李宁为何不敌耐克和阿迪

The story

情况 Gymnast Li Ning became a Chinese hero in 1984 when he won six medals at the Los Angeles Olympics, the country’s first appearance at a summer games in 32 years.

体操运动员李宁在1984年成为中国人的英雄，当时他在洛杉矶奥运会上赢得6枚奖牌。那届奥运会是新中国时隔32年之后参加的首届夏季奥运会。

By 1990 he had set up his own sportswear company, Li-Ning. It was an immediate hit, and in 1999 the company’s revenues in China reached Rmb700m, more than twice Nike’s Rmb300m and Adidas’s Rmb100m.

到了1990年，李宁创立了自己的运动服装企业李宁公司(Li-Ning)。李宁公司可谓一鸣惊人，1999年，该公司在华收入达7亿元人民币，是耐克(Nike)和阿迪达斯(Adidas)的两倍以上——这两家公司在华收入分别为3亿元人民币和1亿元人民币。

The challenge

挑战 The growing spending power of China’s middle-class consumers and their appetite for foreign brands, combined with the surging popularity of basketball and football – with which Nike and Adidas were associated – helped the two overseas companies win more sales in China than Li-Ning.

中国中产阶级消费者的消费能力日益增强，而且他们青睐国外品牌，再加上篮球和足球在中国的受欢迎程度急剧飙升（耐克主打篮球相关产品，而阿迪达斯主打足球相关产品），这让耐克和阿迪达斯的在华销售额超过了李宁公司。

The strategy

策略 Initially, there was little overlap in the market segments targeted by Li-Ning and its foreign rivals. The Chinese company offered mass-market leisurewear and Nike and Adidas sold professional-standard athletic wear; Li-Ning was market leader in China’s second and third-tier cities, while Nike and Adidas were in Beijing and Shanghai.

最初，李宁公司与国外竞争对手的目标市场重合度很低。李宁公司卖的是大众市场休闲服装，耐克和阿迪达斯卖的是专业标准的运动服装；李宁公司是中国二、三线城市的市场领军者，耐克和阿迪达斯是北京和上海的市场领军者。

But after 2001, when China won the bid to host the 2008 Olympics, interest in sports reached new heights. Li-Ning tried to emulate its foreign rivals’ marketing tactics.

但在2001年（那年中国赢得了2008年奥运会举办权）之后，中国人对体育的兴趣达到了新的高度。李宁公司试图效仿国外竞争对手的营销策略。

Brand ambassadors: The overseas companies used celebrity athletes such as American basketball players Michael Jordan (Nike) and Kobe Bryant (Adidas). Nike also signed three of China’s globally successful sports stars: hurdler Liu Xiang, tennis champion Li Na and NBA star Yao Ming.

品牌大使：海外公司聘请明星运动员作为品牌大使，比如耐克与美国篮球运动员迈克尔•乔丹(Michael Jordan)签约，阿迪达斯与科比•布莱恩特(Kobe Bryant)签约。耐克还与三名在全球取得成功的中国体育明星签约，他们是跨栏运动员刘翔、网球冠军李娜和美职篮(NBA)球星姚明。

Because Mr Li was his brand’s biggest ambassador, consumers began associating Li-Ning only with gymnastics goods.

由于李宁是李宁公司最重要的品牌大使，消费者一开始只将李宁品牌与体操用品联系起来。

Sponsorship: Nike-sponsored activities focused on basketball, while Adidas did the same with football. Li-Ning sponsored sports where China traditionally dominated, such as diving and gymnastics, but these did not have the same youth appeal.

赞助：耐克主要赞助篮球领域的活动，阿迪达斯主攻足球领域。李宁公司赞助的是中国传统的体育强项，比如跳水和体操，但这些运动对年轻人的吸引力没有足球和篮球那么大。

After its 2004 initial public offering, Li-Ning bought the rights to use the NBA logo and players in its marketing and advertising in China. But it could only afford to sponsor lower profile teams and events.

2004年进行首次公开发行(IPO)后，李宁公司购买了在华营销和广告中使用NBA标识及其运动员的权利。但它只赞助得起知名度较低的球队和活动。

Mr Li lit the cauldron that signalled the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but Adidas won sponsorship of those games, which gave it the right to clothe the Chinese teams.

李宁点燃了标志着2008年北京奥运会开幕的主火炬，但阿迪达斯赢得了那届奥运会的赞助权，这让该公司有权为中国队提供服装。

Logos and slogans: The “L” logo of Li-Ning bore a marked resemblance to Nike’s swoosh, while its “Anything is Possible” slogan was not so different from Nike’s “Just do it”.

标识和广告语：李宁公司的“L”品牌标识与耐克的“旋风”(Swoosh)标识惊人地相似，同时它的“一切皆有可能”(Anything is Possible)广告语也与耐克的“想做就做”(Just Do It)没多大差别。

In 2010, hoping to appeal to the “post-1990s-born” generation, Li-Ning launched a fresh campaign. But the new logo and slogan, “Make the Change”, did not excite the target audience and alienated its original, now older, customer base.

2010年，为了吸引“90后”一代人，李宁公司启动了一项新的努力。但新的口号“来改变吧”(Make the Change)却没有激发目标受众的热情，而且还疏远了如今已上了岁数的原始客户群。

Pricing: Li-Ning raised its prices in 2010 but premium-segment consumers found the quality of Nike and Adidas was still better, while lower and mid-price-segment consumers chose cheaper, local brands.

定价：李宁在2010年提价，但高端客户发现耐克和阿迪达斯的品质仍然要更好一些，而中低端客户选择了其他价格更低的国内品牌。

What happened

结果

Li-Ning grew from 3,373 outlets at the end of 2005 to 6,245 outlets three years later, including new stores in cities with Olympic venues. Although revenues jumped 54 per cent in 2008, moving Li-Ning ahead of Adidas, the latter had overtaken again by 2010.

李宁公司在2005年末有3373家门店，三年后发展到6245家门店，包括在奥运项目举办城市开设的新门店。尽管李宁公司在2008年收入飙升54%、从而超过了阿迪达斯，但后者到了2010年又再次领先于李宁公司。

Inflation and slower economic growth began to affect consumer sentiment and in 2011 growth in sportswear overall fell to 13 per cent from 20 per cent in 2010. Sales revenues in 2011 for Nike, Adidas and Li-Ning respectively were about $2bn, $1.7bn and $1.4bn. In the first half of 2017, Nike and Adidas had rising sales, whereas Li-Ning experienced declines .

通胀和经济增长放缓开始影响消费者信心。2011年，运动服装销售的整体增长从2010年的20%降至13%。耐克、阿迪达斯和李宁公司在2011年的销售收入分别为20亿、17亿和14亿美元。2017年上半年，耐克和阿迪达斯销售增长，而李宁公司销售下滑。

The lessons

教训 Li NIng failed to adapt as the market developed, and the positioning confused consumers. Its logo and slogans were too similar to competitors’, which led consumers to think it was an imitator.

李宁公司未能适应市场的发展，其定位让消费者困惑。该公司的标识和广告语与竞争对手过于相似，这让消费者认为它是一个模仿者。

Brands must know their audience and innovate constantly to match consumers’ changing tastes. A brand that raises prices must make a corresponding increase in quality.

品牌公司必须了解自己的受众，不断创新以迎合消费者不断变化的品味。一个品牌要想提价，必须相应提高其品质。

The writers are, respectively, dean and vice-president, a former research assistant, and a visiting researcher at Ceibs

本文作者分别是中欧国际工商学院(CEIBS)副院长兼教务长、前研究助理和客座研究员