Who is the Chinese Anta, who continues her conquest of world sports activities manufacturers with Puma | EUROtoday

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The international sportswear panorama is experiencing a mini geopolitical and monetary earthquake: the Chinese large Anta Sports has formally introduced the acquisition of 29.06% of Puma from the French holding Artémis, managed by Pinault household. With an operation from 1.5 billion euros (35 euros per share), the Jinjiang group formally turns into the most important shareholder of the German model, marking the best level of an entrepreneurial parable that started simply over thirty years in the past in a small shoe workshop.

A narrative of “Safe Steps”

Founded in 1991 and Ding ShizhongAnta (whose title in Chinese means “to take safe steps”) was born within the Fujian province as a third-party producer. While within the 2000s the world solely wore Nike e Adidaswho waged conflict with one another with millionaire testimonials (like Michael Jordan), Ding understood that the actual leap was to not produce for others, however to construct his personal model for the nascent Chinese center class.

The turning level got here in 1999, when the group invested a big a part of its price range in an unprecedented advertising gamble, hiring the desk tennis champion Kong Linghui. The success was fast: gross sales exploded and Anta turned a family title all through China.

The “Single-focus, multi-brand” technique

The Listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007 offered the liquidity wanted to rework Anta from a neighborhood model to a world predator. The group’s technique has been clear from the start: purchase Western manufacturers in problem or with sturdy potential to handle their development, particularly within the Asian market. In 2009 Anta acquired the rights to the Fila model, which was in disaster on the time, for China. Under Chinese administration, Fila was reborn as a high-end “sport-fashion” model, as we speak turning into one of many foremost drivers of the group’s turnover.

In one of many largest transactions within the sector (over 4.6 billion euros), 6 years in the past Anta led a consortium to take over the Finnish large Amer Sportsbringing iconic manufacturers similar to Salomon, Arc’teryx e Wilson. Just a couple of months in the past, the group had consolidated its place in technical clothes by buying Jack Wolfskin, English model of technical mountain and out of doors clothes.