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"Why are they always picking at the seams of their pants during competitions?" "Is the 'Dragon Suit' not good at absorbing sweat?" "I'm working hard for the athletes throughout the whole process"... Recently, the sportswear brand "Li Ning" has aroused doubts.

The 33rd Summer Olympic Games (hereinafter referred to as the Paris Olympics) is in full swing. The Chinese table tennis team members wore the professional sportswear "Dragon Suit" of the "Li Ning" brand to participate in the competition, but some netizens questioned the poor sweat absorption of the clothing, which also attracted attention. Subsequently, the topic of "#Li Ning Dragon Suit suspected of being removed from the shelves#" became a hot search.

The reporter of Daily Economic News learned that during the Paris Olympics, Li Ning designed three "Dragon Suit" for the Chinese table tennis team. On August 8, the reporter interviewed Li Ning stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and other places as a consumer and learned that the "Dragon Suit" was launched on July 4 this year and is still available for purchase. What is the actual sales volume of the "Dragon Suit" in the market?

Li Ning told the reporter from the Daily Economic News that when designing clothing, the brand would let athletes try them on many times and make modifications based on their sports characteristics, and "currently sales and services in all channels are operating normally."

Pang Rui, a well-known brand expert and founding partner of Zhansheng Communication, told reporters that regardless of whether the product itself has quality or experience problems, "Li Ning" needs to respond to consumer concerns in a timely manner, find out the causes of the problems, and take targeted product improvement measures.

Many short videos are not from the Paris Olympics

The Paris Olympics attracted the attention of the world. On the court, every swing of the Chinese table tennis players was exciting. However, during the intense competition, some players were soaked and adjusted their shorts from time to time, which touched the hearts of countless spectators and made people feel both "embarrassed" and "heartbroken".

"The public opinion storm over the 'Li Ning Dragon Suit' reflects that in the social media era, any detail of the picture may be noticed by the audience and consumers. At the same time, everyone's standards and expectations for professional sports equipment are also higher." Pang Rui told the reporter of "Daily Economic News".

Some styles of "Dragon Clothes" display pictures Source: Provided by the interviewed store clerk

The "Dragon Clothing" series that has attracted the attention this time is priced at 599 yuan for the competition top and 299 yuan for the competition pants on the "Li Ning" applet. The product information page shows that the clothing fabric is 90% polyester fiber and 10% spandex.

"We have a special display of 'Dragon Clothes' in our store, but we don't sell this series of products." A clerk at a "Li Ning" physical store in Chengdu told the "Daily Economic News" reporter that due to agency reasons, some stores cannot sell "Dragon Clothes" products.

Hu Xia (pseudonym), a clerk at a Li Ning store in Beijing, told reporters that the store does not have the "Dragon Suit" in stock and needs to be purchased at the brand's online flagship store. However, many Li Ning stores in Shanghai offer direct purchase of the "Dragon Suit" series in-store.

When talking about the sales of "Dragon Clothes", Hu Xia said: "Many people come to buy them, and now there is not much stock left."

A clerk at a store in Shanghai told the reporter that the red "dragon suit" was out of stock. When asked by the reporter about the breathability of the material, several clerks suggested trying it on site.

"Li Ning has accumulated rich experience in the design and production of professional table tennis uniforms. (The brand) provides customized competition uniforms and training equipment services based on the data characteristics of each player. After many trials and modifications, the final version is finalized based on the athlete's sports experience." Li Ning told the "Daily Economic News" reporter that the brand has cooperated with the Chinese Table Tennis Team (hereinafter referred to as the National Table Tennis Team) for 24 years and has accompanied the National Table Tennis Team in 7 Olympic Games.

"The company has long attached great importance to the wearing experience of athletes' competition uniforms. The coaches and athletes of the Chinese table tennis team have expressed their approval of the competition uniforms provided by Li Ning Table Tennis. We have not received any feedback on product quality issues so far." Li Ning said.

The above-mentioned "Li Ning" person also told reporters that the picture widely circulated on the Internet was not the scene of the Paris Olympics.

The picture that was ruined by netizens is not a live picture of this Olympic Games. Image source: screenshot of Xiaohongshu

Pang Rui believes that regardless of whether the product itself has quality or experience issues, the "Li Ning" brand needs to respond to consumer concerns in a timely manner, find out the causes of the problems, and take targeted product improvement measures.

"It is particularly important to note that this matter should not be regarded as a taboo that cannot be discussed, or communicated only in a small circle and with specific media. This will easily lead to public opinion thinking that there is something being concealed," Pang Rui analyzed.

How does the “big brother of national fashion” shoulder the “high expectations”?

As a global sports event, the Olympic Games is an important marketing moment for sports brands. On the stage of Chinese sports brands, "Li Ning" is a name that cannot be ignored.

Cheng Weixiong, an independent fashion industry analyst and founder of Shanghai Liangqi Brand Management Co., Ltd., said in an interview with the Daily Economic News that table tennis is China's national sport, very popular in China, and has a high level of attention. As Li Ning's main market is in China, it also hopes to gain some attention in the Olympics and achieve the greatest benefits with less money.

After the Olympic fever, "Li Ning" took advantage of the national trend to promote the high-end concept of "China Li Ning", but in recent years its high-end thinking has been questioned.

Cheng Weixiong believes that "Li Ning" once took advantage of the national trend craze to achieve performance growth, but the tide always rises and falls, and with the emergence of other more affordable national trend products, "Li Ning"'s competitive advantage will also weaken.

"Sports brands will eventually return to professionalism. The return of outdoor sports has made the public pay more attention to the functionality and professionalism of products in segmented scenarios. Fashion should be an extension of professionalism." Cheng Weixiong said.

According to reports, at the 2023 fiscal year performance briefing, Li Ning himself said: "The purpose of my founding Li Ning Company is to create a professional sports brand. We hope to build this brand, which continues to enter various sports categories, such as running, basketball, table tennis, badminton, fitness, and football, and have professional products in each category."

Li Ning's 2023 financial report shows that the company's total revenue is 27.598 billion yuan and its net profit attributable to the parent company is 3.187 billion yuan. The five core categories of running, basketball, badminton, fitness and sports life recorded positive growth in 2023, with a total increase of 12%, of which running increased by 40%, basketball remained the same year-on-year, and fitness increased by 25%.

Pang Rui said that as one of the earliest sports brands in China, the public has higher expectations for Li Ning. In the past few years, Li Ning's development has experienced some twists and turns, which are related to its own positioning, price benchmarking, products, channels, etc. "Standing at the current starting point, if we can seize the opportunities of major competitions such as the Olympics, create influential products and marketing events, and closely focus on the historical opportunities and aesthetic preferences of the new generation of consumers to recognize domestic products, Li Ning may gain development momentum." Pang Rui believes.

Daily Economic News