Consumer giants seek growth in China, sports brands shine

The Chinese market has become a battleground for overseas consumer giants, with mixed results in the second quarter reports, highlighting the significant advantages of sports brands.

The curtain of the second quarter reports in the US stock market has been slowly drawn, with many consumer giants collectively slowing down in performance and experiencing a general "defeat" in the Chinese market. Starbucks China saw a significant 14% drop in same-store sales, L'Oreal's revenue in China and other regions declined by over 2%, Procter & Gamble's sales in the Chinese market dropped by 9%, and Coca-Cola's net revenue in the Asia-Pacific region decreased by 4% year-on-year.

However, there are also many companies that have delivered outstanding results in the Chinese market:

Nike reported a second-quarter revenue of $1.863 billion in China, a 7% year-on-year growth, accounting for 15% of its total revenue and achieving continuous growth for 5 quarters.

Adidas achieved a revenue of €822 million in the Chinese market in the second quarter, a 9.3% year-on-year growth, accounting for 14% of its total revenue.

Canada Goose's latest financial report shows that its sales in the Chinese market grew by 12.3% year-on-year to reach CAD 21.9 million.

Skechers' revenue in the Chinese market in the first half of the year grew by 8.2% year-on-year, with over 3,500 stores in China.

Nike CEO Matthew Friend stated:

"In the long run, we remain confident in Nike's competitive position in China."

Skechers CEO John Vandemore also stated during the earnings call:

"The recovery in the Chinese market is steady... We expect the situation to be better in the second half of this year than it has been so far, and we are carefully evaluating."

It is not difficult to see that the above-mentioned brands are mostly sports footwear and apparel brands. Benefiting from the trend of nationwide sports and the "explosive" growth of the outdoor track in the post-pandemic era, the Chinese sports footwear and apparel market is rapidly expanding, becoming a key area for overseas sports brand "giants" to seek performance growth.

However, international sports footwear and apparel giants still face severe threats from local brands.

According to the financial reports of various sports brands for 2023, domestic sports brands Anta and Li-Ning achieved revenues of 62.36 billion yuan and 27.6 billion yuan respectively, ranking first and third in the Chinese sports footwear and apparel market revenue. Nike achieved a revenue of $7.4 billion (approximately 53.142 billion RMB) in the Chinese market, ranking second.

Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden stated during the second quarter earnings call that Adidas competes for market share in China every month, but faces fierce competition from local brands:

"Many local brands are manufacturers who then enter the retail market directly through their own stores. Therefore, their speed and value positioning to consumers are different from ours, and their judgment is quicker. We are working hard to adapt to this situation."