Anta: Scale Value Chain Next Year, Target Billion

Although the signing athletes failed to win the gold medal in individual events at the Olympic Games, Anta still tasted the joy of running in the contest with their peers.

One month after the Beijing Olympic Games, Anta beat the old rival Lining with a profit of 434 million yuan, becoming the most profitable Chinese sports brand in the first half of 2008.

Relying on its continuous improvement of its "vertical business model" based on the characteristics of the Chinese market, Anta has not only maintained an annual gross profit margin of 33% and debt free assets since its listing in Hongkong last year, but also allowed the company to have ample cash flow during the global economic downturn this year.

In March 2008, Anta shares were included in the "Hang Seng China mainland composite index" and "Hang Seng China mainland circulation comprehensive index". For the first time, it was officially recognized by the capital market, Anta became the benchmark of the industry.

Six months later, Merrill Lynch listed Anta as the preferred stock of sporting goods in the mainland and awarded the "win win market" rating.

Among them, one of the conditions to gain international capital is Anta's very large value chain in China's sports brand.

At the beginning of 90s, Anta founder Ding Zhizhong did not feel comfortable after he joined the OEM manufacturing business of overseas sports brand, which was all over Jinjiang.

"OEM may face any systemic risk at any time."

Anta Sports Products Limited vice president Zhang Tao said.

So in 1994, when Jinjiang's peers were still struggling with their orders, the Anta brand was formally established. The core business of the company turned to brand management and pformed from production management enterprises to brand management enterprises.

Since then, Anta has been quietly laying out various links in the design, procurement, production, logistics, brand and sales of sporting goods, hoping to lock in all aspects of the value chain and realize its right to speak in terms of profit mix and pricing strategy.

In 2005, Anta founded the Anta sports science laboratory, marking the initial completion of its industrial value chain.

This "first sports science laboratory in China" specializes in ergonomics and product performance research. So far, it has received more than 40 state-level patents, and has a number of core technologies such as "alpha CO" and "a core".

The "CBA athlete foot type measurement" research project, which provides the personalized improvement plan of basketball shoes and last shape for most athletes in the CBA League, not only enhances the comfort of Anta products, but also increases the premium capability of Anta's similar products.

While engaging in basic research in sports science, Anta also hired Bill Peterson, founder of Nike Air Force 1 sports shoes as the general guidance of Anta basketball shoes product design. The products produced by his R & D program have been able to compete with international famous brand basketball shoes.

Since then, Anta has commissioned the Catalyst Strategic Design design studio, which worked for Nike and Asics, to design products for Anta and enhance the fashion features of its products.

At the same time, since last year, Anta has planned to reduce the proportion of self production, shoes and clothing are currently 50% and 9%.

In addition to the self built 22 shoe production lines and 2 garment production bases, the company has organized flexible large-scale production capacity through outsourced production such as Yuyuan yuan and other giant foundry enterprises, and formed a mixed production mode of "self production" plus "OEM production".

In this mode, Anta requires suppliers to comply with the principle of "joint growth with Anta", such as fabric and accessories developers should have the same development capability; at the same time, suppliers should make money, procurement team assessment and reasonable profit margins.

"In the process of industrial upgrading and market shuffling, we can only become managers of value chain, and our profit portfolio and pricing strategy can become competitive." Ding Zhizhong said, and insisted that in the rules of the game, your partner will not make money and he will not repay you.

They will be willing to advance with you if they add value to their suppliers.

While allowing mass production to become more flexible, Anta has also completed the improvement of its logistics and sales system and strengthened Anta's capability as a "value chain manager".

At present, Anta has set up 4 warehousing logistics centers and 6 operation branches in Fujian, Jiangsu, Beijing and Guangzhou, and has set up nearly 300 full-time team to undertake logistics, brand and other services for distributors.

At the same time, since 1999, Anta has pformed the sales channel from the agent system to the franchise system in three phases. In the October 2008 business performance summary of 1 September, the company showed that Anta has completed the covering of more than 600 cities across the country through 5468 terminal store networks.

Since 2008, Anta, which has gained a foothold in the professional sporting goods market, is planning to open up a new market in the field of fashion sports products and children's sporting goods, which is due to the opportunity of upgrading the second tier market after the Olympic Games.

Anta plans to promote fashion products in a large scale in 2009.

"The consumption trend of Chinese nationals is diversified, and the demand for sporting goods with fashionable and fashionable styles will increase."

Zhang Tao said, "sports are to some extent the way they highlight their personalities."

The industry believes that the production process of children's sporting goods and fashion sporting goods are basically the same as the production of functional sports products. The three parts adopt basically identical raw materials, and the expansion of scale will undoubtedly enable Anta to easily realize low-cost procurement and enhance its bargaining power with OEM merchants.

Zhang Tao stressed that through business diversification and differentiated product mix, and continue to enhance brand reputation to enhance the added value and occupy the leading share in the two or three tier domestic market, it will be a guarantee for Anta to maintain "fast company" in the future.

But in addition to consolidating the two or three line market, Anta is also preparing to create an epoch in the high-end sporting goods market.

The company is still negotiating acquisitions with individual foreign brands in order to complement Anta brand.

Last year, 3 billion 168 million of listed financing was reserved for a certain proportion.

"Maybe winter is just beginning, so we need to prepare more food and grass."

The economic downturn since 2008 and the recession of manufacturing industry have not made the Chinese enterprise feel the "winter" chill.

"In the future, we will continue to lock in all aspects of the sporting goods industry chain, so that we can see the next spring sun sooner than others."

Zhang Tao said.

The company's goal in 2010 is to achieve sales of 10 billion.

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