ANTA acquires MAIA ACTIV, who can be the next lululemon?

With lululemon's stake in China, the women's sports market has become a must-compete place for sports brands. Today, Anta announced that it has acquired 75.13% of Maiya's shares, which means that Anta officially laid out the women's sector.

1. ANTA's acquisition path

Founded in 2016, Maiya has targeted the women's sports market at the beginning of its establishment, and is committed to bringing a better sports experience to women. MAIA'S BRAND MAIA ACTIVE HAS ALSO ACHIEVED GOOD RESULTS IN CHINA, WITH SALES EXCEEDING 100 MILLION YUAN IN 2019 AND BECOMING ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR WOMEN'S FITNESS PANTS BRANDS IN CHINA. AFTER TMALL, DOUYIN ALSO BECAME A PLATFORM FOR MAIA ACTIVE. TODAY, MAIA ACTIVE HAS NEARLY 1.5 MILLION FOLLOWERS ON TMALL AND DOUYIN. Thanks to MAIA ACTIVE's excellent performance, it is very popular in the capital market, and since its second year of creation, it has continued to receive a lot of financing, totaling nearly 300 million.

The acquisition of such a brand focusing on women's sports is obvious, ANTA will make efforts in the women's business in the future, and MAIA ACTIVE will also improve ANTA's sports territory.

Anta's layout in the sportswear industry can be described as comprehensive and started very early. After becoming the largest sportswear brand in China, Anta began the road of "buying, buying, buying". In 2009, Anta acquired the Italian sports brand FILA for 332 million, extending the brand to the field of fashion sports. In 2016, Anta acquired British leisure sports brand Sprandi, a year later it acquired South Korean high-end outdoor brand KOLON SPORT, and in the same year, Hong Kong children's clothing brand Xiaoxiao Niu was also acquired. In 2019, Anta did another big thing, together with FountainVest Capital, it acquired the world's top sporting goods company, Amer Sports, which has two well-known brands, Archaeopteryx and Salomon. At this point, ANTA's brand empire extended to almost every corner of sportswear.

Anta's strategy proved to be really useful. In the first half of this year, ANTA's performance reached a new high, with nearly 30 billion yuan, of which FILA alone contributed 12.23 billion yuan in revenue.

Therefore, when it sees that the prospects of the women's sports market are promising, Anta will naturally not let go. And Anta is not the only one with industry acumen.

2. Sports brands compete in the women's sports market

Women's sportswear has always been ignored by brands, but in fact, the women's sports market is not small. JD.com data shows that in 2020, women's sports consumption increased by 38.6% year-on-year. The "2021 China Gym Industry Market Status and Consumer Trend Survey Research Report" released by iMedia Consulting also shows that more than 60% of domestic gym users are women. With the increasing level of women's consumption and women's increasing emphasis on health, the gap in the women's sportswear market has begun to be gradually filled.

The founder of Runaway Loli was originally a fitness blogger who founded a qualified brand after sensing the lack of professional women's sportswear in the market. The violent loli is positioned for young women under the age of 30, with a price of about 300 yuan, focusing on high cost performance. In 2016, the sales of the violent loli have exceeded 100 million, and in recent years it has exceeded 800 million yuan.

Unlike the runaway loli, the target customers of the particle mania are consumers in the mid-to-high-end market, and the prices of the products are mostly four-digit. In order to bring consumers a comfortable wearing experience, most of the fabrics used in particle mania clothing are highly high-tech, antibacterial, perspiration wicking and elastic. The goal of particle mania is not only the domestic market, they also plan to go international and become an internationally renowned sportswear brand.

.RAW. Although J was established late and also started with women's clothing such as yoga pants, RAW.J's ambitions do not stop there, and RAW.J positions itself as "cross-scene sports fashion". Therefore, RAW.J launched products in addition to yoga pants, sports jackets and sports suits.

In addition to cutting-edge sports brands, traditional brands are also focusing on the women's sports market. Li Ning invited actress Zhong Chuxi as a women's sports style ambassador, focusing on promoting women's sportswear. 361° not only invited Li Mengwen and Gong Li as ambassadors and spokespersons, but also launched a variety of products such as "New Muscle Pants 3.0" and "New Motion Pants 1.0" at the women's sports new product launch. In 2020, Decathlon founded the yoga brand Kimjaly after seeing the huge potential of the women's sports market to provide affordable sportswear for female sports enthusiasts.

And when it comes to the best in women's sportswear brands, it is impossible not to mention lululemon.

3. A pair of yoga pants sells a business empire

Lululemon is a Canadian brand founded in 1998 that has a small history but quickly took the world by storm. In 2013, lululemon entered the Chinese market, although domestic women's sportswear was not paid attention to by the industry at that time, lululemon saw the potential early and occupied the market in advance. Today, lululemon has become a well-known women's sportswear brand in China.

In 2022, Lululemon's total revenue reached US$6.257 billion, a year-on-year increase of 42.14%, and its market value reached US$37.4 billion, becoming the world's second largest sports brand. In Lululemon's business landscape, the contribution of the Chinese market cannot be ignored. According to its financial report for the second quarter of fiscal 2023, the Chinese market revenue increased by nearly 70% year-on-year, making it the fastest growing region in the world.

So how did lululemon sell itself to be the second in the world with thousands of yoga pants?

Lululemon mainly does three things right, first, find the right positioning, middle-class women who love sports. Explore small tracks that other brands can't look at but have broad prospects, and avoid going head-to-head with big brands. Second, the quality of the product is the extreme. Lululemon attaches great importance to the material and function of the fabric, and for middle-class women, the quality of the product is high enough to make them pay. The third is marketing, from the beginning of its establishment to the present, lululemon has not invited celebrities to endorse, but invited many ordinary people to participate in the event, ordinary people's use experience, it is easier for consumers to identify.

As more and more brands enter the market, can the next lululemon be born in China? Some insiders believe that there is still a certain gap between domestic brands and them, product research and development is on the one hand, the homogeneity of domestic brand marketing, and it is difficult to obtain the marketing effect of Lulu Lemon.

However, even if it can't become the next lululemon, who can guarantee that domestic brands won't be able to break their own path? Today, brands are competing in the women's sports market, and as more brands join them, who will be the winner?

This article is synthesized from China Newsweek, Southern Weekly, and Stock Market Dynamic Analysis Weekly