Lining'S "Transmutation": The Confusion Of Product Positioning

A survey shows that more than half of Lining's consumer groups are over 40 years old and no longer belong to young people. Although the core consumer of sporting goods is 14 to 45 years old, for sporting goods companies, the 14~25 age group is a better consumer group. Young consumers think Lining is inferior to international brands in cool, fashion and international sense.

In terms of product positioning, Lining has been wandering between leisure fashion and sports. It is Lining's brand that constantly swings in the two directions of fashion and professionalism, which causes many consumers to feel that they are not professional enough and fashion is not fashionable enough.

At the beginning of the establishment of the company, the strong demand of the market enabled Li Ning Co to expand its category. Apart from sportswear, shoes and sports accessories, it also worked with partners to launch leather goods, fitness equipment, suits, shirts, stationery, cosmetics and other products. Once led to confusion in the product system, the subdivision area can not be deep tillage. In 1999, when Lining achieved annual sales of 700 million yuan in China, Nike's annual sales in China were only 300 million yuan, while Adidas only had 100 million yuan.

In 2003, Lining remained the leading position in China for 9 years, and was robbed by Nike, who had been intensive farming for 28 years in China. In second years, Adidas also surpassed Lining in second place. This experience has impressed Lining deeply.

Especially after 2005. Lining The horizontal layout of the brand began to distract Lining's resources, so that the advantage of Lining's brand marketing and channel farming in the domestic market disappeared. Self operated channel The proportion of sales fell to 10%~15%, the channel was unstable and the discourse power was weak.

In 2008, Lining suddenly discovered that his competitors were no longer just the transnational giants such as Nike and Adidas, the Jinjiang Gang represented by Anta, and the leisure sports clothing brand represented by Kappa, which was sold by itself at a low price, is rapidly growing into a powerful force. I have to say, in a second tier city, ADI, Nike has more influence than Lining, and in the three line and below the market, 361 degrees, Anta and so on than the price of Lining more affordable.

As Zhang Zhiyong, Lining's second CEO, he tried to rebuild Lining brand with internationalization, and launched a new round of Lining's fashion and internationalization. In fact, from 2001, Li Ning Co was in Santander, Spain Lining's internationalization has already begun since he opened his first overseas store. In 2005, Lining became a NBA strategic partner. According to the financial report, in 2004, the proportion of Lining's international market income in total income was 2.4%, 1.3% in 2005, 0.9% in 2006, 0.8% in 2007, and 0.3% in 2008.

In 2009, Lining set up a Singapore subsidiary. The proportion of the international market in total revenue rose to 1%. In 2010, Lining set up an American subsidiary, and the share of the international market in total revenue rose to 1.4%. In 2011, Lining's US store closed quietly. In early 2012, Lining, director of overseas business, left Li Jiaming. In July of the same year, Lining's Spanish distributor declared bankruptcy. Since then, Lining's internationalization strategy has been stranded.

In response to the situation at that time, a person close to Lining's management pointed out that Lining had a big problem: the brand positioning was unclear and the strategy changed too much. "To internationalize later, to be fashionable at a later time, to exercise and to change. For so many years, no one can tell clearly what Lining's brand is, it is now high and low, and it is caught in the middle end of the industry.