's "balance of expertise and expertise". "Li Ning focuses on the operation of the two brands, 'Classic Li Ning' and 'China Li Ning'. By virtue of the bold refinement and promotion of traditional culture, 'China Li Ning' has become high-end and young, which is Li Ning's' specialty '.' Bo 'is diversified. In addition to controlling Li Ning, the Li Ning family has also controlled Extraordinary China, Ryan Capital, etc., and has successively included brands such as Red Shuangxi, Bossini, Clarks, etc. in its business landscape. In addition, Its business scope includes sports real estate, sports brokerage, sports equipment, e-sports, etc. The synergy between the two forms Li Ning's differentiated development path Ma Gang said.
Anta, on the other hand, adopts a strategy of "single focus, multiple brands, and all channels". Ma Gang told reporters, "Since Anta took over Feile from Belle, its differentiation has gradually begun. Feile's success has also accelerated Anta's multi brand matrix layout. After a series of mergers and acquisitions, Anta began to globalize its layout. At the same time, DTC transformation was launched in 2020, opening up Anta endogenous growth channel (that is, optimizing internal synergy efficiency, reducing costs, and achieving performance growth)
Zhang Shule, a commentator on the internet industry and columnist for People's Daily and People's Post, believes that Li Ning has chosen to build a new brand, China Li Ning, and has risen to the top; Anta quickly broke through by acquiring the Italian brand Fiele. The former is easy to integrate with traditional Chinese culture, while the latter is easy to follow an international model.
In addition, there are also foreign brands that continue to layout in the Chinese market. The relevant person in charge of Adidas told reporters that in the Chinese market, the very important adjustment direction of Adidas in the future is "create in China", that is, through Big data, insight into the needs of Chinese consumers, including cooperation with more young Chinese designers and artists to create more products full of Chinese elements. In the next three years, the proportion of products created by China in the overall market of Adidas China will increase from about 10% to over 30%.
In fact, in the current season, many small brands both domestically and internationally have also welcomed development opportunities. Chen Jia, an independent international strategy researcher, believes that the recent development of China's sports brand market has slowed down, and competition has also accelerated the internal impetus for the optimization and integration of the industrial pattern. In the current key industry adjustment period, new niche brands at home and abroad are also constantly exploring and developing the seemingly saturated sports apparel market.
At the micro level, residents' understanding of sports, fitness, and fashion is constantly deepening and showing differentiated development. On the one hand, the linkage between sports, environmental protection, and low-carbon brand values is strong, and the outdoor sports professional equipment market has begun to steadily and continuously grow. On the other hand, while the suppressed community mass cultural and fitness activities have rebounded again, various niche sports driven by high-end fitness and professional sports venues and equipment have begun to comprehensively promote Rise. It seems that once niche brands are also having a comprehensive impact on traditional brands in the professional market Chen Jia said.
Competing for technology research and development
From the strategic perspective of various shoe and clothing companies, technology research and development is a key task for the future. Ma Gang believes that compared to leisure sports brands, professional sports shoes and clothing brands, technology and research and development are crucial.
Li Ning's relevant person in charge told reporters that in 2023, Li Ning Group will continue to adhere to the strategy of "single brand, multiple categories, and multiple channels", continue to deepen its efforts in product function research and technological innovation, and enhance its retail operation capabilities.
The core of Li Ning's "product function research and technological innovation" is the "䨻 technology platform". According to Qian Wei, the 䨻 technology platform has undergone significant changes in the past two to three years, extending from running to the entire shoe matrix, to basketball matrix, and even sports and lifestyle products.
Not only Li Ning, but other domestic brands are also making efforts in technology research and development. The reporter learned that 361 ° has established a "Global Innovation Partnership" to leverage university "think tanks" to overcome industry pain points, utilize the intellectual resources of university research institutes to tackle key problems, actively engage in reverse industry university research cooperation, and assist in the development and output of 361 °'s application innovation work. The person in charge of 361 ° stated that 361 ° will implement carbon reduction and environmental protection in technology and products, and CQT carbon critical technology is the latest embodiment of 361 ° in innovative environmental technology research and development.
