FILA, another dark horse in the sportswear industry is coming fiercely

According to the Wall Street Journal’s latest report, although most off-line stores in the United States were unavailable during the epidemic (many sport wear supplier suffered order shortage), the FILA US official website had sales of more than $1 million in April. This was the first time in history that once again confirmed the importance of digitalization. It also reflects the influence of FILA in the hearts of American consumers. 

Athletic clothes manufacturers would attach more value to online marketting brands. According to the latest data released by FILA Holdings, FILA's international sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 decreased by 5.3% , which is significantly better than the 19% decline in adidas group revenue and the decline in lululemon revenue of 17% decline. During the period, e-commerce sales doubled. Net profit recorded about 33 million U.S. dollars, a decrease of 58.9% from the same period last year. 

FILA's China business, which was acquired by Chinese sportswear giant Anta Sports for HK$600 million in 2009, is still performing well.

According to Fashion Business Express data, in the first quarter, FILA China's sales recorded a single-digit decline year-on-year, and the sales for the whole year of 2019 rose 73.9% to 14.77 billion yuan. , Operating profit soared by 87.1% to 2.149 billion yuan, which is the strongest growth engine for Anta Sports.

Buying FILA’s China business today is undoubtedly one of Anta Sports’ most successful strategies. But this brand, which started in the small town of Biella, Italy in 1911, was initially not well-recognizable in China, and its positioning was high-end. The price is even higher than that of Nike. In recent years, it has expanded rapidly in the mass market. Even during the epidemic, it has not suffered a big blow.

At present, FILA has formed an all-round layout of the brand's official website, Tmall flagship store and WeChat applet in the Chinese online market, which gives the brand enough channels to keep selling in the epidemic. Like competitors such as lululemon and Nike, FILA quickly moved to the online market after the outbreak, and launched sports live broadcasts on WeChat applets, Tiktok and Tmall to interact with consumers in real time and sell new series of products.

FILA China didn’t  lost its independence after being acquired by Anta Sports. As market competition has become more fierce and consumer preferences have become more changeable, FILA has gradually divided into FILA Kids, FILA FUSION and FILA in China. The three sub-brand series of Athletics are aimed at children's wear, young people and professional sports.

FILA FUSION targets consumers between the ages of 16 and 26. The product design will relatively follow the trend. Besides the FILA Disruptor 2 daddy shoes, this series of fisherman hats and messenger bags are also popular among consumers. Some items sold out quickly as soon as they were put on the shelves. In June last year, FILA FUSION officially signed a contract with Japanese model Mitsuki Kimura as the spokesperson for the series.

In the international market, FILA has also continued to establish its position in the high-end fashion market through various joint names. From the cooperation series with FENDI in 2018, to designer brands Jason Wu, fashion brand Supreme, Gosha Rubchinskiy, AAPE, etc., Fila aims to highlight the charm of high-end sports fashion.

With century-old fashion genes, advanced digital retail layout, and diversified professional sports products, the price of FILA brand is expected to exceed that of Nike and adidas in the same industry, stated by Credit Suisse in a report at the end of last year.

Lululemon used a pair of yoga pants to pry into the market that Nike and adidas uneasily won. FILA has not stopped advancing. At this special node of rapid change, the global sportswear industry is undergoing a big wash.