Retail

Domestic sportswear brands stumble

Faltering demand for sportswear and intense competition both within the market and from leisure apparel is making brand development more pertinent than ever.

361 Degrees – tapping hinterland dynamism

The sportswear brand has sheltered itself from a downturn in the wider market by focusing on lesser-tapped western and northern regions.

Li Ning – flagging strategy

A change in strategy to compete with global sportswear behemoths is so far failing to improve performance.

Anta – keeping up with the pace

Anta has dodged much of the bad news that has hit the industry but the company may have to cut prices to distributors this half.

China Dongxiang – losing traction

Dongxiang has had to buy back inventory from stores and sell items off online at a steep discount, driving profits down sharply.

October numbers show a 2011 soft-landing

Industrial output, retail sales and power production showed a slowing year-on-year trend in October, but the pace of moderation suggests that China is on track to achieve a soft-landing. We reiterate that GDP is most likely to come it at around 9.3% YoY for 2011 (CC Dec 23 2010 Macro View and CC Oct 6 Macro View), posting Q4 GDP YoY of just under 9%.

Fashion apparel – shooting for the stars

What do US and Chinese movie stars Wentworth Miller, Chen Daoming and Daniel Wu all have in common?

Lilang – the look for middle-aged men in lower-tier cities

Robust profit margins and strong sales underpin Lilang’s performance, but the launch of ‘L2’, a higher-end brand, has met a lukewarm reception.

Metersbonwe – youth hit seeks to move upmarket

College-age consumers drive strong sales this year, but Metersbonwe is trying to upgrade its brand value by hiring stars as brand ambassadors.

Giordano – casual appeal spreads in lower-tier cities

A China Confidential survey shows Giordano ranking fourth in third-tier cities among apparel brands, while ranking tenth overall.

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12 Jan 2012

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