Anta’s H1 Revenue Surpasses Nike in China for First Time

Anta Sports Products Limited, a prominent sportswear company in China, increased its overall revenue in the first half of the year by 13.8% to 25.97 billion yuan ($3.79 billion), higher than Nike China’s $3.7 billion in the same reporting period.

Ding Shizhong, the chairman of the Anta Sports board, attributed the revenue growth to its strategy of “Single-Focus, Multi-Brand, Globalization.” By segment, during the financial period, Anta segment’s revenue increased by 26.3% year-on-year to 13.36 billion yuan. FILA segment’s revenue fell slightly by 0.5% to 10.78 billion yuan. The incubation model of new brands has been further developed, as all other brands’ revenue leaped by 29.9% to 1.83 billion yuan, driven by Descente and Kolon Sport.

Under the Direct To Customer (DTC) model, around 52% of approximately 6,600 of Anta and Anta Kids stores in aggregate were directly operated by Anta Sports, with the remaining 48% operated by franchisees.

It is worth mentioning that in the first half of the year, repeated outbreaks of COVID-19 in China unexpectedly drove the global outdoor sports boom. Anta Sports’ high-end professional sports brand, Descente, and high-end outdoor lifestyle brand Kolon Sport also saw dividends. Ding Shizhong emphasized in the financial report that the new brand incubation model is becoming more and more mature, saying, “Descente and Kolon Sport are growing strongly under the pandemic, and the third growth line is gradually taking shape.”

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However, the financial report also mentioned that due to the pandemic, the group suspended operations at some physical stores, so the offline retail business was negatively affected by the significant drop in consumer visits and the weakening demand. The overall gross profit margin of Anta Sports declined by 1.2% to 62%. FILA, which is positioned at the middle and high-end level, was the hardest hit, as its revenue share in the group further decreased to 41.5%, and its revenue decreased by 0.5% year-on-year to 10.777 billion yuan.