ANTA Sports Products Limited (Stock Code: 2020.HK and its subsidiaries, collectively referred to as the "ANTA Group" or the "Group") today announced its 2023 annual results. During the Reporting Period, ANTA Group adhered to a long-term approach and achieved remarkable results in its multi-brand strategy, with all of its brands achieving high-quality growth. The Group's revenue increased by 16.2% year-on-year to RMB62.356 billion, ranking first not only among China's sporting goods companies for the 12th consecutive year, but also first in China's sporting goods industry for two consecutive years, widening the gap with its major competitors and further expanding its lead.
While the revenue volume hit a record high, ANTA Group's financial indicators in 2023 improved across the board, and the company's operating fundamentals showed stability: profitability and operational efficiency continued to improve, with gross profit margin increasing by 2.4 percentage points year-on-year to 62.6%, and operating profit margin increasing by 3.7 percentage points year-on-year to 24.6%; The cash flow was strong, with an operating cash inflow of 19.634 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 61.6%; Operational health, inventory turnover days decreased by 15 days year-on-year, a decrease of nearly 11%. It is worth mentioning that the Group's annual R&D cost ratio continued to increase, with R&D investment exceeding RMB1.6 billion, exceeding the total investment of all other listed Chinese sporting goods companies in the same period.
Lai Shixian, Executive Director and Co-CEO of ANTA Group, said, "The Group will unswervingly adhere to the development strategy of 'single focus, multi-brand and globalization', and continue to explore the process of globalization with the unique business model of brand + retail. Multi-brand meets the multi-level and multi-scenario consumer needs of China's sportswear market, and we are full of confidence in the Chinese market and the company's future development prospects. As the Paris 2024 Olympic Games approaches, Chinese athletes will once again wear the ANTA jersey to compete in the Olympic venues, and we will continue to consolidate our three core competitiveness, namely 'multi-brand collaborative management capabilities', 'multi-brand retail operation capabilities', and 'global operation and resource integration capabilities', adhere to the long-term mission-driven, focus on differentiation to create consumer value, and steadily move forward to become the world's leading sportswear group, and become the world's ANTA." ”
ANTA brand: Focus on change and lay out for the future
The revenue of the ANTA brand (hereinafter referred to as "ANTA") increased by 9.3% year-on-year to RMB30.306 billion, becoming the first domestic brand to break through the RMB30 billion mark, with an operating profit margin increasing by 0.8 percentage points year-on-year to 22.2%, and inventory remained healthy. While continuing to maintain its position as a leading sports brand in China, ANTA focuses on the strategy of "mass positioning, professional breakthroughs, and brand improvement" to transform and lay out the future.
(Photo: ANTA Racing Running Shoes Family Color)
(Photo: ANTA brand joins hands with NBA superstar Irving to launch new products globally)
During the Reporting Period, ANTA firmly adhered to its "mass positioning" and further improved its product matrix to empower the public with Olympic resources, covering the multi-level needs of the majority of popular sports enthusiasts. At the same time, with the category of "professional breakthrough" to drive the "brand upward", the brand power ranks among the top three in the industry, among the top 10 of the BrandZ global apparel list, leading the Chinese sports brand. These measures include: self-developed technology, the rapid growth of the "ANTA Champion" outdoor product family; Enabled by top resources, the basketball category joined hands with NBA superstar Irving to simultaneously release new products in 13 cities around the world, and the response was enthusiastic; Professional mentality strengthened, the running category cooperated with Bekeler, the "king of middle-distance running", to build a base, and the C family of professional running shoes reached the podium of marathon events 225 times a year, ranking first among domestic brands in terms of running mentality share (data source: Miaozhen); New store types such as "Olympic Palace Store", "ANTA Collection" and "0 Carbon Mission Store" were unveiled, and the store efficiency of core business districts in first- and second-tier cities was significantly improved.
(图:ANTA SNEAKERVERSE作品集白标首店)
ANTA KIDS has deeply delved into children's sports-specific technologies and established the brand mentality of a "professional children's sports brand" among consumers, leading the industry in terms of brand power and market share.
FILA brand: high quality and high efficiency, healthy growth
FILA brand (hereinafter referred to as "FILA") revenue increased by 16.6% year-on-year to RMB25.103 billion, and operating profit margin increased by 7.6 percentage points year-on-year to 27.6%, with the growth rate continuing to outperform the industry and other international brands of the same size. By adhering to the positioning of high-end fashion and sports brands and the "three tops" strategy, FILA has achieved high-quality growth.
(Photo: FILA adheres to the positioning of high-end fashion sports brand)
During the reporting period, FILA's omni-channel market position was enhanced, with offline channel stores leading international brands of the same scale, online and social e-commerce making historic breakthroughs, and "Double 11" ranking among the top two sports categories on major e-commerce platforms. At the same time, the footwear category and professional sports category have achieved breakthroughs, with the shoe turnover exceeding 10 billion, millions of double-level explosive models frequently released, and the proportion of professional sports product lines has increased by nearly 5 percentage points. The brand BEI also hit a record high, and the share of fashion awareness, golf and tennis minds remained the first in the industry (data source: Miaozhen).
