The ANTA Brand: Switched to DTC and Kept Increasing Investment in Product R&D

August 27,2021

According to the 2021 Mid-term Performance Report of ANTA Group, the ANTA brand has achieved a revenue of RMB 10.578 billion in the first half of 2021, an increase of 56.1% year-on-year and accounting for 46.4% of the overall revenue of the group — a growth rate that surpassed the fast-growing brand FILA.

In an effort to further streamline the information flow in the retail value chain between the manufacturer and the consumers, the ANTA brand initiated a switch to direct-to-consumer (DTC) in August 2020, and planned to transform 60% of its 3,500 stores in Changchun, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangdong, Kunming, Nanjing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Xi’an, and Zhejiang into stores directly operated by ANTA and to enact new operating standards for franchisees to observe in running the remaining 40% of stores.

During the reporting period, the Group has completed all the required procedures and has established a complete DTC model, retail business process, and a set of operating standards for the POS terminals .

As the core brand of the group, ANTA’s brand positioning is functional, highly cost-effective sports products. Over the past five years, the group has increased investment in R&D from RMB 308 million in 2015 to RMB 871 million in 2020. Meanwhile, the ANTA brand has launched the Lead to Win initiative, according to which ANTA plans to invest more than RMB 4 billion in R&D to reinforce technological innovation and enhance competitiveness in the next five years.

During the reporting period, ANTA has focused on running shoes and basketball shoes and launched Running 3.0 and C202 GT 1.0.

In addition to the creation of a professional brand image, ANTA has introduced elements Gen Z and the Olympic Games into its products. At the end of April this year, ANTA appointed Wang Yibo as the global brand ambassador to promote skateboarding, street dance, racing and other types of Gen Z culture in China.

ANTA unveiled the Champion Dragon Suit in June this year. The podium uniform for the Chinese sports delegation for the Tokyo Olympics was designed by the artist Yip Kam-tim, who embedded elements of Chinese culture into the design in an innovative manner.