On August 12, LILANZ, a Chinese menswear brand listed in Hong Kong, announced during the release of its 2024 interim results:
China Lilang Ltd.’s subsidiary, Lilang Fashion (Fujian) Group Co., Ltd., has signed an agreement with Descente Ltd. and Shanghai Descente Commercial Co., Ltd. to establish a joint venture named Munsingwear (China) Co., Ltd. The joint venture has a registered capital of approximately 278 million yuan, with Lilang contributing 150 million yuan, securing a 54% stake. This venture will manage the design, sales, and distribution of products under the “MUNSINGWEAR” trademark in the Chinese Mainland.
Munsingwear (Chinese name: 万星威), known for its iconic bow-tied penguin logo, is familiar to many Chinese golf enthusiasts. However, even seasoned fans may not know that Munsingwear’s history spans over 130 years!
In 1886, George Munsing moved from New York to Minnesota, where he, along with MIT’s Frank Page and Edward Tuttle, established the Northwestern Knitting Company, a knitwear factory primarily producing underwear—Munsingwear’s predecessor.
The company went public in 1923 and was renamed Munsingwear Inc., becoming one of the world’s largest underwear manufacturers, producing 30,000 garments daily. Over the following decades, Munsingwear expanded its product range, launching the world’s first knitted golf shirt in 1955, featuring the now-famous penguin logo. The company gradually focused on professional golf apparel.
By the 1960s, many professional and amateur golfers, including legends like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Arnold Palmer, and Clint Eastwood, were sporting Munsingwear’s penguin-marked golf apparel, making it one of the world’s best-selling golf brands. Over the past 50 years, Munsingwear has continuously combined functionality with comfort, introducing high-tech fabrics and innovative craftsmanship, earning widespread acclaim from golf enthusiasts worldwide.
The brand’s logo has an interesting backstory—In 1955, a Munsingwear sales manager, Abbot Pederson, bought a penguin taxidermy in New York for $80. While returning home on a plane, the penguin’s neck was accidentally cracked, and a flight attendant wrapped a bow tie around it. An elderly lady sitting nearby remarked, “That would make a great mascot for your company.” Thus, the bow-tied penguin became Munsingwear’s brand symbol, still in use today.
As early as the 1960s, Japan’s Descente Ltd. became Munsingwear’s Japanese distributor, acquiring trademark rights in Japan and other Asian countries in 1984, expanding its business into Southeast Asia.
(Descente is a Japanese sports apparel and accessories company founded by Takeo Ishimoto in 1935 in Osaka, originally known as Ishimoto Shoten. The brand has maintained a focus on professional sports design, expanding from ski gear to cycling, training, and running equipment. Descente currently manages multiple brands, including Descente, Munsingwear, Umbro, Le Coq Sportif, Arena, and Srixon.)
Munsingwear began selling in Shanghai, China, in 1997. Today, Munsingwear’s operations in the Chinese Mainland are managed by Descente’s subsidiary, Shanghai Descente Commercial Co., Ltd.
Munsingwear continues to strengthen its marketing and sales efforts, including sponsoring Chinese golf events (e.g., ALBA Cup Golf Series in 2013 and Buick China Golf Club League in 2014) and signing influential endorsers (e.g., Huang Xiaoming in 2014 and Takuya Kimura in 2016).
Munsingwear has established comprehensive online and offline channels, including a mini-program mall, and third-party e-commerce platforms—Tmall and JD.com. Offline, the brand has around 20 stores in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Huzhou, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Yantai, Mudanjiang, Haikou, Qingdao, and Sanya, securing a significant share in the Chinese golf apparel market.
According to an August 2023 report by The R&A, a modern golf rules organization, as of 2022, 39.6 million people played on golf courses outside the U.S. and Mexico (a 15% increase from 2020; a 34% increase from 2016). The total number of people participating in golf (including those using simulators) is estimated to have reached 61.2 million.
According to the China Golf Association’s “China Youth Golf Development Report” published in June 2024, by 2023, the number of registered youth golfers in China reached nearly 126,000, a 28% increase from 2021.
Bain & Company reports that China’s high-net-worth population continues to grow, reaching 3.16 million in 2022 and expected to reach 3.93 million by 2024. Golf remains one of the most favored sports among this demographic, with its rising popularity offering significant growth opportunities for high-end golf apparel.
According to China Lilang Group’s recently released 2024 interim results, the group’s revenue for the first half of the year increased by 7.3% year-on-year to 1.6 billion yuan, while net profit rose by 3.6% to 280 million yuan, achieving “double growth” in both revenue and profit. The LESS IS MORE youth business series, launched in 2016, continued to see strong growth.
Lilang Group stated, “MUNSINGWEAR enjoys a good reputation in the golf apparel industry with future growth potential. We believe that with Lilang Group’s expertise in retail and supply chain management, MUNSINGWEAR’s competitiveness in the Chinese market will be significantly enhanced. This partnership will create positive synergies among the group’s brands, further strengthening our ability to meet the diverse needs of consumers and aligning with Lilang Group’s multi-brand development strategy.”
｜Image Credit: Official brand WeChat, Descente Financial Report, China Lilang Financial Report
｜Editor: LeZhi