Multi-brand: Strengthen differentiation and strong growth
(Photo: Descente City Concept Store)
The revenue of all other brands increased by 57.7% year-on-year to RMB6.947 billion, and the operating profit margin increased by 6.5 percentage points year-on-year to 27.1%, each focusing on differentiated outdoor sports scenarios and continuing to maintain rapid growth.
(Photo: Descente strengthens the brand mentality of professional sports such as skiing, golf, and triathlon)
DESCENTE adheres to the positioning of "high-end and high-quality professional sports brand", builds a high-quality product matrix, strengthens the sponsorship of national teams and athletes, optimizes the membership experience of the "Action Club", upgrades the high-end retail model, and significantly strengthens the brand mentality in the field of professional sports such as skiing, golf, triathlon, etc., with the number of "100 million yuan stores" and "over 30 million yuan" level stores growing rapidly, and the proportion of young people under the age of 35 among members continues to rise.
(Photo: Shanghai KOLON Brand Culture Center)
(Photo: KOLON focuses on incubating two core scenarios: camping and hiking)
KOLON SPORT aims to become an "desirable outdoor lifestyle brand", focusing on incubating two core scenarios: camping and hiking. By creating mental products, upgrading terminal stores, balancing the regional layout of channels, and operating the "Roading Lab" experiential community, the brand has established a professional reputation and shown a new retail image.
(Photo: Maya, a sportswear brand designed for Asian women)
In addition, the addition of MAIA ACTIVE, a women's sportswear brand, to the Group's multi-brand portfolio, strengthens the women's footprint.
Innovate and upgrade the "circle of friends" and digitally reshape the "people, goods and yards"
The expansion and upgrading of the "ANTA Group Global Science and Technology Innovation Center" has built a closed-loop innovation loop of the whole chain. China's industry's first academician workstation and national postdoctoral research workstation have settled in Jinjiang, and the joint innovation achievements of schools and enterprises such as ANTA film and soft yarn have redefined industry standards and consumer experience, and completed market transformation. So far, ANTA Group has led the establishment of the "Global Open Innovation Ecological Network", which is jointly participated by six major design and R&D centers, more than 70 universities and research institutions, more than 250 experts and more than 800 suppliers.
At the same time, ANTA Group actively reshapes the "people, goods and yards" through digital transformation, reducing costs and increasing efficiency, and driving business growth. Through the digital transformation of design, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and other links, the product design cycle is accelerated by 30%, the supply chain is accelerated by 10 days, and the production cycle of self-operated factories is shortened by 25%. Artificial intelligence has been widely used in business scenarios such as product design and e-commerce live streaming, and the number of orders for shoes designed by AI has exceeded 300,000 pairs.
Accelerating the layout of "ANTA in the world"
AMER SPORTS was successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and the joint venture's operation continued to improve significantly, with revenue increasing by 30.1% year-on-year to RMB31.248 billion, and EBITDA increasing by 45.4% year-on-year to RMB3.745 billion. During the reporting period, the three core brands (Arc'teryx, Salomon and Wilson), DTC business and the "five billion euro targets" for the Chinese market were achieved one year ahead of schedule, and the global development momentum was good. ANTA's "Brand Global" brand has made a good start in the Southeast Asian retail market, and continues to expand its presence in overseas markets such as North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with China as the core and radiating to the world.
Deepening "Symbiotic Value"
During the Reporting Period, ANTA Group continued to uphold the corporate value proposition of "Creating Symbiotic Value" and actively undertook corporate social responsibility.
Symbiosis with employees: The total number of employees of ANTA Group has exceeded 60,000, of which more than 25,000 college graduates and young talents under the age of 35 have been newly recruited, and more than 200,000 jobs have been indirectly created. D&I results are significant, with 36.6% of senior executives being women. The total investment in staff training and welfare this year exceeded 320 million yuan.
Symbiosis with society: ANTA Group and Hemin Foundation jointly built ANTA's corporate philanthropy platform, with an annual charity investment of over RMB540 million and a cumulative investment of over RMB2.4 billion. The "ANTA Thrive Public Welfare Program", which promotes rural revitalization through the integration of sports and education, has benefited more than 7 million young people from underdeveloped areas.
Symbiosis with the Environment: In the world's authoritative MSCI ESG ratings, ANTA Group has been upgraded two consecutive levels to BBB, making it the highest-scoring sportswear company in China. For the full year of 2023, the Group's total greenhouse gas emission intensity decreased by 3.6% and total water consumption intensity decreased by 9%, while sales revenue increased while energy efficiency was improved. In addition, the proportion of sustainable products and sustainable packaging materials under the Group's brands has reached nearly 20%.
During the Reporting Period, ANTA Group cooperated with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to continue to promote biodiversity conservation. Became a global partner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and a corporate signatory of UN Women's "Empowering Women Principles", and participated in a number of sustainable business initiatives launched by the United Nations. It has won authoritative awards from the government and third-party organizations, such as the "China Charity Award", "Ram Charan Management Practice Award", "China's Top 50 Innovative Enterprises", and "China's Best ESG Employer".