Where Is The Future Of Lining'S Brand Building?

If asked Gym shoes In the field, who is the pride of Chinese brands, the answer is mostly Lining. But this company that is proud of China is now in trouble.

According to the 2012 earnings report, the gross profit of the company dropped by 8.02 percentage points to 46.1%, although Maori still ranks among the top five sporting goods providers, but the net profit is only 386 million yuan, less than half of PEAK's net profit 780 million of the five largest sports brands. Aside from the cost of channel change, the above phenomenon is mostly due to confusion and dislocation of brand cognition.

Brand aging Lining

In 1988, after retiring, Lining did not take the traditional path of athletes and coaches, but chose the road of business and set up clothing companies. In April 1990, the "Lining brand" trademark was registered, and the company was formally established in May.

"Lining" is the brand name. First, when we heard the brand, we knew that it was not enough to sell the sporting goods. Lining is not the spokesman of the brand, but the brand itself, which saves a lot of advertising expenses.

Since then, the Li Ning Co has been running smoothly. In June 2004, when it was listed in Hongkong, it maintained a sustained high growth rate until 2010. The recognition of Lining brand in the eyes of consumers has been closely linked to the image of "athletes who win glory for the country", and the company has deliberately used "honor and struggle" to arouse consumers' sympathy.

However, with the aging of a group of loyal consumers, the two word "Lining" has not helped much in brand building. The brand awareness of the company in the new generation of consumers is not high, and the brand is aging.

The problem of brand aging and dislocation is not unique to Lining's family. Take Nike's Jordan series as an example. This series used to be the leading brand in sports brand. Many NBA fans regard this series of basketball shoes as collectors, and limited shoes and second-hand shoes have become the most sought after treasure.

However, with the retirement of Jordan, the Jordan fans grew from the impulsive consumption students to the rational consumption office workers. Jordan's brand appeal has been estranged from the target consumer group, young fans. Then Nike launched Kobe and Lebron series sneakers to cope with market changes.

This is exactly the same as Lining's problems.

Post 1990s misunderstanding

After market analysis, Li Ning Co believes that after 1990, the crowd will become the main target customers and consumers of the company, so "fashion and cool" become the qualities that the company hopes to embody. This market strategy without logical errors is totally disrupted by a "post-90s Lining" that easily leads to confusion.

It is said that in the preparation stage of remolding, the marketing department looks for suitable advertising ideas to express the new personality of Lining brand. Finally, "90 after Lining" was identified, meaning that the Li Ning Co was established in 1990, second, it reflects the company's desire to understand the needs of the new generation, the importance of communication, and the willingness to change.

In July 1, 2011, Li Ning Co began to use new brand labels and slogans. The new LOGO is made up of graphics called "Lining cross action", and the slogan "MakeTheChange" is used to replace the original "everything is possible".

The problem is that after the new advertisement is broadcast, the vast majority of consumers believe that this is the symbol of Lining's abandonment of 70 and after the Post 80. Although the company's CEO Zhang Zhiyong has come to clarify that the concept of "90's is creative rather than brand positioning", the reality is that consumers obviously do not buy it. After losing their original customers, the new generation of customers did not show special recognition to Lining.