Xu Yang set a 10–15 percent growth target for the Anta brand; it delivered just 3.7 percent in 2025, and Q2 offers no evidence of a turnaround before his exit.
Anta Sports’ Q2 investor presentation, released two days after CEO Xu Yang’s resignation from the core Anta brand, showed the brand growing at a low single digit rate in Q2 2026, extending the deceleration that had already emerged before the leadership change.
Fila also slipped to low single digit growth in the quarter, down from low teens in Q1, though it still secured the No.1 GMV ranking on Tmall’s sports and outdoor category during “618.” The group’s other brands, led by Descente and Kolon Sport, kept posting 25–30 percent gains, with Kolon Sport claiming the top spot in both Tmall’s and JD’s 618 outdoor rankings.
| Anta Sports — Retail Sales Performance by Brand | ||||||
| Quarterly YoY growth, 1Q25–2Q26 | ||||||
| 1Q25 | 2Q25 | 3Q25 | 4Q25 | 1Q26 | 2Q26 | |
| Anta brand | +HSD% | +LSD% | +LSD% | -LSD% | +HSD% | +LSD% |
| Fila | +HSD% | +MSD% | +LSD% | +MSD% | +LT% | +LSD% |
| Other brands* | +65–70% | +50–55% | +45–50% | +35–40% | +40–45% | +25–30% |
*HSD = high single digit; MSD = mid single digit; LSD = low single digit; LT = low teens. Other brands figures exclude entities that joined the group after January 1, 2024/2025 as noted in source.
Source: ANTA Sports Products Limited, Second Quarter 2026 Investors Presentation, July 17, 2026.
The company describes the quarter as resilient, citing a cautious Chinese consumer, unseasonable weather, and demand concentrated around the “618” shopping festival. It says strong execution during that period reinforced its competitive position.
It also points to product wins, including a Runner’s World 2026 shortlist spot for the Anta PG7 and the launch of an internally developed cushioning platform under the new Anta Fold running line.
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But there is a story behind the story that the operational update does not address: Xu Yangresigned as Anta brand CEO on July 15, with co CEO Lai Shixian stepping in as interim head. Xu’s tenure centered on segmenting stores by district, occasion, and sport category, producing formats such as SV outlets and Super Anta stores. Both have since fallen well behind their 2025 rollout targets.
Anta says Xu’s exit was for family reasons and that the brand’s strategy is unchanged. The Q2 figures neither confirm nor dispel doubts about that trajectory, since a single low single digit quarter sits within the range Xu was already missing.
