Is The Threshold Of Cross Border Professional Sports Brand So Low?

Recently, I have been passing many times.

Societe Generale

(hereinafter referred to as "CK") PERFORMANCE stores.

(hereinafter referred to as "CK")

The autumn autumn advertisement just appeared in the shop window.

Not long ago, the store played the "last sale" sign.

However, after the launch of new products, many of the tight pants are still on sale, including 790 yuan high strength sports pants.

The clerk told me that it was one of the best professional sports products sold by CK PERFORMANCE.

In this more than 100 square meter store, different waist type tights are set on the model and placed in the most prominent position of the store.

Below the model is a pair of tight fitting pants with different supporting strength, which are displayed in many sports brands.

But the difference is that CK PERFORMANCE has not been displayed according to sports events or sports scenes, and leisure products and professional products are placed together.

Compared with the adjacent Asics, New Balance, Nike and Adidas, the products of CK PERFORMANCE seem more casual and more confusing.

What kind of occasions do I apply to? It reminds me of a chat with a senior sporting goods person. He told me very positively that leisure brands do not do well in sports, and that professional sports must be brand names before they can be differentiated and subdivided on this threshold.

And the fact is, besides CK,

etc.

The brand has long crossed the foot to the field of professional sports.

On the one hand, with the reputation and influence of this brand, the new product line has saved the trouble of brand publicity. It takes 3 - 5 years, even longer, to cultivate a new brand.

But in fact, this deep-rooted brand image is a double-edged sword.

The more famous and the clearer the image is, the more difficult it is to overcome and break the inherent brand image.

For example, ZARA has successfully constructed its own portrait as a fast fashion brand, CK represents leisure, and UNIQLO and comfort paintings are equal, but it also means that consumers can hardly relate them to sports.

UNIQLO has invited Kam kyu and Djokovic as brand spokesmen, and signed Federer in July this year at a high price of 10 years and 300 million dollars.

But the main consideration here is not to build UNIQLO as the image of sports brand, nor to "bring goods", but to enhance the brand awareness of UNIQLO in the process of globalization.

Compared with entertainment stars, top athletes have a more global reputation and healthy image.

"Tennis is a global sport that can be played by men, women, young and old, and has an increasing influence among young people," said J rgen Andersson, chief marketing officer of UNIQLO, in an interview with BBC.

Brand image is built on brand genes and products rather than spokesmen.

So when CK PERFORMANCE invited Jam Hsiao as spokesperson for the Asia Pacific brand image at the beginning of this year, it was a bit of a puzzle, though this is the first time Calvin Klein has hired the spokesperson in the Asia Pacific region.

But compared with other sports brand's entertainment star spokesperson, Jam Hsiao is not a traffic star, the influence in social media is relatively limited.

More importantly, the golden song king had hardly had any connection with sports before.

In many leisure brands, in the tide of leisure sports, it seems that only one step forward, or a little bit of turn, can reach the field of sports.

It is true that the rise of leisure sports makes this threshold seem low, but brand genes are deep-rooted and hard to erase.

The fashionable Adidas will not jump out of the border of sports to try out pure fashion. The fashion of German brand will always carry sports genes.

Professional sports have a high technical barrier, and every revolutionary technology needs to be developed for several years or even decades.

The explosion of Adidas Boost series is a case in point. This technology uses a unique cushioning material to make Adidas turn the situation in the field of professional sports shoes and form a resistance to Nike.

Similarly, Nike's Air Max functionality.

Despite running into the fashion industry, the American giant has been innovating the visible air cushion technology in the past 30 years, and has constantly emphasized the functions such as cushioning, supporting and so on.

Non professional sports brands can hardly get core technology in a short time, and it is difficult to invest in new technologies.

Behind the profession is the moat that has accumulated over the years.

Emphasizing the fashion and comfort of products is the way for leisure brands to make up for this deficiency.

"Fashion movement" is the positioning of CK PERFORMANCE.

From the price point of view, the US brand has clearly entered the high-end queue.

The price of tight pants is between 590 yuan and -1090 yuan, and the price of sports underwear is 550-750 yuan.

In the major leisure brands, CK has invested more resources in the field of sports.

CK, 50, launched the professional sports product line CK PERFORMANCE in the United States 20 years ago and opened its first store in China in 2012.

Over the past year, CK PERFORMANCE has accelerated the pace of development, especially in the Chinese market.

Last September, PVH group, the parent company of Calvin Klein, announced the opening of two new Calvin Klein lifestyle stores in Shanghai and Dusseldorf, and Calvin Klein PERFORMANCE as one of the product lines appeared at Shanghai Raffles shop in Changning.

On its official website, CK PERFORMANCE is listed as a separate product line.

In May 2017, when Shanghai Xingye Tai Gu Hui opened, CK PERFORMANCE and CK Jeans and CK Underwear were stationed in shopping malls.

The importance of CK PERFORMANCE is self-evident.

But sales seem to be out of proportion to this investment.

In CK Tmall flagship store, PERFORMANCE has the largest sales volume of more than 30.

The highest sales of CK underwear sold more than 2000.

The slogan of UNIQLO's sports series is "outdoor sports two suitable, matching outstanding", emphasizing fabric absorption sweat, fast drying.

But this softer and thinner fabric sacrifices support and shock absorption.

In particular, before the sports underwear, although the price of 149 yuan is very tempting, but the intensity of product planning can only meet the needs of light sports.

In May, UNIQLO launched the sports equipment featuring "artistic and functional", which is divided into professional sports and daily sports. The former includes portable jackets, sport inside lap, main comfortable touch, fast drying fabrics and "SPRZ NY" pop culture.

ZARA also launched its first sports sub line series in March 2016, with limited sales in 100 designated ZARA shops worldwide.

Since then, ZARA has not launched a series of sports.

But ZARA's underwear brand OYSHO has a complete sports product line, and is divided into running, training, yoga, tennis and other categories.

Adhering to the sense of ZARA design, OYSHO has a superior appearance, but its packaging and adhesion are somewhat inadequate.

"See how you define movement.

Any brand will do.

Serious sports are intense, sweating and hard.

It must be professional.

Otherwise, it's your own pain, "a consumer said.

For cross-border sports, it is worth mentioning that luxury brands.

Over the past one or two years, they have launched more sports shoes, cap, sports sweater and other products to cater for the current trend.

Whether it was the father of the Paris family or the joint name of Gucci and MLB, it was a great success.

"Their sports shoes are not real sports shoes, they can be matched with suits," the senior official said. "Leisure brands are too taken for granted."