There are also special steps that choose to cooperate with universities. Recently, the first batch of school enterprise cooperation has been launched, and a strategic cooperation relationship has been established with Beijing University of Chemical Technology to carry out in-depth cooperation in new materials, green chemicals, low-carbon environmental protection and other aspects, and enhance technological innovation based on the research and development capabilities of universities.
Zhang Shule believes that compared to foreign brands, the overall design and technology sense of domestic brands are constantly improving. Filling in this technology gap requires some time and effective overseas brand mergers and acquisitions to accumulate. However, overall, the gap is narrowing.
Faced with the pursuit of domestic brands, foreign brands are also continuously investing in research and development. The person in charge of Adidas told reporters that Adidas continuously invests research and development efforts on the basis of innovative midsole technology, providing consumers with a better wearing experience with BOOST foam with different performance. Adidas also develops different midsole technologies tailored to the needs of different consumers.
Zhang Shule believes that technology is the last competitive point for sports brands and the key to whether they can ultimately gain a stable user base in the mid to high end. This is not marketing, but Hard power competition.
Enterprises need to improve their internal skills
In Ma Gang's view, people are paying more attention to health and exercise at present, so in the past period, the impact on sports footwear and clothing categories was not as severe as other footwear and clothing categories. On the other hand, sports shoes and clothing are between "durable goods" and "fast moving consumer goods", and their performance recovery will also be relatively slow. That means clothing consumption is a symbol of the overall economic recovery, "Ma Gang said.
However, from the current perspective, the sports shoes and clothing market has gradually recovered, which can be reflected in inventory.
A research report by Guosheng Securities also mentioned that in 2022, due to short-term factors such as weak consumer environment and fluctuations in terminal passenger flow, the inventory levels of target companies in the sports shoes and clothing industry have increased to varying degrees. However, after entering 2023, with the improvement of consumption and effective inventory reduction measures taken by the company, the inventory levels of various brand channels have decreased to varying degrees compared to the average year of 2022.
The above research report predicts that the current special inventory sales ratio has decreased to a level within 5 months, and is expected to return to a healthy level within 4 months by the end of the year; The sales ratio of Anta and Feileku is currently expected to be between 4-5 months, basically at a healthy level; From the perspective of inventory age structure, as of now, new products within 6 months are still the main component of channel inventory. Under the current relatively healthy inventory quality, with the recovery of consumer demand in the future, industry companies have the ability to quickly respond to the demand for goods from end consumers.
Chen Jia believes that in order to achieve the second growth of sports shoes and clothing brands, they must do a good job in basic skills while optimizing corporate strategies.
Firstly, it is necessary to correctly grasp the market characteristics of the post pandemic era, especially the production capacity management and inventory management at all ends of the industrial chain, which is the cornerstone of the correct inventory reduction strategy. Secondly, it is necessary to conduct research on China's macro consumption transformation, accurately understand the current consumer wave, and have a full understanding and sufficient contingency plans for the rapid development of local niche brand markets, and choose targeted attack and defense strategies for each segmented market. Thirdly, it is necessary to At the strategic level, maintain objectivity and clarity, and understand that the traditional old brand of the foundation must go through multiple rounds of secondary growth that need to be overcome. Especially, at the macro level, be cautious in dealing with the development traps of large enterprises that are difficult to turn around; Reasonably view the market risks brought by non rigid demand sports consumption and the downgrading of consumption in some high-end sectors at a micro level Chen Jia said.
Cheng Weixiong, the founder of Shanghai Liangqi Brand management Co., Ltd., also believes that the recovery cycle of the consumer and supply side damaged will not be too short, and needs a certain period of healing and recovery. For the leading enterprises, it is not a race to carve out new territory, but needs extensive development and return to the fine management of internal control, from the pursuit of total gross profit to the intensive pursuit of single store gross profit, from becoming bigger to becoming stronger, better, and more profitable.