Take a look at most of your sports gear, and you’ll see…
“Made in China”.
Yet most of the largest sports apparel companies are based in Western countries.
Well…that has been changing quicker than you think (as Asia starts to build equity in their own global apparel brands).
When looking at this chart, you’ll see Anta is now the third-largest sportswear company in the world.
And when you add in some of their subsidiaries/investments (which I’ll showcase in a bit), they are on their way to being the largest in the world.
Let’s Dive In 👇
The Story of Anta
Anta was founded in 1991 in Fujian province, China.
For decades, this region churned out sneakers, but the equity, branding, and profits flowed back to the West (i.e. Reebok, Nike, Adidas)
What caught my eye?
Within China, Anta was long dismissed as a knock-off brand, battling Li-Ning and others for scraps.
But Anta’s leadership understood something: China didn’t want to just make shoes for the world; it wanted to build brands that owned the world.
The turning point came in 2007 when Anta went public in Hong Kong, right before the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.
This is also when you start to see the government ties flow in:
With fresh capital, they didn’t just expand their own brand…
They used acquisitions and licensing deals to capture global assets that once belonged firmly to the West.
Let’s take a look at those now:
Subsidiaries
Anta’s playbook is…
Move up the value chain, stop being the “manufacturer for hire,” and start controlling the brand, distribution, & consumer relationship.
Through licensing and acquisitions, they’ve built a portfolio that is starting to rival Nike and Adidas:
- Fila China (licensed in 2009) – now one of their crown jewels.
- Descente – Japanese sportswear brand, majority owned.
- Kolon Sport – outdoor lifestyle gear.
- Amer Sports – a $5.2B acquisition in 2019 with Tencent and FountainVest, adding Wilson (tennis), Salomon (skiing), Arc’teryx (outdoor), and Atomic (ski).
Amer Sports is a big one because the company went public on the NYSE in 2024.
It’s a textbook example of how Anta aim to own the equity upside in brands the West built, while keeping the domestic manufacturing and retail engine humming.
We also can’t overlook Anta’s global marketing strategy.
Athlete Endorsers
Unlike Nike or Adidas, Anta decided not to go after the most expensive superstars.
Instead, they strategically aligned with global figures that carry weight in key markets:
- Manny Pacquiao – boxing icon with international pull.
- Klay Thompson – $80M+ deal that gave them NBA credibility.
- Zhang Jike – China’s table tennis hero, cementing dominance at home.
And then, in 2023, Anta signed Kyrie Irving and also appointed him as the chief creative officer.
Which was significant, because Kyrie generated $2.6 billion in revenue for Nike during his last contract with them (while they paid him roughly $11 million per year).
Tariff Impact
One overlooked advantage that has taken place over the last year…
Trade policy.
Most Western brands manufacture in China but import back to the U.S. or Europe, making them vulnerable to tariffs and geopolitical tensions.
Anta, by contrast, owns the supply chain.
They sell heavily into China’s domestic market (1.4 billion consumers) and can expand globally without the same tariff headwinds.
For Nike and Adidas, “Made in China” is a liability. For Anta, it’s their moat.
Looking Ahead
We’ll continue to see more global apparel brands emerge out of Asia.
Some other things founders should keep in mind:
- you need to understand the macro-environment
- see that opportunities are all around for those who look
- realize that sports are an ever-increasing global game (and different stakeholders are taking different approaches to it, such as Saudi Arabia vs. China).
