On August 27, after the market closed, Chinese sports giant Anta Group (02020.HK) released its performance report for the first half of 2024: revenue increased by 13.8% year-on-year to RMB 33.74 billion, marking the best mid-year performance in the company’s history.
Additionally, the two cornerstone brands under its umbrella—Anta and FILA—saw their revenues grow by 13.5% and 6.8% year-on-year, respectively, reaching new semi-annual highs. Revenue from “Other Brands,” including DESCENTE and KOLON SPORT, surged by 41.8% year-on-year, continuing a strong growth trajectory. Amer Sports achieved its best half-year performance since acquisition, with revenue increasing by 14% year-on-year.
In terms of profitability, excluding the effects of joint ventures/associates’ profits and the equity dilution gain from Amer Sports’ listing, the net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 17.0% year-on-year to RMB 6.16 billion, setting a new record. Including these factors, net profit attributable to shareholders surged by 62.6% year-on-year to RMB 7.721 billion.
Notably, Anta Group strengthened its innovation and R&D during the reporting period: R&D investment reached RMB 919 million in the first half, up 35.7% year-on-year, with R&D expenses as a proportion of revenue increasing by 0.4 percentage points year-on-year.
Lai Shixian, Executive Director and Co-CEO of Anta Group, stated: “Although the consumer segment in the first half of the year continued to face numerous uncertainties, the overall trend in the sportswear industry remains stable and positive. The hosting of the Paris Olympic Games has successfully sparked public interest and participation in sports, positively impacting industry demand. The Group adheres to the strategy of ‘Single-focus, Multi-brand, Globalization‘, driving high-quality growth through innovation and further strengthening our three core competitiveness. With our ability and determination to navigate economic cycles, we will advance our global exploration through a unique ‘brand + retail‘ business model, steadily progressing towards becoming a ‘leading sportswear group in the world.’”
*Anta Sports’ three core competitive strengths are its multi-brand coordinated management ability, multi-brand retail operation capability, and global operation and resource integration capability.
Through an in-depth analysis of this latest financial report, Luxeplace.com found that Anta Group made breakthroughs in both “multi-brand” and “globalization” during the first half of this year.
Multi-Brand: Anta and FILA Achieve Record Revenues, DESCENTE and KOLON SPORT Strengthen Retail Presence in the Chinese Mainland
—Anta: Revenue grew by 13.5% year-on-year to RMB 16.08 billion, with gross margin increasing by 0.8 percentage points.
During the reporting period, Anta adhered to its core strategy of “mass positioning, professional breakthroughs, and brand elevation,” covering everything from mass sports to niche professional fields, such as running, basketball, and outdoor activities.
In the running segment, Anta has formed a product matrix of professional running shoes, ranging from jogging and competition training to racing. As of the end of the reporting period, the Speed C series had helped athletes step onto the podium over 400 times in marathon events. In the first half of this year, Anta, in collaboration with Sinopec, co-developed the PG7 cushioning midsole technology and launched two cost-effective cushioning running shoes—Lvxing and Lvtu, with upgraded and optimized uppers made from Sorona® fibers.
In the basketball segment, brand ambassador and Chief Creative Officer Kyrie Irving launched his first signature basketball shoe—the Anta Irving 1, which achieved 100% sell-through across 13 major cities worldwide upon its release.
At the recently concluded Paris Olympics, Anta’s podium attire accompanied Chinese athletes to the podium 91 times, witnessing the Chinese delegation’s best overseas Olympic performance. Additionally, the nine national teams sponsored by Anta collectively won 17 gold medals and 45 medals in total.
In terms of channels, Anta broke away from the traditional “thousand stores, one face” model and continued to strengthen its presence in high-end markets and core business districts by launching new terminal images such as “Arena,” “Palace,” “SV,” and “SS,” significantly improving coverage and store efficiency in key business districts in first- and second-tier cities.
As of the end of June 2024, over 80% of Anta and Anta Kids stores in the Chinese Mainland had adopted the DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) model, with the remainder operating under a wholesale model. Among the approximately 5,600 Anta stores and 2,300 Anta Kids stores under the DTC model, about 42% of Anta stores and 64% of Anta Kids stores were directly operated, while the remaining 58% of Anta stores and 36% of Anta Kids stores were operated by franchisees in accordance with operational standards.
—FILA: Revenue grew by 6.8% year-on-year to RMB 13.06 billion, with gross margin increasing by 1 percentage point to 70.2%.
During the reporting period, FILA continued to adhere to its core strategy of creating “top-notch products, top-notch brands, and top-notch channels.”
In the first half of this year, FILA launched the Versailles Palace Collection in collaboration with the Château de Versailles, and continued to delve into the fusion of sports and art through partnerships with internationally renowned art centers such as the Louvre and the Centre Pompidou.
In its core category layout, FILA focused on expanding product varieties, particularly functional products, across four major sports: tennis, golf, skiing, and outdoor. The proportion of footwear products increased steadily, with its popular “Cat’s Paw” and “Mars” series, as well as its fashionable sneakers inspired by croissants, gaining consumer favor. Additionally, FILA launched the “Soft Cloud” running shoes and “Lynx” trail running shoes, driving over 20% growth in the footwear category. The sportswear category, focusing on golf and tennis, achieved double-digit growth.
