Chinese sportswear company Anta will be opening its first flagship in the US on Feb. 13, with two of its sponsored athletes, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson of the NBA, on hand for the ribbon cutting.
Located in Beverly Hills, California, the store will cover 2,500 to 3,000 square feet and carry a “curated assortment” of running, lifestyle and basketball products. It will also have “immersive athlete storytelling and brand environments” and serve as a “community and cultural hub,” with “run clubs, athlete-led activations, and initiatives celebrating the intersection of Chinese American heritage, sport, and performance innovation.”
For CEO Samuel Tsui this first US store represents a “commitment” to the US market, where one of its six “design centers” is located – the others being in China, Japan, South Korea, Italy and the Netherlands. For Anta, it is a “foundation” for brand expansion and consumer engagement nationwide.
As the company explains in its latest annual report, Anta is taking a “multi-pronged” approach to expansion abroad. It is “leveraging the influence of Chinese culture and our supply chain advantages” in Southeast Asia, positioning itself in “the world’s largest and most competitive market, the U.S., to build international brand influence,” and “exploring emerging markets such as the Middle East and Africa,” so as to “establish a comprehensive global presence.”
Anta operates more than 12,000 stores in China and more than 240 abroad, most in Southeast Asia. In FY 2024 it generated $70.8 billion Chinese yuan renminbi (€8.63bn) in revenue, 35.1 percent of it from e-commerce, and a profit of CNY 17.0 billion (€2.07bn).
Founded in 1991, Anta was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (under HKEX) in 2007, acquired the rights to the Fila brand for Greater China in 2009, established joint ventures with Descente (Andes Sports Products) in 2016 and with Kolon Sport in 2017, and acquired Amer Sports (Salomon, Arc’teryx, Wilson), for $5.23 billion, in 2019.
Last month, as we’ve reported, Anta acquired a stake of 29 percent in Puma.
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