?️ Top Industry News
China to Boost Public-service System for Sports & Fitness
The country is implementing a higher level public system to accelerate interest in fitness and physical activity, according to new guidelines. These include an increase in the supply of basic services for public fitness and sporting interests to boost the population’s participation rate. Read more on Xinhua (English) and Xinhua (Chinese)
ANTA Sports Posts $7.7B Fiscal Year Revenue
The “Nike of China” posted growth across all its business operations in 2021 in the company’s latest earnings report, generating $7.7B in revenue in FY2021, a 39% increase compared to the financial year prior, thanks to strong results in its ANTA and FILA segments. Read more on Front Office Sports (English) and Lanxiong Sports (Chinese)
BVB Launches Digital China Transportation Card
The Bundesliga side has become the first football club to launch this type of digital product in China. The card, available across 314 cities, features a number of the club’s top players. Fans of the club will be able to easily access this product and bring a taste of the club closer to their daily lives. Read more on BVB (Weibo)
? Mailman Take: The transportation card is a great example of a limited edition collectible that sports brands are offering to their fans. This tangible product is a sign of club loyalty and status, with fans showing it off amongst their peers. Collectibles is a fast growing industry in China, with BVB successfully leveraging this trend to offer value to their fans across the country.
CSL Extends Stats Perform Partnership
The Chinese Super League (CSL) has extended its relationship with Stats Perform in a multi-year deal which sees the sports tech company named as the league’s event and tracking data provider. Together with Opta event data, the tracking data will supplement the league’s broadcast and digital channels, along with supporting their partners. Read more on SportBusiness (English) and Ecosports (Chinese)
IPC Hails China’s Hosting of Paralympics
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) praised China’s hosting and sporting performance, whilst IPC president Andrew Parsons said in his closing speech that China had delivered a “stunning, secure and spectacular” Games. Read more on SportBusiness (English) and People’s Daily (Chinese)
Tmall’s Successful Winter Olympics
During the Beijing Winter Olympics, the number of searches for Winter Olympics-related products on Tmall exceeded 200M. During the Beijing Winter Olympics, Tmall partnered with a number of Olympic-related brands to carry out cooperation around the Winter Olympics and winter sports, such as Samsung and ANTA. Released on Ecosports (Chinese)
IBSA Goalball World Championships in Hangzhou Cancelled
The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Goalball World Championships in Hangzhou has been cancelled due to travel restrictions, with the organisation now seeking another host. The Chinese city was scheduled to host the event in June. Read more on InsideTheGames (English)
Xiamen Marathon Postponed
The Marathon was arranged in April, but was delayed due to the intensified development of the epidemic. The new date of the marathon has not yet been released. Read more on Sports Money (Chinese)
? Esports
PSG.LGD Announces EPOS as Official Audio Partner
The Ligue 1 club’s new partnership with the audio equipment company will see EPOS become the official audio equipment provider for PSG Esports’ DOTA 2 team, PSG.LGD. Read more on Esports Insider (English) and Sports Money (Chinese)
China Tightens Regulation on Gaming Once Again
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced in November it would be limiting the time people in the country under 18 could spend playing online games. Now, CAC is going even further to specify what content kids can consume online in the country’s latest tech crackdown. The new draft regulation will work even harder to keep children from accessing internet services for extended periods. Read more on Dot Esports (English) and Beijing Business Today (Chinese)
Olympique Lyonnais Cooperates with LinGan Esports
The Chinese esports team has signed a partnership agreement with French football club Lyon to set up a new esports team – LGE Esports Club. LGE will officially debut in Tencent’s official esport tournament – FIFA Online 4. Read more on Ecosports (Chinese)
?️ Other News
Weibo to Evaluate Options After Delisting Risk in US
Weibo Corp said it will consider evaluating options after the Chinese social media platform was added to US securities regulator’s list of companies facing the risk of being delisted. Washington has long demanded complete access to the books of US-listed companies, but Beijing bars foreign inspection of working papers from local accounting firms. Read more on Reuters (English)
Tencent’s Profits Surge to $35B Despite ‘Challenging Year’
Net profits at Tencent climbed by 41% to $35B at Tencent, China’s social media, games and streaming giant, in the year to December. Revenues were up by 16% to RMB 560B ($87.8B). Despite the profits surge, the company’s management described 2021 as a “challenging year.” Read more on Yahoo! (English) and The Paper (Chinese)
? Opinion
China’s Winter Sports Scene Booms as Eileen Gu’s Olympic Glory Inspires New Generation
China’s winter sports industry is basking in the afterglow of the country’s successful hosting of the Winter Olympics last month. The number of people who have taken to ski slopes and skating rinks, inspired by the spectacle of medal-winning skills they had observed in Beijing, has far exceeded the government’s wildest forecasts. Read more on SCMP (English)
How New Balance Found Its Stride in China
According to the NPD Group, New Balance was the only international leisure label to see growth in China in Q3 2021 vs. Q3 2020. And this cannot be attributed to discounting. In fact, its average list price increased more than 10 percent. As they contend for leadership in the area, we outline some of the strategies responsible for New Balance’s position. Read more on Jing Daily (English)
The Godfather of Chinese Boxing
Few people have heard of Liu Gang, but the 50-year-old has a claim to be one of the most influential figures in the history of professional boxing. Over more than two decades, Liu has almost single-handedly – and from scratch – built up the sport in the world’s most populous nation. He was one of China’s first amateur boxers, a member of its first Olympic boxing team, and then became the first Chinese fighter to turn professional. Sixth Tone explores more (English)
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