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interface news reporter | tan siyue

interface news editor | lou qiqin

domestic sports brand xtep has increased its resources invested in the basketball category.

in early september, xtep officially released the first pair of signature shoes for player zhang zhenlin. according to reports, this pair of signature shoes was designed by zhang zhenlin and will be unveiled in the cba in the future. this also means that xtep will use this pair of signature shoes to gain a place in the "foot-buying war" of the new cba season.

it is not difficult to find that xtep has been paying more and more attention to basketball products in recent years. before launching the first pair of signature shoes for zhang zhenlin, xtep had signed stars such as jeremy lin and nba player malik beasley. it also actively participated in and hosted various basketball events and officially became the official sponsor of the china 3x3 basketball league in may this year.at the signing ceremony with the super league, xtep clearly stated that it would "stick to the long-term layout of the basketball map." this shows the ambition of this domestic brand in the basketball category.

xtep's latest performance report shows that in the first half of 2024, xtep group's revenue increased by 10.4% to rmb 7.203 billion. the group's gross profit margin increased by 3.1 percentage points to 46.0%. operating profit increased by 10.9% to rmb 1.094 billion. the profit attributable to the company's common equity holders increased by 13.0% to rmb 752 million.

when it comes to xtep, consumers often think of its absolute strength - running category. xtep's current brand strategy is "world running shoes china xtep" to be released in september 2022. xtep's product positioning strategy is professional influence on the public: in the brand product matrix, there are both 260x carbon plate running shoes designed for elite and professional runners, and 360x carbon plate running shoes launched for mass runners.

in the first half performance report, xtep group pointed out that the bond between xtep group and the "running" label has further deepened: xtep's main brand is still the brand with the largest share of the group's revenue, with revenue increasing by 6.6% to rmb 5.789 billion in the first half of the year. brand revenue accounts for more than 80% of the group's total revenue. at the same time, xtep's main brand has established china's largest running ecosystem: the brand has 67 xtep running clubs and 2.1 million xtep running members, and the community penetration rate is still increasing.

however, looking at the sporting goods market, the larger the brand, the more "versatile". whether it is the giant brands nike and adidas, or the leading domestic sports brands anta and li ning, they all have more comprehensive product lines than xtep, covering multiple fields such as professional sports equipment and casual sportswear. this rich product line can meet the needs of different consumers in different scenarios, thereby attracting a wider customer base.currently, xtep’s annual revenue has exceeded 10 billion yuan. if it wants to go further, expanding its product categories is the only way forward.

xtep has increased its investment in basketball in recent years, obviously hoping to make basketball the second growing category after running. however, it must be admitted that this market segment is already surrounded by many competitors. in the global basketball market, nike and adidas have sufficient "bench depth" in terms of star resources. take nike as an example. the brand can gain a large number of fans with stable purchasing power just by relying on basketball superstars such as james and durant, and has no worries about customer base.

in the domestic basketball market, anta and li ning are two "big brothers" competing against each other: li ning holds the sponsorship of cba, and another domestic giant anta won the contract of cubal at the beginning of the year. in terms of stars, li ning has long been the leading domestic brand in the basketball field by cooperating with stars such as wade, butler, mccollum, and russell. and anta is taking advantage of the release of irving's first generation to enter the united states and pursue fiercely.

now it seems that xtep's strategy is to first enter the basketball market through a single high-profile star, so that the product has a chance to "show its face" in important events, and then gradually build and maintain the brand basketball customer base. as the brand sponsorship of cba has already been signed, xtep chose the super league, which is less well-known but has relatively less commercial competition.through sponsorship, cooperation and other means, the brand's exposure and participation in the basketball field will be further enhanced.

xtep has laid a lot of foundations in terms of star resources and event sponsorship. xtep now hopes that these points can be connected in the future to lay a solid foundation for the brand to enter the basketball market.