ANTA SPORTS opened down 4.6% on September 22. By midday close, ANTA SPORTS traded at HK$93.35 per share, down 3.56%, with total market capitalization falling by HK$9.7 billion. The decline was attributed to ongoing controversy surrounding Arc'teryx's fireworks incident, with related hashtags trending on social media platforms.

In recent years, ANTA SPORTS has built an outdoor brand empire through continuous acquisitions. Arc'teryx, as one of ANTA SPORTS' flagship outdoor brands, plays a crucial role in the group's strategic positioning. The fireworks controversy has created a significant public relations crisis, inevitably impacting ANTA SPORTS. Industry observers believe this incident may shake consumer trust and affect ANTA SPORTS' numerous outdoor brands. With intensifying competition from Nike, Adidas, The North Face, Under Armour and other outdoor brands, ANTA SPORTS faces the challenge of balancing scaled operations while maintaining brand values.

**Acquisition Strategy**

When ANTA SPORTS declared its ambition to become "the world's ANTA," it signaled the company's intention to build a multi-brand universe to compete globally. Recent years have seen ANTA SPORTS moving steadily in this direction.

Through continuous acquisitions, ANTA SPORTS has established its outdoor brand empire. In April 2025, ANTA SPORTS announced the full acquisition of German outdoor apparel, footwear and equipment brand Jack Wolfskin for a base consideration of $290 million. ANTA SPORTS Chairman Ding Shizhong stated: "ANTA SPORTS remains committed to our 'single focus, multi-brand, globalization' strategy. We look forward to Jack Wolfskin joining ANTA SPORTS' multi-brand matrix, strengthening the group's deep positioning in the outdoor sports sector."

In October 2023, ANTA SPORTS announced that a subsidiary had successfully acquired MAIA ACTIVE. In 2019, ANTA SPORTS partnered with Fountainvest Partners and Anamered Investments to form a consortium that completed the €4.6 billion acquisition of Amer Sports, which includes outdoor brands Arc'teryx, Salomon, Wilson, and Peak Performance. In 2017, ANTA SPORTS established a joint venture with Korea's Kolon Industries, with ANTA SPORTS controlling and leading Kolon brand operations in China. Around 2016, ANTA SPORTS invested 150 million yuan to partner with Japan's Descente and Itochu Corporation to establish Descente China, with ANTA SPORTS holding a 54% stake and exclusive operating rights for Descente in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

These strategic moves have established ANTA SPORTS as a competitive sporting goods conglomerate. While its global competitiveness remains to be quantified, ANTA SPORTS leads the Chinese market. According to financial reports, ANTA SPORTS achieved revenue of 70.826 billion yuan in 2024, up 13.6% year-over-year, maintaining its position as China's leading sports market player for three consecutive years. Including Amer Sports revenue, ANTA SPORTS' annual revenue exceeds 100 billion yuan, making it the third global sporting goods group to join the "100 billion club" after Nike and Adidas.

**Marketing Success**

Acquiring brands and achieving scaled operations is one thing; maintaining brand value and gaining consumer recognition is another. Judging by the performance of ANTA SPORTS' various brands, the company's operations have been undoubtedly successful, with Amer Sports being the most notable example.

According to financial reports, Amer Sports achieved revenue of $2.708 billion in the first half of 2025, up 23.46% year-over-year, with net profit of $161 million, surging 3,047.06% year-over-year. Amer Sports' Greater China region (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) grew 42% year-over-year to $856 million, accounting for approximately 31.61% of total revenue. In 2024, Amer Sports' Greater China revenue reached $1.298 billion, up 53.7% year-over-year.

Before ANTA SPORTS' acquisition, Amer Sports was still loss-making, and brands like Arc'teryx and Salomon were relatively unknown. However, in the fifth year after ANTA SPORTS' acquisition, Amer Sports turned profitable, with Arc'teryx becoming a flagship outdoor brand and Salomon emerging as a key growth driver.

For Descente and Kolon, in the first half of 2025, ANTA SPORTS reported revenue of 7.412 billion yuan for "all other brands" (including Descente and Kolon), up 61.1% year-over-year. Notably, this segment has maintained growth rates above 40% for the past five years, with Descente positioned as ANTA SPORTS' next potential 10 billion yuan revenue brand.

