In recent years, a pair of co-branded and limited-edition sneakers by NBA stars can easily cost several thousand or tens of thousands. In China, they can even be “fried” for tens of thousands of yuan, which has made these foreign sports shoes and sportswear brands more popular. China is making a lot of money.
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However, after the NBA incident, including Sports brands including Nike are in a very embarrassing situation. Among them, Nike, as the exclusive jersey sponsor of the NBA, has been the most affected.
Few Western companies are more at risk than Nike after a U.S. basketball team executive tweeted about Hong Kong.
The American sportswear group is one of the biggest beneficiaries of China’s basketball boom. Under an exclusive agreement with the NBA, the group’s check mark will appear on NBA players’ jerseys.
“The brand has always been popular there,” said Brian Yarbrough, an analyst at St. Louis-based Edward Jones. For the New York-listed company with a market value of $115 billion, the Chinese market is so important that “a small problem could cause trouble for the entire investment plan.”
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In addition, Nike is increasingly relying on its growth in Greater China.
In the first quarter of this fiscal year, the company’s sales in Greater China surged 22%, accounting for about 17% of its total revenue. One analyst told the Financial Times that basketball and Nike are so popular in China that “they can go there and charge whatever they want.”
Previously, Nike CEO Mark Parker has repeatedly emphasized the importance of China to the company and reiterated its commitment to the region.
“Nike is a Chinese brand built for China, and the results continue to prove it. Over the past five-plus years, we have achieved two sales in Greater China every quarter. digit growth.
Parker added: “As we enter the new NBA season, we are also excited about the vitality of basketball in the region and around the world. ”
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However, the NBA turmoil has put Nike in an embarrassing situation .
For shoe companies, China’s growing middle class is increasingly interested in their products… If the controversy intensifies, sales could take a hit. Shoes Companies in the category have expressed concern that the ongoing Sino-US trade war will erode their profits.</p
