A brand’s new chance

It is a daunting challenge to earn a slice of the athletic shoe and apparel market in the Philippines, more so with the dominance of older, more established brands like adidas and Nike. But a Chinese brand has gotten a second chance at doing so, and is flourishing in the country by catching Filipinos’ passion for basketball in particular.

A decade and a half ago, Anta’s distributor in the Philippines signed a PBA All-Star to a hefty endorsement deal. However, problems with supply slowed down its growth in the country. The sports brand started in 1991 as a wholesaler with a factory in China, and was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007. Six years later, they converted into a retailer, and as of two years ago, have a market value exceeding HKD 300,000,000 (US$ 39,000,000,000). The group is now the third-largest sports group in the world. Anta is the sponsor of China’s Olympic Committee and thus, all their national athletes.

In the Philippines, Anta is now handled by joint-venture company Avid Sports, a Southeast Asian partnership between Anta China and the Luen Thai Group, which retails brands like Skechers in China. They launched in the country in 2019, mere months before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic became an opportunity for us,” recalls Avid Sports Philippines general manager JP Paglinawan. “The big players got really hurt by the pandemic. To a certain extent, we were also impacted. But since we were at a smaller scale, we were able to open five new stores during the pandemic, and we’re opening 11 more this year for a total of 20 stores.”

The aggressive growth is due to Anta having 10,000 stores in China alone. The overall strategy is to penetrate markets as much as possible. The Philippines has well over 300 shopping malls, leaving a lot more room for growth. So far, the plan has been effective, more so given that their retail products are priced between 10 to 20 percent lower than the leading brands, with similar technology and quality.

Spearheaded by NBA All-Star endorsers like Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors and Gordon Hayward of the Charlotte Hornets, and Alex Caruso of the Chicago Bulls, Precious Achiuwa of the Toronto Raptors and Hamidou Diallo of the Detroit Pistons and others, Anta has made a significant dent in the international basketball market. In the Philippines, basketball makes up a staggering 60 percent of Anta’s sales, despite the fact that they still don’t manufacture shoes larger than size 12.

“I love it,” says Rain or Shine guard Anton Asistio, the brand’s first new Philippine endorser. “I was surprised because I knew nothing about Anta before. But the quality is impressive, the shoes, even the apparel. I feel like I hit the jackpot.”

“We want to be compared to the leading brands,” adds Paglinawan, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the sports market in the Philippines. “What they have really is technology that enables the athlete to perform. We’re not doing the price game. We’re investing in the brand.”

So far, they’ve made the most of their second chance.