Li-Ning Gold Label: Key takeaways
- Li-Ning’s Gold Label targets office workers with performance technology at premium prices
- National-team partnerships give the range sporting credibility, turning podium clothing into a proposition for everyday wear
- A new Shanghai flagship is now here to explain the new proposition
In September, Li-Ning (李宁) opened what it’s describing as the brand’s first global Loong flagship store. It’s a Shanghai branch of their already active Loong Store (龙店) format and showcase for Li-Ning PRIMUS, better known in China as Gold Label (李宁金标).
Li-Ning has sponsorship on its side, and the new flagship to sell the pitch
Gold Label is the premium product line, Li-Ning’s attempt to move beyond competitive sport and into the higher-value business and commuting market. That’s a tough sell for a sportswear brand. But Li-Ning has sponsorship on its side, and the new flagship to sell the pitch.
What does performance wear look like at work?
Gold Label targets what Li-Ning calls ‘functional business commuting’. Its proposition is straightforward: clothes that look appropriate in the office and remain comfortable through bits of workday drudgery like commutes.
It’s a more restrained look than you might expect from Li-Ning. The Shanghai store carries men’s suits and trench coats alongside women’s skirts. Products come in solid colours with discreet branding. Even running shoes – usually done in fluorescent shades – come in quieter black-and-white colourways.
Even running shoes – usually done in fluorescent shades – come in quieter black-and-white colourways
Prices top Li-Ning’s mass-market ranges. A Gold Label T-shirt costs RMB399 (US $59), while the Chinese Asian Games delegation’s podium jacket retails for RMB1,599 (US $238), with matching trousers priced at RMB699 (US $104).
That might seem steep for a brand that’s used to putting its customers in tracksuits, but Gold Label has an advantage few conventional workwear labels can boast: a tie to elite Chinese sport.
Taking power from the podium
Li-Ning is the official sportswear partner of the Chinese Olympic Committee. It’s also the official partner of the Chinese sports delegation until 2028. Gold Label products carry a joint Chinese Olympic Committee and Li-Ning insignia, while the company says the range shares technology with equipment developed for Chinese athletes.
Several products on the Shanghai flagship’s rails use technology found in the Chinese delegation’s podium clothing for the 2026 Asian Games. Li-Ning is turning its sporting partnerships into a consumer proposition: Its materials are designed for athletes, but they can also keep office workers comfortable in the heat of a long working day.
How the flagship explains the the premium line
It’s not an easy gear shift to convey to potential customers, but the Shanghai flagship gives Li-Ning’s message wiggle room. They’ve built displays around three themes: ‘podium moment’, ‘competition moment’ and ‘life moment’. The route through these sections leads shoppers from Chinese delegation equipment towards clothing intended for ordinary urban use.
The Shanghai flagship gives Li-Ning’s message wiggle room
Nearly the whole second floor is dedicated to the Gold label. That’s half of a 1,000 sq. metre store. The flagship’s format puts a breaker between Gold Label and the sports gear Li-Ning is better known for, creating a very visible division between new styles with higher prices and the mass-market sports gear.
Dao view: the podium gets Li-Ning through the door
Li-Ning has found a clever way to turn sponsorship into something more substantial than visibility. Gold Label transforms access to national-team technology and Olympic imagery into products it can sell throughout the year.
Business travellers and office workers will compare Gold Label with established sportswear, outdoor and workwear brands on fit, materials, comfort and price. They may admire the Chinese team’s achievements without wanting to dress like its athletes.
Opening-day crowds and celebrity appearances don’t say much about Gold Label’s staying power in this new sphere. They do, however, generate conversation. Li-Ning will need exactly that if the Shanghai global flagship’s Gold Label pitch is going to stick.