Behind the strong performance lies ANTA SPORTS' effective marketing strategies. For instance, after partnering with ANTA SPORTS, Descente gained popularity through traffic-driven marketing. In June 2018, Daniel Wu became Descente China's first brand ambassador, and the brand briefly joined the "middle-class essentials" category on social platforms.

ANTA SPORTS' operation of these outdoor brands essentially involves expanding beyond professional outdoor enthusiasts to mainstream consumers through high-end fashion positioning and "luxury sports" marketing strategies. Previously professional-focused brands like Arc'teryx, Salomon, and Descente have become fashion brands popular with the masses, often featured in middle-class lifestyle configurations.

Industry expert Zhou Ting from VIP Research Institute notes: "The impressive performance of ANTA SPORTS' multi-brands in China isn't solely due to marketing, but results from two factors: first, precisely capturing market opportunities - under consumption upgrading, consumers increasingly demand high-quality, reputable brands, while athleisure trends favor brands like Arc'teryx that combine outdoor professionalism with high-end fashion appeal; second, ANTA SPORTS' mature operational support - the group's brand monetization strategy is precise, capturing the mass market through mainstream approaches while leveraging prime commercial real estate expansion during the golden period to provide solid foundation for Arc'teryx's growth."

Zhou Ting adds: "Marketing-wise, Arc'teryx and others haven't demonstrated particularly innovative approaches, focusing more on 'short-term traffic harvesting' by deeply associating with 'middle-class essentials' and 'old money' aesthetics." She believes this approach risks diluting the brands' outdoor professional attributes and long-term value.

**Core Identity Concerns**

The Arc'teryx fireworks incident has raised concerns about potential dilution of brand values. Industry expert Jiang Ruihan from Pangoal Institution points out that the incident gained such attention because Arc'teryx's actions severely contradicted the "respect for nature" values that outdoor brands should uphold. As a premium outdoor brand, Arc'teryx's value should be built on professionalism, environmental consciousness, and respect for extreme environments.

Industry observers view Arc'teryx's crisis as a wake-up call for ANTA SPORTS. While achieving scaled operations through major acquisitions, protecting and practicing these brands' core values becomes crucial.

On Arc'teryx's official website, the brand states: "A technical outdoor company rooted in the mountains... The brand considers sustainability through product philosophy, responsible manufacturing, and community engagement... We must consider not only near-term goals of creating excellent products, but also our impact on people and the planet."

Kolon's logo features two trees, symbolizing love for nature and environmental consciousness. ANTA SPORTS also states on its website: "As an advocate and practitioner of sustainable development in the sporting goods industry, ANTA SPORTS has taken concrete actions in raw materials, packaging materials usage, and greenhouse gas emissions."

Previously, Arc'teryx has practiced these brand values, such as partnering with luxury resort group Songtsam in 2021 to launch a "Sacred Mountain Protection Campaign," encouraging plastic waste collection from high mountains and organizing "Sacred Mountain Protection Tours" to Yubeng Village at the foot of Meili Snow Mountain.

However, these initiatives seem less prominent compared to "luxury sports" fashion marketing and insufficient for expanding ANTA SPORTS' outdoor brand audience to middle-class and high-consumption mainstream groups. Industry observers believe the Arc'teryx fireworks incident serves as a warning for ANTA SPORTS on how to balance scaled operational needs with brand value implementation - a choice that will determine these brands' long-term success.

Jiang Ruihan notes that ANTA SPORTS' recent marketing strategies for Arc'teryx, Kolon and other outdoor brands have clearly shifted toward urban middle-class lifestyles, using labels like "old money aesthetics" and "middle-class essentials" for traffic harvesting. While this helps rapidly boost brand exposure and consumer penetration, it also exposes risks of diluting professional brand cores. This traffic-oriented marketing essentially "fashionizes" and "symbolizes" outdoor brands, weakening their differentiated advantages in functional technology, extreme environment adaptation, and outdoor culture heritage. This represents typical "brand premium mismatch" - building illusory premiums through social labels rather than real use value. Long-term, this could lead to core outdoor user loss and trap brands in "high visibility, low professional recognition" predicaments.