Although Li Ning Co. is working to build up its presence in the United States it also is focusing on over coming competition from Nike Inc. and Adidas AG in China. The power and scope of international business is exemplified in this case; a locally based company has to compete with larger foreign based companies. Li Ning Co. is finding it difficult to compete with such large companies as Nike and Adidas because they are so well known and have such a strong global presence that Chinese consumers chose their products rather than the products of the local company. Li Ning hopes to bring local loyalty to the company.
I think that Li Ning Co. will have difficulty marketing and gaining sales in the United States for the same reason it is losing sales in China; Nike and Adidas dominate the market for sports apparel. International consumer loyalty is invested in the well known brands Nike and Adidas. The iconic Nike swoosh might as well be the "face" of sports apparel. Nike and Adidas have built up a reputation and loyal consumer base that is difficult for any company in the same market to rival.
It will take some time for Li Ning to build up a presence and consumer base in the United States. Sponsorships with professional athletes is definitely a start, but escaping the dominance of international sports apparel behemoths, Nike and Adidas, will challenge Li Ning. I believe that it would better for Li Ning to start small and focus on certain regions of China in order to create a local, loyal consumer base first and then begin to expand to the rest of China, then to the rest of the world.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704791004575519731522505118.html?mod=WSJ_Retailing_leftHeadlines
I completely agree with the fact that it will take time for Li Ning to make his company known in the US because he is competing with extremely well-known brands. However, that is exactly how Adidas and Nike started. They started out being small, local companies in the US, but then slowly started to spread out and became known world-wide. I believe that he is starting out well, especially having sponsorships with professional athletes. He should stick to his plan and continue building up his company's presence in the US. I don't think he should just focus in certain regions of China because I think it will be a more efficient way of making his company known world-wide. By doing that, Li Ning will accomplish his goal of striving to become like Adidas or Nike.
ReplyDelete-Tania Dabdoub
I strongly agree with you on your point about how difficult it will be for Li Ning to truly break into the sports wear branches of U.S. stores. Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Puma- these are all popular brands that athletes are loyal to when it comes to searching for the athletic gear. All these brands have built up a level of customer loyalty. I know that personally, I stick to the same brands when getting new shoes for dance or new golf balls. It's just what feels right to use. I'd definitely be skeptic to use a new brand that I hadn't heard of before. The Chinese company is using smart marketing techniques though by getting Shaq and Turner to sponsor promote the label, it just depends on how they get the word out to the public- commercials, magazine/newspaper ads, or signs in stadiums. Whatever they do, the initial ad campaigns are going to need to be big.
ReplyDelete--Leah Stoltz