China's economy was just beginning to open up in the late 1980s when a high school dropout arrived in Beijing with 600 pairs of shoes.
Ding Shizhong had made them at a relative's factory and now he was going to sell them. The 17-year-old was one of many new entrepreneurs in China as capitalism took off under the watchful eye of Communist Party leaders, writes the BBC.
But, Ding had much bigger plans.
His business has since grown to become a force in sportswear called Anta, which has built a number of international brands including Arc'teryx and Salomon. Most recently, it bought a stake in Puma.
It is now trying to compete with the likes of Nike and Adidas, a goal Ding expressed in 2005: “We don't want to be the Nike of China, but the Anta of the world.”
Anta may not yet be a household name in the West, but it has more than 10,000 stores in China and sponsors top athletes such as freestyle skier Eileen Gu.
In February, it opened its first US store – a flagship store in the posh Beverly Hills area of Los Angeles.
The company's global push, which comes as Donald Trump aims to bring back factory jobs to the US through tariffs, highlights how essential and competitive Chinese supply chains have become for manufacturing.
The rise of the company Anta – which means “sure steps” – is not exactly unique. Its decades as the factory of the world have given several ambitious Chinese companies the opportunity to compete with firms they once considered customers.
From shoe manufacturer to global brand
Founded in 1991, Anta began far from the glitz and glamor of Beverly Hills as a small manufacturer in Jinjiang City, Fujian Province, in the country's southeast.
Jinjiang quickly grew from a quiet agricultural county into the “footwear capital of the world” as part of the government's plan to create specific industries in various provinces.
Soon, there was an influx of investment from the sneaker giants, who were looking for overseas factories that could help them reduce production costs.
Several clusters focused on different types of footwear have emerged in Jinjiang and neighboring cities along the east coast, each with its own specialized supply chain.
At the heart of central Jinjiang is the city of Chendai, an area of about 40 square km that is home to thousands of factories and suppliers. The district helped build the city's reputation, producing footwear for global brands such as Nike and Adidas.
Each center has brought together suppliers of laces, soles and fabrics, as well as logistics firms that help quickly turn designs into ready-to-sell products and ship them.
By 2005, Fujian accounted for nearly a fifth of the world's footwear, according to UN estimates.
Up to a third of Jinjiang's workers are still employed by one of the thousands of shoe manufacturers in the city, which is among China's highest-paying economic districts.
Something similar happened in different parts of China – Jinjiang was just one of many manufacturing centers on the east coast. The others manufactured clothes or electronics.
This level of manufacturing specialization was unheard of anywhere else in the world at the time, says Professor Fei Qin of the University of Bath, who studied factories in eastern China in the 2000s.
As foreign customers flocked to make deals with these factories, the country reaped more than just revenue.
“They learned not just how to produce more, but how to produce better, faster and more consistently,” adds Fei.
It was on these streets that Anta grew up, producing footwear in bulk and at low prices for global brands.
It has established a vast distribution network to retailers in China, which is crucial for manufacturers looking to expand.
At the same time, Anta was gradually making its name domestically, opening new stores and collaborating with major sporting events, including national basketball and table tennis competitions.
Firms like Anta know that it's more important to be a known brand than a subcontractor, says Fei.
In 2007, Anta listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, raising approximately 3.5 billion Chinese dinars ($450 million) – a record at the time for a Chinese sports company.
Branding consultant Wei Kan, who has worked with Converse and Nike in China, says Anta stood out to him because of its fully developed manufacturing center, which allowed it to design and sell shoes faster than its rivals.
It was also among the few Chinese firms that targeted the same buyers as major Western brands, Kan says.
Companies like Anta, which start by making goods for global brands, gradually learn the fundamentals of running the business, succeed in China and “naturally move on to bigger things,” Kan adds.
There are many others, such as tech firm Xiaomi, which started as a software developer customizing Android-based systems before producing its own phones, electronics and now electric vehicles (EVs).
DJI also manufactured camera equipment and drone components before becoming an international drone manufacturer in its own right.
The best-known example is probably BYD, once a battery maker for electric vehicle pioneers like Tesla and now the world's leading manufacturer in the sector.
“Each of these firms are now giants in their fields,” says Kan.
Anta is now considering the Western markets.
The company operates more than 12,000 stores in China. The company also has more than 460 outlets outside the country, with plans to have 1,000 operational stores in Southeast Asia alone in the next three years.
But Nike, which still holds the largest market share in athletic footwear, has only 1,000 stores worldwide.
Chinese firms are known for rapidly expanding domestically before venturing abroad, where they face more challenges in the expansion process.
First, there is a problem of perception. Chinese products are often considered cheap, inferior goods or imitations.
Anta has tried to overcome this through acquisitions as part of an approach it calls a “multi-brand strategy”. The first big move was buying the rights to Fila in China in 2009 and turning the Italian-founded brand into a major source of income for his business, says Elisa Harca of Chinese marketing agency Red Ant Asia.
In 2019, Anta bought a majority stake in the Finnish sporting goods brand Amer Sports. The deal gave Anta control of the Amer companies, which included luxury brands Arc'teryx and Salomon.
Anta also owns Wilson, the American manufacturer of rackets and tennis balls used by the National Basketball Association. And this year, it bought a 29 percent stake in Puma, promising to help the German firm grow in China.
These are moves that help Anta avoid “imposing” its products on every market and instead use its Western brands as a gateway, says sports business analyst Rufio Zhu of marketing firm IMG.
That way, Anta can reach buyers who might be wary of a “made in China” brand, Zhu says.
A change of tide
The company's rise comes as rivals such as Nike and Adidas face their own challenges globally and in China.
The US tariffs have hurt their earnings as they import goods made in Asia. Nike is also struggling to revive sales as its efforts to promote e-commerce have backfired after Covid-19 and demand in China has also slowed due to low consumption.
Their difficulties have put Anta in a favorable position overseas, especially given the growing consumer appetite for other brands, says Zhu, a sports marketing specialist.
“The question is not whether Anta will increase its visibility. It's whether competitors can adapt quickly enough to defend their turf.”
Meanwhile, China is “preparing its manufacturers for the future” by rapidly deploying robots in factories, speeding up production and potentially lowering costs, Fei adds.
The opening of the first Anta outlet in the US came after years of selling in the country through department stores.
Its walls are lined with racks of sneakers and basketball shoes—markets Anta needs to capture in the U.S. to compete with Nike or Adidas.
The company admits it still has a long way to go.
“We are realistic about competition, but the global sportswear landscape is not a zero-sum game,” an Anta spokesperson told the BBC.
“We are confident that sports fans will recognize the innovations and value of the Anta brand.”
