Competitive Advantage of Li-Ning Company in the Sporting Goods Industry

Running Head: MARKETING 1
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Running Head: MARKETING 2
MARKETING
Competitive Advantage of Li-Ning Company
Li-Ning which is one of the sporting Hong Kong listed company and a china-based
company has gained a competitive edge in footwear and sportswear industry, since in the recent
years it has experienced sustainable and, rapid growth and development especially with the great
opportunity it got during the Beijing Olympic Games, both locally and internationally. In the past
several years its number of stores for the sporting goods has increased hence increasing the sales
and income in general, which leads to narrow gap with other industry leaders like Nike and
Adidas. (Chen & Ding, 2010)
The company has the potential and opportunity to major on the targeted market segments
both mass-market leisurewear and professional-standard athletic wear through sufficient
innovative and offering unique and personalized products hence gaining market leadership both
in the domestic market and globally.
In the Chinese sporting goods market, Li-Ning is one of the companies with
comprehensive brands of sporting goods which include footwear, sportswear and sports
equipment leading to having large and wide market share. (Jin, 2009)
In terms of pricing strategy, Li-Ning broadly occupies almost all the three levels of
consumer market which are high-end market, mid-market and low-end market.
From marketing perspective, the marketing channels mainly in specialty stores and
franchise, Li-Ning sports brand has considered self-built terminal channels, retail franchise
system, regional agency and, building and establishing huge and comprehensive marketing
network which covers first, second and third-tier cities hence striving constantly in improving its
market share and getting an upper hand against its rivals in the sporting goods industry. (Hu,
2015)
For the purpose of supporting its marketing objectives like brand image and recognition
enhancement, and also increase consumer preference of their products and services, Li-Ning has
sponsored many and major domestic and international sports team and sporting events which has
enhanced brands visibility and competitiveness.
Additionally in terms of publicity strategies, Li-Ning enterprise has used brand
ambassador aimed at nurturing its targeted consumer group and creating loyal customers. For
instance, the Li-Ning company have O’neal, Lin Dan, Powell and many other sports stars who
are globally successful. (Schutte, Bhattacharyya, & Probert, 2013)
The New product for Li-Ning Company, its features and functions
The suggested new product to Li-Ning to be launched is Sports training centers in China
to be added to the company’s existing range of product lines. The product will be focused on the
sportspeople in which they can complement their footwear and sportswear for the purpose of