蛋糕做大的中國平民運動市場

Yi, er! Yi, er! Lodge near a Chinese school and you may find yourself awoken before dawn by yells of “One, two!” as bleary-eyed youngsters are cajoled through their morning exercises. Universities feature weekly mandatory runs: students shuffle around sports tracks, attired in regular day wear from jeans to denim skirts.

一，二！一，二！如果你租住在一所中國學校旁邊，天不亮你就會被一羣還睡眼惺忪，被勸導着進行晨練的孩子們“一，二”的叫喊聲吵醒。在大學裏，每週都有必須參加的跑步運動：學生們在跑道上拖着腳跑，身着從牛仔褲到牛仔短裙的日常服飾。

China wants to develop its sports industry, starting with its youth. Even if they do not all change into tracksuits and trainers to exercise, the sports apparel market will grow. Last year, retail sales of sportswear in the US reached $91bn, Euromonitor says. In China, they were around a quarter of that. The market researcher expects Chinese growth of nearly one-tenth per annum between 2014-2019, twice the rate forecast for the US.

中國想要發展運動產業，從青少年開始。即使他們鍛鍊的時候並沒有都換上運動服和運動鞋，運動裝市場將迎來增長。據歐睿(Euromonitor)的說法，去年美國運動裝零售銷售額達到910億美元。中國則約爲前者的四分之一。這家市場研究公司預計，在2014年到2019年間，中國市場的年增長率將達到近十分之一，是美國增長率預期的兩倍。

While the expanding pie should allow most participants to grow, some are likely to gain greater heft than others. In the year to May, Nike’s China sales rose to $3bn, up by nearly one-fifth and the fastest growth of any geography. Thus, according to Euromonitor, Nike leads the market with 14 per cent share; rival foreign brand Adidas has a similar portion.

儘管蛋糕變大也讓更多參與者得以增長，但一些參與者可能將收穫更大份額。截至今年5月的1年裏，耐克(Nike)在華銷售額升至30億美元，增長了近五分之一，是所有地區中增長最快的。因此，據歐睿說法，耐克以14%的市場份額引領中國市場；其外國競爭品牌阿迪達斯(Adidas)也擁有相近的份額。

There is a local contender: Hong Kong-listed Anta Sports. The company has one-tenth of the market and has also been growing rapidly. In the first half, announced last month, the top line rose by a quarter.

還有一個本土競爭對手——在香港上市的安踏(Anta Sports)。這家公司擁有十分之一的市場份額，也一直在快速增長。據上月公佈的數據，安踏今年上半年收入增長了四分之一。

Anta has some advantages, including a strong presence in second- and third- tier cities, where retail growth is strongest, according to consultant Bain. It has also learned from the mistakes of former market darling Li Ning, which tried to take its brand up market, resulting in several poor years. Anta’s high-end foray is focused on its Fila brand, which has been doing well.

安踏擁有一些優勢，包括在二三線城市的強勢地位，據諮詢公司貝恩(Bain & Co)的說法，這些地區的零售增長最爲強勁。安踏還從之前的市場寵兒李寧(Li Ning)的失誤中吸取教訓，李寧曾試圖進軍高端市場，結果度過了慘淡的幾年。安踏主要依靠旗下斐樂(Fila)品牌進軍高端市場，該品牌一直表現不錯。

But Anta’s biggest advantage is that it leads the mid-market segment. Attractive goods, then, for poor students. And for high spenders in an uncertain environment, when belt-tightening begins.

但安踏的最大優勢是，它引領了中端細分市場。因此，安踏不僅爲那些不那麼富有的學生，也爲那些在不確定環境下開始緊縮開支的高消費者提供有吸引力的產品。