Over the past three months, ANTA brand CEO Xu Yang has lost 30 pounds. When he appeared at the fluorine-free ANTA membrane (Aerovent Zero) launch event on August 28, many partners didn't recognize him at first glance.

As the CEO managing a brand with over 30 billion yuan in revenue and nearly 10,000 stores, being busy has become the norm. But Xu Yang was determined to make a change: the CEO of a sports brand should first present himself in a healthy and positive manner. Squeezing time from his busy schedule for regular exercise and adjusting his diet structure, Xu Yang turned what others considered "impossible" into "possible."

The ANTA brand he leads is also undergoing what outsiders view as an "impossible" transformation.

The sportswear industry has bid farewell to high-speed growth, with consumer spending becoming more cautious. ANTA stores are already spread across cities of all levels nationwide, and the space for growth simply by opening more stores is narrowing. Meanwhile, emerging brands in vertical niche sectors continue to emerge, making the competitive landscape increasingly diverse.

For the 34-year-old ANTA, maintaining existing market share is already quite challenging, let alone achieving sustained growth.

"These are all excuses," Xu Yang said decisively. In his view, there are at least 600 million potential consumers in China who have yet to be reached. ANTA is far from the "defensive" stage, and in the global market, ANTA is also continuously making strategic moves, with ambitions targeting the broader stage of 6 billion consumers worldwide.

"The current ANTA needs to constantly break through defense. I am a forward, and when the coach puts me on the field, it's to score more goals," Xu Yang said.

**"Fabric Technology is the Chip of Sportswear"**

"When there are no materials in the market that meet our standards, we can also transform into a research institution and invest in independent research and development of new materials."

On August 28, ANTA partnered with Donghua University to release the fluorine-free ANTA membrane (Aerovent Zero), China's first independently developed high-performance fluorine-free waterproof and breathable material to achieve mass production.

Fabric technology to sportswear is like chips to computers. In the past, these core fabric technologies were controlled by international manufacturers, with high prices and numerous constraints. The emergence of the fluorine-free ANTA membrane means China now has its own textile "chip" with internationally leading performance, autonomous and controllable technology that is environmentally friendly, and finished product prices controlled at one-third of international similar fabric products.

"As a leading company in the sporting goods industry, we have very high standards for materials. When there are no materials in the market that meet our standards, we can also transform into a research institution and invest in independent research and development of new materials," Xu Yang explained the original intention behind developing the fluorine-free ANTA membrane.

However, getting cutting-edge technological achievements from laboratory to market is not accomplished overnight. If this were a 100-kilometer trail run, the laboratory's technological breakthrough would only be the "initial 1 kilometer," with the real challenge being the final 99 kilometers composed of testing, optimization, mass production, and upstream and downstream industrial chain integration.

ANTA, with years of technological reserves, deep industry-academia-research cooperation, and industrial chain integration capabilities, finally completed this difficult "final 99 kilometers."

Behind the fluorine-free ANTA membrane lies ANTA's ambition to conquer the world: European and American markets have successively introduced restrictive regulations on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in recent years. Most international brands choose to perform fluorine-free modifications on existing petroleum-based solutions, while ANTA uses bio-based technology as its foundation, achieving fluorine-free high performance while better conforming to future sustainable development trends.

The new generation Storm Jacket products equipped with fluorine-free ANTA membrane will be simultaneously released in overseas markets. ANTA is using this top-level alpine jacket to knock on the door of global consumer markets.

Regarding the pricing of the new generation Storm Jacket, Xu Yang stated: "Only by mastering the autonomy of core technology can we have pricing autonomy, allowing mass consumers to enjoy technologies that seem lofty and unattainable."

ANTA is making "technology for all" a "daily" reality in sportswear.

Technological innovation is the source of ANTA's ability to continuously provide better products, but innovation is never achieved overnight. Xu Yang candidly admits that beyond human resources and financial investment, maintaining a fault-tolerance mechanism is more important. Behind the fluorine-free ANTA membrane are hundreds and thousands of failed cases. But ANTA firmly believes that only through continuous innovation can success be continuously achieved.

Innovation extends beyond technology; another innovation is happening in channel models...

**Being Neighbors with Apple and LV**

"Not being able to grow because of market changes is an excuse."

The day before the fluorine-free ANTA membrane launch, Xu Yang had just appeared at the autumn-winter launch of ANTA SNEAKERVERSE (ATSV). With a colorful baseball cap, loose jeans, and bat-shaped show shoes on his feet, this CEO's styling resembled that of a rap artist.

Just like Xu Yang's varied image, at the market level, ANTA is also making consumers exclaim through more diverse products and new retail formats: "Is this still the ANTA I know?"

Xu Yang frankly states that he doesn't like just staring at data reports; he trusts perceptions from the market frontlines more. Almost every two days he changes cities, even keeping a pillow in his carry-on luggage. This May Day holiday, he drove from Xiangyang to Wuhan, spending five days visiting over a dozen prefecture-level cities and county stores.

"From first-tier to second and third-tier cities, then to counties, different markets have vastly different perceptions of ANTA. Even within the same city, different consumers have completely different needs."

In the era of high-speed growth in sports consumption, standardization was once the most efficient expansion tool for brands. ANTA relied on unified store opening models, decoration standards, and sales scripts to rapidly expand nationwide. But as growth slows, the dividends of this model are beginning to hit bottlenecks, with e-commerce and offline strategies even constraining each other.

