5 things sporting goods can learn from China’s “authenticity” boom

Dentsu’s Greater North Asia sports and entertainment division has released a new China focused trend report, Sports & Entertainment Trends China Focus: Authentic Gravity. It argues that brands need a deeper read on fan emotion and behavior, rather than more scale, reach or data. Six trends are covered in total; here are the five findings that matter most for the sporting goods industry.

1. Grassroots leagues are becoming a genuine commercial platform.

China’s 15th Five Year Plan for sport (2026–2030) puts mass participation at its center, and provincial amateur football is the clearest early proof point: 17 provinces have now launched leagues under a “one city, one team” model. The 2025 Jiangsu Football City League reportedly generated 7.3 yuan (€0.94) in tourism spending for every 1 yuan (€0.13) in ticket sales and drew more than 25 million visits to nearby attractions: a leverage effect local governments are actively courting with linked consumption policies.

For sporting goods brands, this points to sponsorship and product placement opportunities at the grassroots level, well below the cost of top tier league deals.

2. Trail running and HYROX are moving from niche to mainstream fast.

China hosted more than 800 trail running events in 2025 alone, with growth rates in both races and participants ranked first globally by the International Trail Running Association. HYROX is following a similar curve, with its “8 km run + 8 functional workouts” format gaining particular traction among what the report calls the “new middle class market.” Both categories reward brands that can move quickly on product and event partnerships in a market that is still forming its retail infrastructure.

3. Merch is shifting from byproduct to purchase driver.

The report describes a “merch economy” already worth an estimated RMB 652.1 billion (about €83.6 billion) in 2025 and projected to hit RMB 834.4 billion (about €106.9 billion) by 2029, and the underlying logic (people buying products for the merch, not the other way round) is spilling into sports.

China’s sports collectibles market reportedly reached RMB 8.73 billion (about €1.12 billion) by the end of 2025, up 21.4 percent from a year earlier, and Fanatics opened its first Chinese store in Guangzhou. Collectible and limited edition drops may carry more weight with Chinese consumers than conventional performance led product marketing.

4. Fans are rewarding “measured authenticity” over polished perfection.

With AI generated content now cheap and abundant, the report finds audiences gravitating toward athletes and celebrities who show unscripted reactions, admit mistakes and stay reachable: dovetailing with Cambridge Dictionary naming “parasocial” its 2025 Word of the Year.

The practical takeaway for brand and athlete marketing: overly produced, AI assisted campaigns risk reading as inauthentic to a market that is actively skeptical of them, particularly within fan communities built around anime, comics and games.

5. Deep, recurring fan relationships are outperforming mass reach.

Rather than chasing broad exposure, brands are having more success cultivating smaller, high spending fan communities through repeated, collectible driven touchpoints. With 70 percent of fans reportedly willing to pay a premium for in person experiences, the implication for sporting goods is that recurring, community first activation may travel further than one off campaigns built for scale.

Eastern views

Asia-Pacific insights for the sporting goods industry

Analysis, insights, and expert perspectives on the sporting goods industry across Asia-Pacific — covering market trends, manufacturing, retail, and brand strategy from China to Southeast Asia to Oceania. With Jakarta-based contributing editor Yohana Belinda.

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