China Sports Goods Industry: Big but Not Strong

China， though not the largest consumer market of sports commodities， has 20，000-plus producers of sports goods. A reshuffle of the industry to retain the strong ones and eliminate the weak is going on， said Ma Jilong， vice-Chairman of China Association of Sports Goods Industry， during the 30th China Sports Show held from May 17 to 20 in Beijing.

Asked about the unique features of this expo， Ma said that it has grown from a pure show of sports goods into one that features sports culture， financing， release of trade standards， and auction of sports collection. Yao Ming attended the show， as an investor instead of a sportsman. Yao said he was interested in some creative mass sports programs initiated by young entrepreneurs.

The first day of the show received 20，000 visitors， most of whom are professionals in the industry. There are also foreign visitors， mainly from India， Pakistan， Turkey and the Middleeast.

The reporter learned that most of the large companies participated in the show to showcase their strength and boost their company image. While， small ones were there to make real business. “I have attended three China Sport Shows. I met with 50 potential clients a day on average during the show. A quarter of them became my clients after further contact. I am very satisfied，”Zhang Yi， deputy manager of Shenying Carbon Fiber Bicycles told the reporter.

“In order for a small sports goods enterprise to survive， it has to focus on a market niche， have a narrow business scope， and offer the best quality possible，” Hebei Galaxy Sports Goods Corporation told the reporter. “In Galaxy， we focus on Ping-Pong bat and rubber， and take more than half of the market share.”

Olympic atmosphere

One of the highlights of the show is the display of the Olympic spirit as the London Games approach. Famous brands such as Li Ning， Anta， 361， Double Fish， Double Happiness had all integrated the Olympic elements into their booth. China Sports Delegation released at the show the clothes to be worn by Chinese players when accepting prizes during the London Games. They were sponsored by Anta. “The majority of my company’s budget for advertisement goes to sponsorship of major sports events. This is the most effective way to boost our brand recognition. Our tables will be used for the table tennis test events during the London Olympics，” Liang Zhixiong， marketing director of Guangzhou Double Fish Sports Group， told China’s Foreign Trade.

Blossom of fitness and family health care equipment

Another major feature of the exhibition is the impressive presence of the fitness and family care equipment， which took half of the 10，000 square meters exhibition space in the New China International Exhibition Center.

As the natural environment deteriorates， and the work pressure increases， Chinese people are growingly aware of the importance of sports and health， resulting in the blossom of the fitness and family health care equipment industry. The U.S. economist Paul Pilzer said the health industry is becoming the 5th wave of wealth after the IT industry. Faced with tough competition， companies have to focus on innovation and technology development. The reporter learned from the exhibition that established companies in the industry are those with innovative， high-tech products.

Chinese sports goods industry pressured to upgrade

The Report on China Sports Goods Industry in 2010 and 2011 was released during the exhibi- tion， the first one of its kind. According to the report， China-made products take 65% of the world’s sports goods market. However， the Chinese sports goods industry is big but not strong.

Due to high inventory and rising costs， the expansion rate of the industry is declining， which will intensify competition.

A good thing to note is that China’s sports goods industry is increasingly concentrated in Guangdong， Fujian， Jiangsu， and Zhejiang provinces， Beijing and Shanghai， with a concentration rate of over 85%.

The report said that sports equipment has outrun sports shoes and clothing in terms of sales and growth rate. In 2010， the eight sports goods listed companies reported a revenue of 16.146 billion yuan in the sports clothing business， an increase of 25.89% year on year; 13.198 billion yuan in the sports shoes business. While， sports equipment enterprises above the designated size realized a revenue of 83.043 billion yuan. Sports equipment also made the greatest contribution to China’s exports of sports goods. In 2011， China exported $15.916 billion worth of sports goods， with a trade surplus of $15.24 billion. Sports equipment contributed 28.87% to the exports volume.

The high-end sports shoes and clothing market is dominated by foreign brands. But local brands have started to participate in the competition， and some of them are competitive. The huge mid- and low-end market is dominated by local brands. In contrast， the sports equipment market is dominated by local brands， with foreign ones having little voice.

The report pointed out the challenges facing the industry. First， Chinese enterprises are in lack of core competitiveness， and recognized brands. They are still at the bottom of manufacturing of the global ladder of labor division. Second， shoddy and counterfeit products are rampant， and the competition among companies has overheated. With the erosion of the advantages in labor cost， Chinese sports goods producers have to upgrade their industrial structure.

Li Ning， Anta and other Chinese sports brands should design more function-specific clothes and shoes， according to Weijishan， chairman of the World Federation of Sports Goods Industry. Currently， the Chinese market does not have a huge demand of functional clothes and shoes， which are often expensive. However， with the growth of the economy， people will have more professional needs and function-specific products will be in need. He added that he was glad to see the growing popularity of mass sports in China.