Can sports style be a good medicine for shoe and apparel companies?
Many shoe and clothing companies have taken aim at the sports style. As of September 29, a Beijing Business Daily reporter found that brands such as Semir Clothing, Peacebird, and Belle have all deployed in the field of sports shoes and clothing. For the layout, each company gave the same reason – the rapid growth of the sports market. According to industry insiders, betting on sports style in casual shoes and clothing is a new trend currently seeking growth. However, if brands lacking sports genes want to achieve growth and occupy a certain market by expanding into the sports field, it not only takes time, but also faces poses certain challenges.
Aiming for sports style
Sports style has become popular. According to incomplete statistics from reporters, within this year, brands such as Peacebird, Semir Clothing, and Qianbaidu have successively revealed their ambitions to expand into the field of sports shoes and apparel.
Peacebird launched a new sports fashion series in September this year with the design theme of “WE ARE PEACE CREW”. It is understood that this series of products consists of two product lines, AIR×PEACE and SPCN, focusing on the “younger” route. It has been officially launched simultaneously in major online official channels and offline channels. From the perspective of price, the PEACEBIRD sports series is positioned as a “high-end” line, with product prices ranging from 500-800 yuan, and some even exceed 1,000 yuan.
Semir Apparel, which has been in the field of casual clothing for many years, has also released a signal to enter the field of sportswear. In July this year, Semir Clothing established Shanghai Senxiaomiao Sportswear Co., Ltd. with a registered capital of 30 million yuan and a shareholding ratio of 100%. Its business scope includes shoe and hat retail; shoe and hat wholesale; clothing and apparel retail; clothing and apparel wholesale; and sporting goods. and equipment retail, etc. Not only that, Semir Clothing is also the exclusive agent of Asics Kids, a well-known Japanese sports brand.
Qianbaidu, an established women’s shoe company, also mentioned in its 2022 interim report that it plans to establish a sports and leisure R&D department in the second half of the year. Belle has also been experimenting with the layout of women’s shoes in the sports field. It has previously co-branded with sports brands and recently invested in the designer sportswear brand MAIA ACTIVE.
Behind the bets on the sports field, all brands have given the same reason, that is, they are optimistic about the sports market. Peacebird said that in the apparel field, the overall performance of sportswear apparel is better than that of the industry. Qianbaidu said that “sportswear has become the only market with positive growth in the past two years.”
According to Wu Daiqi, CEO of Shenzhen Siqisheng Company, from an industry perspective, the performance of sportswear apparel is indeed better than that of the casual apparel industry. This is related to the stimulation of Chinese consumers’ awareness of sports and fitness and changes in consumption habits. However, it is not ruled out that driven by the marketing of leading domestic and foreign brands such as Adidas, Nike, Anta, and Li-Ning, the sportswear segment will outperform the industry.
Regarding issues related to the layout of the sports field, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily conducted interviews with Semir Clothing and Qianbaidu, but no reply was received as of press time.
Finding new growth points
It is undeniable that, judging from the annual report data of various shoe and apparel companies, the performance of sports shoe and apparel companies will indeed be better.
In the first half of 2022, Semir Apparel’s revenue and net profit experienced a double decline. Revenue was 5.641 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 13.43%, and net profit was 104 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 84.31%. Peacebird’s revenue was 4.197 billion yuan, down 16.31% year-on-year; net profit was 133 million yuan, down 68% year-on-year. CianBaidu’s performance is also hardly optimistic, with both revenue and net profit declining.
Looking at sports brands, in the first half of 2022, Li Ning achieved revenue of 12.409 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.7%; net profit was 2.189 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.6%. Anta achieved revenue of 25.97 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.8%; net profit was 3.588 billion yuan. Xtep’s revenue was 5.684 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37.5%; net profit was 590 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.4%.
From the perspective of the entire sports market, the size of the sportswear market is also growing rapidly. Data shows that from 2017 to 2021, my country’s sportswear market size increased from 221.5 billion yuan to 387.1 billion yuan, with an average annual compound growth rate of 14.98%. Some institutions predict that the market size will reach 438.4 billion yuan in 2022.
As the market continues to expand, there will naturally be no shortage of competitors. It is understood that in the current domestic sports market, in addition to the intensified deployment of foreign brands such as Nike and Adidas, domestic brands such as Li Ning and Anta are also constantly seizing the market. Data shows that in my country’s sportswear market in 2021, Nike still occupies the top spot among sports brands, with a market share of 25.2%; Anta, Adidas, Li Ning, Skechers, and Xtep account for 16.2%, 14.8%, 8.2%, 6.6%, and 4.4% respectively. Followed closely by the proportion, the top ten market share totaled 83.5%.
Wu Daiqi said that as far as sportswear is concerned, it is very professional and requires a lot of research investment in design, fabrics and other aspects before it is possible to create original fashion and lead consumer demand. Therefore, for various casual clothing companies, Entering new areas still requires increased R&D investment and operational cycles.
“The above-mentioned brands themselves are not from sports and have no sports genes. Being deployed in the sports field means entering an unfamiliar environment. This requires a high degree of cooperation from the entire team in terms of R&D, marketing, channels, management, etc. The existing team and supply chain areMatching and whether the market can accept it are all problems these brands have to face. ” added Cheng Weixiong, an independent analyst in the footwear and apparel industry.
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