Li Ning makes the change

The other day, China’s leading sports brand Li Ning was officially introduced to the Philippine market at a formal launch in the Astoria Plaza Hotel, Pasig City as dealers welcomed its entry into the highly competitive battle for supremacy in the sports footwear, apparel, accessories and equipment arena.

Believe it or not, the brand has been around since 1990, founded by arguably the greatest Chinese gymnast ever Li Ning who captured three gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Li, 48, was born in Guangxi and started training in gymnastics at the age of eight. In 1980, he joined the Chinese national team at 17 and two years later, was dubbed “Prince of Gymnastics” after taking home six of the seven gold medals up for grabs at the Sixth World Cup in Zagreb. 

Li bagged a silver in the vault and two bronzes in the floor exercises and still rings at the 1983 World Championships then created a major stir in the Olympics the year after. At Los Angeles, Li hit paydirt in the floor exercises, pommel horse and still rings. He also claimed silvers in the team event and vault and a bronze in the all-around category. In 1985, Li earned the gold in still rings, silver in pommel horse and bronze in the floor exercises at the World Championships and two years later, the silver in still rings in his third World Championship appearance. In 1988, Li performed at the Seoul Olympics but hobbled by injuries, failed to make the podium. He retired from competition that year.

In 2000, Li was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City and became the first Chinese to be enshrined. Ma Yanhong followed in 2008. At present, there are 72 Hall of Famers. Olga Korbut was the first to be recognized in 1988. Then, Nadia Comaneci was named in 1993. Since 1997, the induction has been held yearly without fail. Bart Conner, Mary Lou Retton, Bela Karolyi and Masao Takemoto were cited in 1997, Cathy Rigby and Ludmilla Tourischeva in 1998. Nelli Kim in 1999, Ecaterina Szabo in 2000, Teodora Ungureanu in 2001 and Kurt Thomas in 2003.

* * * *

Things began to rock for Li Ning – the company – after Li’s induction. In 2004, the sports brand company went public in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Two years later, Shaquille O’Neal signed a five-year deal to endorse the brand after previously promoting his own “Dunkman” shoe and Reebok. In 2008, NBA guard Baron Davis joined the Li Ning bandwagon and launched his own signature shoe. In 2010, the brand adopted a new slogan “Make the Change,” junking the old “Anything is Possible”  theme and unveiled a new logo, obviously to take a distinct position against giant rivals Nike and Adidas.

Li Ning’s “Anything is Possible” slogan was too similar to Adidas’ “Impossible is Nothing” and the old logo, stylizing Li Ning’s initials into a wave-like symbol closely resembled Nike’s swoosh. The new logo breaks the wave into two and looks like the Chinese character for “people.” It also depicts the “Li Ning cross” which was a gymnastic pose associated with the brand’s founder. Li himself had a hand in changing the slogan and logo, declaring the move as a revitalization effort to portray a tough, motion and energy-driven silhouette.

In China, Li Ning isn’t just about Li Ning. The company, which once reported sales of $1.2 Billion, has agreements with foreign brands like Aigle of France and Lotto of Italy to market their merchandise, too. Through the years, Li Ning has developed capabilities in brand marketing, research and development, design, manufacturing, distribution and retail operations. 

In the US, Li Ning maintains a design center and showroom in Portland, not far from Nike’s headquarters. It remains a popular brand with athletes in badminton, basketball, gymnastics, running, soccer and table tennis.

Today, Li Ning’s stable of endorsers counts on reigning World, Olympic, Asian Games and Thomas-Uber Cup badminton champion Lin (Super) Dan, two-time Russian pole vault Olympic gold medalist Elena Isinbayeva, Spanish star and Toronto Raptors guard Jose Calderon, 2010 Australian Tennis Open semifinalist Marin Cilic of Croatia and Jamaican sprinter and former world 100-meter record holder Asafa Powell.

* * * *

To celebrate its breakthrough in the Philippine market, Li Ning sponsored the Manila Badminton Open which started last Saturday and ends tomorrow, assembling 1,500 entries from 10 different regions in the country. The country’s only badminton Olympian Weena Lim is tournament director. 

Among the competitors are Sydney Olympic silver medalist and doubles specialist Minarti Timur of Indonesia, Rudy Widjaya and Lily Wang, also of Indonesia and local bets Cassandra Grace Lim, Nikki Servando, Carlo Remo and Patricque Magnaye. The tournament features competitions in the under-9, under-11, under-13, under-15, under-17 and under-19 junior categories and seniors over-19 and open classes.

Despite competition from Chinese rivals Anta and Peak, brand manager Jeff Lim is upbeat on Li Ning’s growth potential in other parts of the world, including the Philippines. 

The Li Ning regional office in Singapore said what makes the brand stand out is its “dynamic blend of sports fashion and technology, infused with a distinctive Oriental flavor…no other sports label reflects such a unique brand philosophy of sports integration, design innovation, Oriental wisdom and modern technology.”

Li Ning is expected to support the growth of sports in the Philippines through partnerships and sponsorships. Li Ning merchandise is currently available in all Juego stores and outlets in Metro Manila, Cebu and Pampanga but will soon expand to other distribution and retailing channels.