China's sports and leisure clothing brand Li Ning moved to the European arena

"We will open a store in the Netherlands in April." Yesterday, Yang Gang, manager of the Li Ning brand marketing department of Li Ning Co., Ltd., a Chinese sports casual wear manufacturer, revealed to reporters: "This is also Li Ning's first store in the Netherlands. The store is located in the Dutch city of Maastricht."

In addition, the reporter was also informed that in addition to the Netherlands will open stores, Li Ning stores will also appear on the streets of Belgium and Luxembourg. In the next five years, Li Ning intends to open nearly 20 stores in these three countries. It is said that the second store will also be located in the Netherlands, but the exact location is unclear.
Multiple international sponsors

"Actually, this is not our first store in Europe." Yang Gang revealed to reporters, "In 2001, our first overseas and European store opened in Spain."

Spain and Li Ning companies have a very deep relationship. In 2004, Li Ning signed a contract with the Spanish national basketball team for 4 years. By the end of the 2008 Olympic Games, Li Ning will sponsor the Spanish men's basketball team, women's basketball team and youth team. This transaction is called a forward-looking and cost-effective transaction.

Because in September last year, the Spanish men's basketball team wearing Li Ning shirts for the first time reached the final of the men's basketball world championships and defeated the European champions Greece to win the championship. Li Ning Company also became the first Chinese company to sponsor the world championship of basketball.

Li Ning's sponsored foreign teams are not the Spanish team. In the next Olympic Games, it is not only the Chinese national team and the Spanish national team that wears the Li Ning brand. At the end of last month, the Swedish Olympic Committee officially announced that the Li Ning brand had become a designated sporting equipment partner for the Swedish Olympic delegation for a four-year cooperation.
Just an exploration

In addition, Li Ning has signed a world championship team, the Athens Olympics Argentine Men's Basketball Team, and in the next six years, the Argentine basketball teams including the Argentine men's and women's basketball teams will all have their chests on the chest. "Standard" Li Ning brand logo. These cooperation marks that the Li Ning brand's internationalization strategy has taken an important and solid step.

The actions of Li Ning Company in recent years seem to highlight the fact that the company is accelerating the pace of international development. However, Yang Gang appears to be very low-key: "This can only be considered as an exploration of Li Ning's internationalization."

According to Yang Gang, Li Ning Company also opened specialty stores in Southeast Asia in addition to its stores in Europe. "Under the premise of international exploration, the overall situation of Li Ning's overseas operations is not bad," Yang Gang told reporters.

In fact, Li Ning's expansion of the European market is a very arduous task. The European sporting goods market held by Germany's Adidas and Hummer, even the No. 1 sporting goods company Nike, has no alternative.

The local battlefield was eroded

However, while the Li Ning brand entered the overseas market, its main battlefield, China, was being dominated by a number of foreign sports brands. As the 2008 Olympic Games approached, the battle became more and more intense.

Japanese sports brand Mizuno estimated that in 2004 China's sports goods market, the world's top Nike ranked first with 28% of the share, Chinese companies ranked second with 24%, while the global second child Adidas followed it with 16% After that, Mizuno ranked fourth with 7%. Today, Nike and Adidas have launched sales campaigns in the Chinese market.

Nike did not hide its interest in the Chinese market and frankly paid attention to China's rapidly growing market. The company also invited Yao Ming, the Chinese NBA basketball superstar favorited by Chinese consumers, as his spokesperson; Mizuno President and CEO Mizuno Ming also said that the company is targeting the 2008 Olympic Games, establishing sales outlets in China, and strengthening its overseas operations. .