In the second quarter of 2026, the sales growth of major sportswear brands in mainland China weakened. Top brands like Anta and Li-Ning experienced a decline in sales, while the growth rate of key brands under Anta slowed down. Additionally, the main brand of Anta recently underwent a change in leadership.
According to a report by “First Financial” on July 21, the operating data for the second quarter recently released by Xtep International, Li-Ning, and Anta showed varying degrees of decline or slowdown in sales of their main brands. The companies did not disclose specific growth or decline percentages, only expressing them in ranges like “low single-digit,” “mid-single-digit,” and so on.
Xtep’s main brand saw a low single-digit percentage decline in retail revenue in the second quarter year-on-year, with a cumulative decrease in the low single-digit percentage for the first half of the year. Its subsidiary brand, Saucony, only saw a low single-digit percentage growth in the second quarter, significantly lower than the over 20% increase in the first quarter.
Li-Ning experienced a low single-digit decline in retail revenue at sales points in the second quarter year-on-year. The offline direct sales channel decreased by a low single-digit percentage, the wholesale channel declined by a mid-single-digit percentage, while the e-commerce channel saw a mid-single-digit growth.
Anta’s brands continued to grow, but the growth rate has generally slowed down. In the second quarter, both the main Anta brand and FILA saw only a low single-digit percentage growth in retail revenue, with other brands growing between 25% and 30%.
In comparison, in the first quarter of this year, the main Anta brand grew by a high single-digit percentage, FILA grew by 10% to 20%, and other brands grew by 40% to 45%. The growth rates of the three business segments in the second quarter were all lower than those in the first quarter.
361 Degrees stood out among the top companies. Its main brand and children’s clothing products saw a mid to high single-digit percentage growth in offline retail sales in the second quarter, with a high single-digit percentage growth in e-commerce platform sales.
According to data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, in the first half of 2026, the total retail sales of consumer goods in mainland China increased by only 1.3% year-on-year. The retail sales of sports and entertainment products in designated large-scale retail enterprises was 87 billion yuan, a decrease of 2.4% year-on-year in June, a decrease of 2.2% from the previous month.
On July 15, Anta Group confirmed that Xu Yang, the CEO of Anta brand, resigned due to family reasons. The group’s Executive Director and Co-CEO, Lai Shixian, has taken over as the acting CEO of the Anta brand to oversee its daily operations. The group stated that Xu Yang will be appointed to another position.
Xu Yang took over as the CEO of the Anta brand in early 2023. In October of the same year, he proposed maintaining a compound annual growth rate of 10% to 15% for Anta brand revenue from 2023 to 2026.
However, in 2025, Anta’s main brand revenue was 34.754 billion yuan, a growth of 3.7% year-on-year, lower than the 10.6% increase in 2024 and the group’s overall increase of 13.3%.
During Xu Yang’s tenure, initiatives such as “Super Anta” and Anta SV were launched, but expansion plans were subsequently adjusted. According to “Interface News,” the number of Anta SV stores decreased from 62 in mid-2025 to 41 as of June this year. There are currently about 120 “Super Anta” stores, lower than the initial target of 160 stores. Anta stated that the “Super Anta” expansion will rapidly progress by the end of this year.