As the market environment reshapes, what new opportunities will domestic brands such as Anta Xtep 361° usher in?

From technology to culture, from products to consumers, channel changes, category segmentation, new demands, marketing changes…

In the past three years, the “play” of the sporting goods industry has not diminished, but has become more fully “involved”. At the end of 2022, it will show new vitality and open up new outlets for the industry.

It is also in the past three years that the public’s awareness and emphasis on health have increased unprecedentedly. For domestic brands such as Anta, Li Ning, Xtep, 361°, Zhongqiao Sports, and Hongxing Erke, in the face of a reshaped market environment, what other opportunities and trends are worthy of attention?

Industry

Segmentation: Mass sports are more refined

In January, the Anta brand successfully attracted the attention of many basketball enthusiasts and consumers with a pair of “Z-UP1” series of guard basketball shoes for “bouncing, running and shooting”.

As the market environment reshapes, what new opportunities will domestic brands such as Anta, Xtep, and 361° usher in?

This is Anta’s further development in the basketball category. In the past, there was the KT8, which is both a shooting player and some forward players. Later, there was the Frenzy 4 series, which focuses on the outfield, and there are also cost-effective guard shoes such as the Suju 5. In Anta’s basketball product map, it basically covers the needs of most basketball enthusiasts. Playing habits.

Like Anta, 361°’s efforts in basketball products in the past two years are obvious to all. The success of NBA forward Gordon’s signature shoes has also brought him a good reputation. At the end of last year, the first generation of Dinwiddie specifically for defenders was released immediately, making the competition for defensive line shoes more intense.

Also at the end of last year, Zhongqiao Sports joined hands with Spurs star Keldon Johnson to launch the “Spurs 6 PRO”, which also became a hot topic. In this cooperation, this old basketball product brand not only returned to the public eye of basketball consumers, but also won reputation with its products.

As a mass sport with the largest mass sports foundation and sports population base in China, the basketball market has long gone through the era of “a pair of rebound shoes can play all positions”.

“The understanding of playing positions has further transferred to the demand for basketball products in different positions, and has gradually become a commonality among young basketball enthusiasts today.” The person in charge of basketball for a leading sports brand said that behind the increased understanding of sports professionalism It is the further maturity of the consumer market, thereby promoting further segmentation of brand products.

This situation also occurs in running, a “national sport”.

In the running market last year, Hongxing Erke’s voice gradually increased. From the “Million-dollar Prize Recruitment for Shanghai Marathon Heroes” to a series of running products such as “Zhijing”, in the second half of last year, Hongxing Erke launched four or five products for different running groups, covering different running distance needs.

If Hongxing Erke’s series of operations are like the active pursuit of latecomers, then the release of Xtep’s new strategy of “world-class Chinese running shoes” in the second half of last year is more like a move to consolidate its position in the running market.

Among the runners, Xtep 160x series of professional marathon running shoes already have enough “fans”. But new demands are also emerging, and the operation of Saucony is the active layout of this domestic marathon “leader”.

Coincidentally, as the leading domestic sports brand, Anta further strengthened its “national team technology” nitrogen technology operations in running shoes last year. In the field of light running shoes, Anta C37 has completed its fourth iteration and has basically become the absolute best-selling item among domestic brands in the commuting and jogging segments.

The market also determines the brand’s actions. In the past year, running shoe brands including Angpai, Hoka, etc. have entered the Chinese market one after another, focusing on high-net-worth people. The price of entry-level products is usually around 1,000 yuan. At the same time, sports brands such as lululemon and Descente have also entered the running shoe market to meet the needs of their existing consumer groups for running shoe products.

In this regard, some people in the industry believe that the segmentation of products in the mass sports market not only reflects the brand’s sensitivity to the market, but also reflects the higher requirements for brand professionalism put forward by some mature sports.

Diversification: niche sports springing up like mushrooms after a rain

At Anta 982 Creative Space in Jinjiang, the person in charge of the store told reporters that during the Spring Festival, the store’s indoor ski experience area was fully booked early.

Skiing has become a new internet celebrity sport for many young consumers.

Not only skiing, in 2022, Frisbee sports will also become a hot search on the social platform Xiaohongshu. Niche sports such as flag football, baseball, skateboarding, camping, and wild fishing have also received unprecedented attention.

The first Beijing Frisbee Open in 2022 welcomed 120 teams and more than 2,000 people to participate, making it one of the largest individual Frisbee events in China.