"ANTA is too big," Xu Yang sighs. He hopes to make ANTA "smaller," responding to market changes in more flexible ways.

Thus, a terminal renewal initiative was quickly launched after he took office. Five distinctly styled new store formats have successively landed: flagship stores at the competitive arena level that convey sports spirit and brand DNA in landmark business districts; champion stores focusing on elite outdoor activities; ATSV emphasizing sports trends; Super ANTA providing full-category one-stop experiences; and ANTA 0 Carbon Mission stores exploring sustainable commercial retail.

Among these, the ATSV store in Sanlitun stands alongside Apple's Asia flagship store and LV, being praised as "cool" by young people, with some exclaiming on social media: "Is this still the ANTA I know?"

"Markets are always changing. But not being able to grow because of market changes is an excuse," Xu Yang stated. Finding the right users and providing them with better products naturally leads to sales success.

**"Forward Xu" Takes the Field to Score More Goals**

"Coach Ding put Forward Xu on the field, so Forward Xu's job is to constantly break through defense and score more goals."

From ANTA brand's steady progress and continuous innovation to multi-brand group operations, ANTA Sports Products Ltd. has secured the domestic number one position and joined the ranks of the world's top three sporting goods groups.

"Not to be China's Nike, but to be the world's ANTA" - ANTA people have step by step turned their "bragging" into reality.

The success secret of ANTA Sports Products Ltd. can be attributed to its "multi-brand, single focus, globalization" strategy. In recent years, ANTA Sports Products Ltd. has successfully acquired and controlled Fila, Descente, and Amer Sports, which holds brands like Arc'teryx and Salomon, successfully transforming these brands and achieving great success in the market.

While the growth rates of Descente, Arc'teryx and other brands far exceeding industry averages are certainly gratifying, ANTA Sports Products Ltd.'s Chairman Ding Shizhong has always focused on the development of the parent brand. Over the past decade, the ANTA brand has consistently held a pivotal position in ANTA Sports Products Ltd.'s revenue system.

The interim report shows that in the first half of 2025, the ANTA brand contributed over 40% of ANTA Sports Products Ltd.'s revenue. The stable performance of the ANTA brand has provided financial and talent support for ANTA Sports Products Ltd.'s years of territorial expansion.

Xu Yang describes Ding Shizhong as a coach on the football field, while he himself is a forward. "Coach Ding put Forward Xu on the field, so Forward Xu's job is to constantly break through defense and score more goals."

With markets entering stock competition and international brands surrounding, how to score goals?

But entrepreneurs are always optimists; they can always see opportunities in difficulties.

About 100 million people have bought ANTA products - is this a lot or a little? Xu Yang poses this question. This is data he learned through market research in 2023. Among a population of 1.4 billion, this is actually quite a terrifying penetration rate.

"Far from enough," Xu Yang emphasizes. "Excluding about 100 million users who only buy luxury goods, among the remaining 1.2 billion people, even if only half, there are still 600 million consumers who have the ability to consume ANTA, have sports needs, but have never purchased ANTA products."

ANTA wants to use better products to make these 600 million people also become ANTA customers.

**Why Does the World Need ANTA?**

"ANTA can provide the world with better products."

Last week, ANTA's marathon running shoe C10 PRO went viral on social media after being selected as a diplomatic gift, becoming a favorite showcased by foreign guests on their social media.

ANTA is being seen by the world.

Meanwhile, in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, one of the world's top commercial districts, ANTA is preparing its first ANTA brand flagship store in North America, planned to open this month. ANTA wants to formally announce to this world's largest sporting goods market: ANTA has arrived.

A person in charge at ANTA USA stated that he no longer needs to explain to others what "ANTA" is; everyone knows it's a "high-end, niche, imported sports brand."

However, three years ago, when ANTA decided to embark on globalization, Xu Yang was once asked a question: Why does the world need ANTA?

ANTA's past success, like many Chinese brands, benefited from China's reform and opening up, the huge dividend of China's 1.4 billion population, and China's mature supply chain system. But coming to compete on the home turf of numerous international brands, domestic sentiment no longer works for local consumers, and due to tariffs and international logistics impacts, price advantages are no longer prominent.

How should ANTA break through?

After deep contemplation, Xu Yang gave an almost back-to-basics answer: ANTA can provide the world with better products.

ANTA Sports Products Ltd.'s Chairman Ding Shizhong also wrote in his "Letter to Shareholders": As a deep participant in the world sports industry, ANTA should provide the best product value for global consumers and strive to become a benchmark for Chinese brands' globalization and high-quality development.

Now, this answer is being validated.

In the UTMB Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc endurance race on August 30, Slovakian athlete Veronika Leng competed despite injury but broke her personal record with ANTA's Champion Falcon Speed RC shoes. Xu Yang sighed in his social media: "This is the reason the world needs ANTA."

As long as ANTA's running shoes can help runners improve their marathon pace by one minute; jumping shoes can help athletes jump a few centimeters higher in competition; a new generation Storm Jacket equipped with fluorine-free ANTA membrane can provide top-level waterproof and breathable performance while being safer and more environmentally friendly - that is the reason the world needs ANTA.