Old American Sports Shoes PONY: China'S Rebirth

One is in sports.

The faithful fans of American professional sports and street culture have heard absolutely.

In 1976, the Montreal Olympic Games in Canada, PONY was the only sponsor of the designated sports shoes brand. In the 1979 NBA tournament, one of the four pairs of sneakers on the players' feet was from PONY.

PONY has blossomed in various professional sports in the United States, and its products are sold in more than 40 countries and regions around the world.

However, in the end, PONY embarked on different development paths with Nike.

Nike uses the incomparable appeal of "flying man" Jordan to launch the AirJordan series, insists on taking the professional sports route, while PONY chooses to cooperate with music, dance and fashion stars.

So, in 80s, Nike and PONY became the crossroads of fate.

The rise of sports in the world has made Nike brilliant, but the PONY brand has been almost silent.

A sharp eyed businessman will not sniff out the great value of this 70s and 80s major sports brand in the United States. But how to bring the core characteristics of this high-quality brand asset into full play and how to fully link it with local resources to maximize efficiency is the core proposition for the revival of this brand.

Now, Huang Haiguo, head of PONY Greater China, told the successful marketing reporter that he had "found the feeling".

Based on leisure, standing firmly in the category of vulcanized footwear, and strive to return to the professional sports industry high profit zone, this is the development strategy of PONY brand in China.

From sports to leisure

Considering that the professional sports such as European football and NBA have been deeply rooted in China, it has been quite difficult to get involved in the sports equipment market which has already been stable in the competition pattern. PONY has chosen a road with few people walking along with its own characteristics.

CEO Huang Hai, a brand operator of PONY Greater China and Kunshan tathon boutique trading Co., introduces the reporter of "successful marketing".

In his view, China's sports products can be roughly divided into three brand camps according to the relevance of sports: the first camp is a professional sports brand represented by Nike, Adidas and Lining; the second camp is a sports brand represented by Puma and Kappa, which combines recreational functions and sports functions, and is the main product of eye-catching costumes. Converse, VANS and other brands belong to the third camp - the leisure brand with shoes as the main products, both sports and fashion elements.

PONY belongs to the third camp.

"Our position on PONY is young, fashionable and fashionable, with shoes as the main brand."

Huang Haiguo said.

Such brand positioning comes from the overall consideration of the competitive environment of the brand operators.

At present, international brands such as Nike, Adidas, local brand Lining and so on, with strong capital strength and many years of market experience, have already established a solid foothold in the Chinese market. They have also formed a solid brand awareness in the minds of consumers, and have no chance to enter the market again.

Puma, who pioneered the sports fashion industry's "sportswear" blue ocean, has successfully tore the gap between Nike and Adidas dominated market. The Italy brand Kappa, operated by China, has successfully explored the business model of combining international brands with local sports resources in China. However, the first advantage of the two has already set a very high threshold for the latecomers to enter.