In late February, as Chinese sportswear goliath Anta Sports released its results from the previous year, Anta brand CEO Xu Yang made a bold statement that Anta the brand will “dominate” 2025 and overtake Nike in China’s market share in three years.
It needs to be pointed out, of course, that Anta Sports, combined with other brands that it controls, including Fila and Amer Sports-owned brands such as Arc’teryx, has already outsold competitors, including Nike. With 33.74 billion RMB (4.63 billion USD) revenue in H1 2024, Anta was ahead of Nike’s 28.13 billion RMB (3.86 billion USD), Li-Ning’s 14.35 billion RMB (1.97 billion USD) and Adidas’ 13.17 billion RMB (1.81 billion USD). During this period, Anta the brand earned 16.08 billion RMB (2.21 billion USD), contributing to 48% of the group’s revenue.
Xu Yang joined Anta Group in 2019 before becoming the CEO of the main brand. He oversaw the opening of its concept store SneakerVerse in Beijing, as well as the Kyrie Irving signature trainer. In the same interview, Xu also outlined the brand’s strategy, which includes maintaining its position as the group’s most accessible brand with lower prices, achieved through supply chain optimisation and overseas expansion. He believes Anta should be the disruptor in the sportswear world and predicts that it will surpass Nike in three years.
Amer Sports saw its revenue increase 18% year-on-year (YoY) to 5.16 billion USD and profit grow 56% YoY in 2024 to 471 million USD worldwide, boosted by Greater China and Asia-Pacific markets. With the other brands growing quickly, it is understandable that the namesake main brand Anta is also putting in effort to be a driver of growth.
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