How does the sports brand set off a "close tide"?

Editor's note: Experienced the “barbaric growth” era of crazy economies of scale, domestic sportswear brands have encountered bottlenecks, and in the face of intensified channel competition and rising costs, mad expansion is almost impossible and profitability of single stores has increased. It is imperative. .

Following the recent closure of GOME Sports' physical store and its announcement of its five-year 100-store plan, some industry insiders disclosed that some of the stores in China's Sichuan operations will be suspended, similar to the 2009 “shopping tide”. The momentum of comeback.

The reporter went to the headquarters in China to verify the situation, but the other party said that he did not understand the situation and did not confirm it.

According to the analysis of relevant persons, after experiencing the “barbaric growth” era in which the scale of profits was realized through frenzied opening, domestic sportswear brands have encountered bottlenecks. In the situation where channel competition has intensified and costs have risen, mad expansion has become almost impossible and the single store has been improved. Profitability is the top priority.

Closing stores continue to appear "a large-scale store has not yet appeared, but some places already have a 'signs'." Yesterday, the industry independent commentator Ma Gang told reporters.

According to Ma Gang, in Sichuan, the most obvious one is China’s store. He said that although official data are still not available, according to what he knows, China’s move is that some stores in the region should be closed. “Many places have seen their stores before and they are not.” Magang said.

Recently, the phenomenon of sportswear brands closing stores has occurred from time to time. Less than four months ago, the first physical store of Gome Sports, Beijing's Fortune Street Store, has been closed. A few days ago, Gome Sports announced that its Beijing Wanquanhe Store was closed on January 8. So far, the GOME sports store that officially opened in May 2010 has been "annihilated."

Li Ning's “disastrous store” will go back to the end of 2010. At that time, analysts said that Li Ning would close 500 to 600 stores, but Li Ning immediately clarified that it was only integrating about 500 to 600 inefficient distributors instead of closing stores. Although Li Ning has been claiming that the goal of opening stores in 2011 remains unchanged, an indisputable fact is that the number of new stores has started to decline.

A similar phenomenon of closing stores also occurred in 2009 after the "post-Olympic Games." According to the reporter's understanding, major brands or agents, including Hummer, Mizuno, Belle, Daphne, etc., have all performed a round of "shampling" with the theme of "closing stores." In the same year, sales of Nike, Adidas and Hummer in China fell, and Nike shut down its own shoe factory in China.

The bottleneck period or has come for the major sports brands, the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is undoubtedly a good time to "set". The “crazy” shop that has not been stopped has caused the market's ability to digest in the “post-Olympic” era to keep up with the rhythm. Excess inventory has increased the pressure on the stores.

At present, sports brands are also under pressure, but according to some industry analysts, this time is quite different from 2009.

An industry insider who did not wish to be named pointed out that for sports brands, the number of single stores will increase to 6,000 to 7,000, and they will encounter “bottleneck”. For those who are excessively pursuing store size, the subsequent expansion has been weak. Therefore, the current phenomenon of closing shop may be understood as a "self-reflection" of the company.

Ma Gang pointed out that for China Mobile and Gome Sports, channel operators, the pressure of channel competition and cost increase are more obvious than brand dealers.

According to the reporter's understanding, at present, due to the excessive pressure on store sales, some manufacturers have begun to "reduced pressure" by buying back stocks. Ma Gang believes that this is also a reflection of the intensified sales pressure on the terminal.

If the number of stores reaches 6,000 to 7,000 as a "threshold", then for the local sports brands, the "bottleneck period" has already come. The reporter learned that the number of stores in the Mainland, including Li Ning, Anta, Peak, and 361 Degrees, has exceeded the above-mentioned levels, but the enthusiasm of sports brands for channel expansion seems to continue.

Anta has already announced its own "Million Store Plan", while other mainland brands have begun to "infiltrate" into the second and third tier markets such as the West. However, the above anonymous sources pointed out that sinking channels does not solve the fundamental problem. In his view, as long as the number of stores has been increasing, brand owners will eventually face the problems of shop rent, labor costs, and material costs, and will increase the profitability of single stores for local brands that have already encountered the “interesting” of international brands. It is the fundamental solution.