China Sports Brands (Li-Ning, Anta, 361, Toread etc.) News and Analyses

[TaiShang]

China's Li-Ning Soars After Sports Brand's Profit Beat Expectations

ZHANG YUSHUO
DATE : MAR 22 2019/SOURCE : YICAI

China's Li-Ning Soars After Sports Brand's Profit Beat Expectations

(Yicai Global) March 22 -- Li-Ning's shares surged 11.4 percent after the Chinese sportswear maker's full-year profit topped expectations.

Li-Ning's stock [HKG:2331] ended today at HKD12.70 (USD1.62), the highest since June 2011. The shares have gained more than 50 percent so far this year.

Net profit jumped 39 percent to CNY715 million (USD107 million) in the 12 months ended December, the Beijing-based firm said in an earnings report. That was better than the average forecast for CNY707 million in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Revenue climbed 18 percent to CNY10.5 billion.

Founded by former Olympic gymnast Li Ning, the eponymous firm achieved a 10.6 percent rise in footwear sales to CNY4.6 billion, while revenue from apparel rose more than a quarter to CNY5.3 billion. Turnover from equipment and accessories gained 13.4 percent to CNY590 million.

Revenue from China's mainland and Hong Kong jumped 19 percent to CNY10.3 billion last year, while e-commerce rose 2.3 percent to make up 21.1 percent of total revenue. Overseas, the company posted an increase in earnings of 3.7 percent to CNY249 million, accounting for 2.4 percent of the total.

The number of Li-Ning's retail outlets in China rose by 82 to 6,344 as of the end of last year while its sub-brand Li Ning Young operates 793 outlets, up from 620.

Li Ning will continue to promote its single brand strategy covering multiple category channels, while consolidating and improving its core business priorities, focusing on its specific values and efficiency to realize profitability and sustainable development in the future, according to the report.

https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/pr...i-ning-rose-39-last-year-to-beat-expectations

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[TaiShang]

China's Xtep May Buy US Sport-Shoe Brand K-Swiss

TANG SHIHUA
DATE : APR 18 2019/SOURCE : YICAI

China's Xtep May Buy US Sport-Shoe Brand K-Swiss

(Yicai Global) April 18 -- Chinese fashion sportswear firm Xtep International Holdings aims to ink a deal with Korean conglomerate E-Land Group to buy US sports-shoe brand K-Swiss, according to industry news site WebTex.

The deal will cost around KRW300 billion (USD270 million) and a preliminary agreement is likely to be concluded before the end of this month, the online outlet reported Korean media sources as saying.

Fujian-based Xtep is yet to respond to the report.

Xtep finished a new share placement earlier this month, raising around HKD1.4 billion (USD178.5 million) without saying how it plans to use the funds. The firm's board of directors is exploring and evaluating several opportunities for acquisitions but no agreements have been signed, according to a statement on April 10.

The company did stress that it aims to "expand from a single-brand firm to a multiple-brand group."

K-Swiss is a sports-shoemaker based in California and is known for making the world's first pair of all-leather tennis shoes. It now focuses on sports fields such as running, body-building, triathlon and tennis and casual wear.

E-Land Group bought the brand for USD170 million in January 2013. The group has sold off assets amid a rising debt ratio in recent years, and K-Swiss is on the list of cuts. The group started looking for a buyer in 2017, and a rumor emerged in January that a Chinese suitor may be in talks about a deal.

https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/china-xtep-may-buy-us-sport-shoe-brand-k-swiss-

 

[cirr]

China first in Asia to adopt 3D offside technology in football

2019-05-17 10:02:02 Xinhua Editor : Gu Liping

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) introduces the Hawk-Eye 3D Offside System to Chinese Super League (CSL), becoming the first country in Asia to implement one of the most advanced 3D offside technology used for VAR.

The 3D offside technology uses a third dimension to triangulate players' body parts to ensure correct decisions, which will also improve clarity and credibility of those crucial game-changing ones. The VAR will have immediate access to this technology so that the decisions can be communicated with the referee, broadcasters and fans.

Specific offside cameras are currently being installed in each of the 15 CSL stadiums with expectations for the system to go live in June 2019.

Cui Enlei, Deputy Director of CFA Refereeing Department, said:" It is a leading technology in the world, and we're looking forward to creating a better future for Chinese Football with Hawk-Eye's VAR technology."

http://www.ecns.cn/news/sports/2019-05-17/detail-ifzikase6324579.shtml

 

[TaiShang]

Jun 03, 2019 01:15 PM

China Gymnast Hero Li Ning’s Brand Makes Comeback With MSCI Inclusion

Former gymnast Li Ning was the flame-lighter at the 2008 Beijing Games. Photo: Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — The sports world loves a comeback story, and Li Ning — both the former gymnast and his apparel business — are seeking a return to glory.

Li, 56, is back in the spotlight as his eponymous sportswear company was among the Chinese equities added to MSCI indexes on May 28. It’s the second time the shoe and shirt-maker made the list, as Li Ning Co. Ltd.’s first inclusion in the indexes was pulled in November 2011.

The company’s chairman came to fame in 1984, when he took home six medals at the Los Angeles Olympics. He found himself again in the spotlight as the flame-lighter at the 2008 Beijing Games, where he literally walked in the sky — with the help of wires — to symbolically kindle the China event.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2019-0...s-comeback-with-msci-inclusion-101422892.html

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