Anta to up the ante
10/09/2008
Chinese athletic footwear and apparel brand Anta should emphasise its national credentials and increase its advertising spend if it wants to capitalise on China's pride at the success of the Beijing Olympics and challenge for a bigger share of the booming domestic market.
The company is doing well, with an increase in turnover of 50% in the first half of this year to reach around $320 million for the six-month period, and a retail presence in more than 5,000 stores across China.
But branding experts in the country have said that if Anta really wants to become a rival to Li Ning and international brands such as adidas and Nike, it needs to spend more money on advertising and emphasise its Chinese roots.
Anta has a stated ambition to become the top national sportswear brand in China in terms of brand desirability and market share and last year spent around €25 million on advertising (mostly in third- and fourth-tier cities), but Li Ning's exploits at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on August 8 gave a great boost to the brand he founded under his own name. This suggests Anta still has a long way to go.
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