“Flag football has become one of the most popular weekend sports for many white-collar workers in first-tier cities.” Cai Zhaohua, founder of Zebra Sports, told reporters that as a sports service platform, in the past year�It has been “planted” by many amateurs. At the same time, ANTA sneakers, ANTA skipping shoes, New Year’s baseball uniforms, etc. also have many “notes” by amateurs.

Reporters learned from relevant marketing companies of Xiaohongshu that brand cooperation “planting grass” will often be officially labeled as “sponsored” by Xiaohongshu. However, Anta has multiple spontaneous “notes” on the platform showing that The product itself is excellent.

The reporter observed that the Xiaohongshu platform is becoming a hot spot for many niche sportswear brands. For niche brands, Xiaohongshu “planting grass” has also become a low-cost communication option.

On the Douyin platform, Anta, Li Ning, Xtep, 361°, Peak, Hongxing Erke and other platforms have been successfully used as their important “online stores”. Hongxing Erke even hatched the “Crazy Subordinate” account to attract fans to watch “good shows” and maintain brand traffic.

Station B has become an important launch site for many brands of basketball categories. Blogger reviews, recommendations, dismantling, and analysis, bringing natural traffic and brand attribution are important reasons why many sports brands pay attention to Station B.

In addition, some brands have begun to join hands with platforms and KOLs to launch joint products.

Take Anta as an example. The cooperation with Hupu has consolidated the reputation of Anta’s Hayward series. The Frenzy 4 Wild Ball Emperor version just released in January this year is a collaboration with one of the largest KOLs in the basketball field, “Wild Ball Emperor”. “Achievements of cooperation.

In this regard, Ms. Shi, the business manager of a company in Xiamen that has served many brands for a long time, told reporters that for brands with high market sensitivity, if they directly face C-end consumers, they need to do business in places with the most consumers. In terms of placement, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, etc. are already the standard for brand placement. “And for young people, it must be good-looking, fun, and topical to enter the hearts of consumers.”

On the same frequency as consumers

Not only are marketing nodes seizing the minds of consumers, domestic brands are also fully aware of the importance of resonating with consumers in terms of values.

In the latest public speech, Anta Group founder Ding Shizhong said that Anta Group wants to create a “mental brand.” Among them, the most important is value recognition.

In fact, in the past few years, Anta, which is at the forefront of the industry, has realized this. “We are not just a company that makes money, but we also need to create social value.” It has already become a consensus among enterprises.

The focus on ESG is an important move for domestic brands such as Anta and Xtep.

Last year, Anta released an ESG report again. This is the seventh consecutive year that Anta has released an ESG report. The third-party ESG research institution Global ESG Monitor (GEM) released the latest GEM 2022 international rating report. Anta Group ranked eighth in the world’s most transparent ESG report, and in the Hong Kong, China regional report, Anta Group ranked first.

In the past few years, ANTA has not only joined hands with WWF to pay attention to the protection of finless porpoises and forest protection, but environmental protection has also become a development requirement for Anta Group and the product chain behind it. Not only that, the “Thriving Charity Plan” helps rural revitalization through the integration of sports and education, and ANTA proposes to treat sports as a career.

Last year, Xtep also released further ESG reports. Prior to this, in 2021, Xtep International proposed the “Ten-Year Sustainable Development Plan”, focusing on the three key issues of supply chain management, environmental protection and social responsibility, focusing on developing and improving relevant ESG practices. Since the first disclosure of the ESG report in 2016, Xtep has carried out many practices including establishing a sustainable development committee, launching an environmental protection technology platform, and establishing a supplier evaluation system.

On the product side, in recent years, Xtep has continued to create and innovate environmentally friendly materials and products. In terms of Xtep’s main brand, in addition to 100% polylactic acid windbreakers, 360-ECO running shoes and other products, the new brand XDNA has launched environmentally friendly denim-themed clothing; Xtep Group’s brand Saucony uses recycled materials and pineapple fiber to make shoes, Paladin proposed New ideas for recycling and transformation.

“Every great brand occupies the minds of consumers through super products. ESG is one of the long-term development strategies of the company, making ESG a part of consumers’ minds.” Ding Shizhong said at the Anta Group’s annual summary meeting , it is necessary to use intellectual products to drive the improvement of brand value. Global consumption upgrades have given rise to strong demand for super-smart products. “As the market slowly recovers in 2023, there will still be many opportunities for new growth, new tracks, and new categories. The sporting goods industry is still a golden track, and consumers’ love and willingness to purchase innovative products are still increasing.”

AAA

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