Girl Power the New Fuel for Sportswear in China

The "All in for My Girls" campaign from Adidas in China has proven to be quite a revelation. The advertisement portrays ‘tribes’ of slim, pretty girls, often clad in pink, smiling whilst engaging in a myriad of sporting pursuits with their friends. The brand ambassador

is no athlete but Taiwanese pop star Hebe. While Adidas is far from shedding all vestiges of its heart-pumping, health-oriented sports positioning, this campaign manages to present it with a heavy dose of girlish appeal, paying heed to local views on sports and beauty ideals.

It has been far from plain sailing in the Chinese sportswear market, which was adversely affected by a sluggish economy in 2012. Its performance has been undermined by the collective downfall of domestic players, with even the seemingly indestructible global apparel leader Nike witnessing a prolonged period of weak sales. Against this challenging backdrop, adidas’ efforts shed light on a new area of promise - women.

Exacting standards of beauty

While Chinese women are being doted on by luxury and mass players, they have remained fairly off the radar for sportswear players. It is true that Asian women naturally have a slighter figure than their Western counterparts, but they are no less proactive in taking measures to comply with contemporary standards of beauty. Sales of nutricosmetics in China reached 997 million US dollars in 2012, with South China boasting the second highest per capita spending on slimming teas globally according to Euromonitor International.

Fitness, while currently not embedded in Chinese culture to the same extent as in the West, is on the rise. This applies particularly to urban areas, where consumers are increasingly looking to balance their health with hectic lifestyles. Activities such as badminton, yoga, pilates and dancing are gaining in popularity among female city dwellers.

Western brands grow a cult following

For many international brands, the relative infancy of the fitness culture is far from a hindrance. This has been particularly evident in China’s flourishing outdoor sportswear market, where leading players like The North Face have been growing market share with vigour, through education and community-building events which have inspired Chinese consumers to don their hiking boots and embrace the great outdoors.

For female consumers, the yoga lifestyle could well be next on the agenda. As of August 2013, there were over 8,000 items for sale listed under "Lululemon" on Taobao, according to industry sources. This furthers the point that perhaps stylish yogawear player Lululemon should have invested in China rather than pursue the elusive men’s yogawear market. The brand strikes an attractive balance between being feminine and functional, and has been largely credited with fuelling an entire lifestyle movement across North America. And yet, the brand is not set to open its first showrooms in China until late 2013.

Lululemon’s lack of action has turned out to be Adidas’ gain. The company noted a 40 percent rise in its Chinese women's business following the launch of the "All in for My Girls" campaign in March 2013. The company has been quickly closing the gap on its global rival Nike, with its value sales in Chinese sportswear growing by 22 percent, compared to Nike’s 9 percent, in 2012. The company has found additional success with its younger streetwear-oriented NEO label, which counts China as its biggest market, as well as adidas Originals. Its long-standing partnerships with fashion designers Yohji Yamamoto and Stella McCartney have added to the brand’s cachet.

Sports luxe in the limelight

Adidas’ multi-brand approach shows that opportunities exist not only in performance sports clothing but also sports-inspired clothing. This category was valued at 6.6 billion US dollars in 2012, making it the largest in sportswear subcategory in China. It has also seen the strongest growth in absolute terms, having almost doubled in size over 2007-2012.
The potential for sports-inspired clothing is amplified by the parallel trend in Chinese dressing habits. It has largely been observed that Chinese female consumers are readily accepting the sleek, minimalist silhouettes which typify the European zeitgeist, moving away from their conventionally cute attire.
The infiltration of Western fashion brands naturally comes with Western fashion styles. ‘Sports luxe’ in its ongoing incarnations, from racer backs to neon accents, has barely had a moment out of the limelight, in no small part thanks to the cult following garnered by the omnipresent wedge sneakers.

All in for the girls

With the Chinese sportswear market in a state of flux, it is evident that women offer a lucrative opportunity. The relentless preoccupation with beauty, teamed with increasingly hectic urban lifestyles, is encouraging local women to participate in Western fitness pursuits. But as adidas’ approach shows, marketing must be tailored to local views on sports by taking on a more feminine guise. Other brands should take note.

Ashma Kunde, Apparel Analyst at Euromonitor International