Furthermore, FILA comprehensively upgraded its retail formats, with innovative models for various flagship stores being launched successively, leading to superior offline sales efficiency compared to other sports brands of similar scale. FILA also actively explored emerging platforms, successfully driving online business growth, with online sales growth exceeding 20%.
—DESCENTE: Opened Its First Urban Concept Store
During the reporting period, DESCENTE established an innovation and research center, introducing innovative products such as one-piece cutting and 3D patterning, snowboard jackets, and BODY FLEX contouring technology, creating a differentiated product matrix. The brand’s membership increased by nearly 30%, with a trend toward a younger demographic.
Meanwhile, niche sports such as skiing, golf, and triathlon continued to drive sales growth. The brand focused on creating iconic golf products, launching GOLF CONDOR shoes and Double Chill cooling tops, and collaborated with professional triathletes to develop specialized running and cycling gear to better meet the needs of triathletes and professional runners.
Additionally, DESCENTE enhanced store efficiency through store upgrades and expanded its core product penetration into the high-end market. During the reporting period, DESCENTE opened its first urban concept store combining sports and the BLANC brand in Shanghai.
—KOLON SPORT: Focused on “Camping” and “Hiking” Outdoor Scenarios
During the reporting period, KOLON SPORT improved its product matrix around “camping” and “hiking” outdoor scenarios, establishing a brand-exclusive all-terrain, all-altitude waterproof jacket matrix to meet diverse outdoor needs, from extreme snow mountains and mountain hiking to forest camping and daily commuting. The brand launched the GAIA Resilience Jacket, a professional high-altitude hiking jacket featuring ultra-high elasticity and flexibility, and the new hiking shoe MOVE ALPHA, applying cutting-edge technology.
Moreover, actively expanding the market has always been a top priority for the development of the KOLON SPORT brand. During the reporting period, the brand entered high-end business districts and accelerated its expansion into emerging markets such as East China and South China to enhance brand power and market penetration. At the same time, the brand accelerated the upgrade of store images to improve in-store conversion rates.
Globalization: Anta Targets Southeast Asian Market, Amer Sports Achieves Best Performance Since Acquisition
Regarding the Group’s specific plans to promote its “globalization“ strategy, Anta Group Chairman Ding Shizhong revealed in the financial report that the company has prioritized key regions and successfully launched direct retail operations in several overseas core business districts. During the reporting period, Anta accelerated the development and channel expansion of its retail market in Southeast Asia. In the future, Anta will strategically expand into key global markets such as Southeast Asia, North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa while continuing to grow its business in the Chinese Mainland.
Additionally, DESCENTE opened its first store in Malaysia, marking Anta Group’s successful expansion into emerging markets. In the future, DESCENTE plans to penetrate other promising Southeast Asian countries.
“Our ‘globalization’ strategy is based on in-depth market insights. The Southeast Asian market holds great potential, with a strong demand for differentiated brands among consumers in the region. Therefore, we are developing strategies based on the unique consumption habits and preferences of different markets, deepening our localized operations,” Ding Shizhong disclosed.
In February of this year, Amer Sports successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Ding Shizhong stated that as the largest shareholder of Amer Sports (holding a 43.3% stake), Anta Group believes that Amer Sports will make a significant contribution to the Group’s overall future, further advancing the Group’s “globalization” strategy.
During the reporting period, the “dual-engine” strategy of Anta Group and Amer Sports proved effective, with Amer Sports achieving its best half-year performance since its acquisition in 2019, with overall revenue growing by 14% year-on-year and profits turning positive. Growth was robust across all regions, with revenue in Greater China and the Asia-Pacific region recording high growth of 52% and 39%, respectively, while the direct retail business in North America and Europe grew by over 20%. The technical apparel brands led by Arc’teryx and the mountain outdoor brands led by Salomon achieved revenue growth of 39% and 8%, respectively.
As of the end of June 2024, Anta Group’s brand footprint, retail channels, R&D network, supply chain, and production bases spanned the globe, with 75,000 sales outlets across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The Group has taken the lead in building a “global open innovation ecosystem network,” involving six global design and R&D centers, over 70 universities and research institutions, more than 250 experts, and over 800 suppliers worldwide.
About Anta Group
Founded in 1991, Anta is a leading global sports goods company. Anta Sports Products Limited (stock code: 2020.HK) was listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007. For many years, Anta Sports has been engaged in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of sports goods, providing consumers with professional sportswear, including footwear, apparel, and accessories. Through a diversified brand portfolio, including Anta, FILA, DESCENTE, KOLON SPORT, and MAIA ACTIVE, as well as the successful acquisition of the Finnish sports brand group Amer Sports (which includes internationally recognized brands such as Salomon, Arc’teryx, Peak Performance, Atomic, and Wilson) by an investor consortium in 2019, Anta has solidified its leadership position in the global sportswear industry.
| Source: Official financial report
| Image Credit: Provided by official sources, official website
| Editor: LeZhi
