Li Ning's goal: to become one of the top five sports goods in the world in 2018

Li Ning Company recently signed a contract with Belgium Aishang Company in Beijing. Both parties will jointly develop professional sports shoes, establish a sports biomechanics laboratory and carry out personalized development of sports shoes. This is another important measure for Li Ning to compete with international brands in order to consolidate the domestic sporting goods market on the eve of the Olympic Games.

Aishang Corporation is a well-known sportswear ergonomic design analysis and sports research and test system R&D company in Europe. Li Ning hopes to increase the professional performance of core products through cooperation and lay a solid technical foundation for competition with multinational companies.

“The 2008 Olympic Games is a golden opportunity for Li Ning, a local company, to realize its international brand image,” said Wu Xianyong, deputy general manager of the Li Ning brand. “With the rapid development of China’s sports market, Li Ning has grown in recent years. Soon, our goal is to become one of the top five global sports products in 2018."

According to reports, Li Ning's investment in R&D expenditures accounted for about 3% of its revenue in recent years, and the growth rate even exceeded sales growth. In addition to signing with Aisang, Li Ning Company has conducted research and development cooperation with Exeter Research of the United States since 2004, and invited the Hong Kong Fashion Design Center and the United States DRD Company to participate in product design.

“Our immediate goal is to focus on the Olympics and improve the quality of our brands and products. Then, we started large-scale overseas expansion in 2013 and strive to become one of the world’s top five manufacturers of sporting goods in 2018,” said Wu Xianyong.