From swoosh to local: Nike loses ground in China as domestic rivals start to sprint
Nike’s sharp drop in China sales underscores intensifying competition from home-grown brands amid changing consumer tastes
Alex Chen – a Beijing office worker in his late 30s – used to buy his trainers the way plenty of Chinese millennials did: by the swoosh, the stripes and the logo.
As a teenager, he would hunt down Nike and Adidas basketball shoes, pulled in as much by the mythology as the materials. These days, he said, he shops differently.
“I have always been a huge basketball fan of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant,” he said. “Back then, I would specifically seek out Nike and Adidas basketball shoes – wearing a pair of Jordan shoes made me feel like I was part of the sports community.
“But now that I’m middle-aged, my priorities have shifted towards more balanced choices. I’m eager to try domestic brands, thanks to their relatively affordable pricing and improvements in quality, durability and comfort.”
He is still not immune to the pull of big-name branding – global reputation and that sense of belonging still matter – but they no longer automatically justify the premium.
That recalibration is increasingly common among Chinese consumers, and it is showing up in the results of foreign sportswear giants.