Li Ning Company reports that orders from franchised distributors at its trade fair held in March, for deliveries in the fourth quarter, moved up at a high single-digit rate compared with the same period in 2015. The increase was driven by low single-digit growth in footwear and a rise at a low-teens rate for apparel. For the quarter to the end of March, comparable sales of Li-Ning branded products in stores that have been in operation at least from the same quarter the previous year and online, advanced at a low single-digit rate compared with the same quarter in 2015. Comparable sales in own stores and in franchised stores were almost flat, while online sales jumped at a low-sixties rate. The Chinese group had 6,106 own and franchised points of sale at the end of the March. This was a net decrease of 27, with 30 fewer own stores and 3 more franchised stores. Li Ning notes that such a net decrease has occurred in the first quarter in previous years, because it usually closes under-performing stores at the start of the year. However, the company is holding to its target to expand its network by 300 - 500 stores for all of 2016.

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