Study On The Internationalization Of China's Sports Brands

With the development of economy and the increase of disposable income, there is a growing demand for sports and sporting goods for a better life and the sports industry in many countries has maintained sustainable and rapid development, and its industrial scale is ever-increasing, too. At present, the annual output value of world sports industry is estimated over USD500 billion, growing at an impressive rate of about 20% ever year. Moreover, the proportion of American sports output value to its GDP has risen from about 1% in 1980s to 2% in middle 1990s, with the sports market value increased from 152 billion dollars in 1995 to 213 billion dollars in 2002 accounting for 2.4% of American gross domestic product, becoming the sixth pillar industry at that time.In addition, there is a strong correlation between sports industry and its national economy, which is able to drive the development of other relevant industries through products supply and demand between the industries. In other words, sports industry will be the most dynamic industry in the twenty-first century with a rising status in national economy.However, sports, as an industry, were formed only after 1990s in China. As living standards and awareness of health get improved over the past thirty years of open-up, many people have begun to keep slim and fit through sports which are becoming the a hotspot of consumption and investment of the whole society.In particular, after the Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2008, people have paid increasingly attention to sports which brought great impetus to China's sports development. Global sports industry is developing towards globalization which is the historical tide that cannot resist. As a result, more and more sports enterprises from abroad have turned their attention to China's sporting market. How China's sporting enterprises handle the competition from their foreign counterparts will be an issue that is worth studying. The resolution to this issue is to go global while maintaining competitive at home.Fierce competition between Chinese sports brands and foreign sports brands highlights the importance of brand value in the changeable world market. Brand value is an important symbol of international competitiveness of an enterprise, which is also a synthesized reflection of its brand internationalization. A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers to differentiate them from those of competition. From the perspective of the manufacturers, it is a cultural carrier, by means of value production and communication, to provide unique functions or performance to the market based on certain core competence; from the consumers'angle, a brand is the perception and internalization about the functions or performance, and then consumers formed a belief in the company and its brand or brands which embodies the company's image and value. An enterprise should consider about internationalization when the domestic market is gradually saturated.The definition of brand internationalization is still unsettled. Song Yonggao said, brand internationalization is "the process in which a company uses the same brand name and logo to market its brand in a brand-new country, in other words, inter-national marketing of the brand." The purpose of brand internationalization is to get the upper hand in foreign countries. While Zhang Huarong thought that the concept of brand internationalization itself was brought out in light of different regions. He thought brand internationalization occurs when an enterprise uses the same brand to a new market to create user resource and interact positively with consumers from different locations in the world.There are many articles about brands written by scholars or professors. However, few can be found in the area of sports brands. A relatively complete article on sports brands can hardly be discovered, let alone article on internationalization of sports brands. Therefore, this dissertation is a good supplement to the internationalization of China's sports enterprises, which, in turn, offers recommended strategies for going global.In this paper, theories on internationalization are introduced, combined with cases of Adidas, Nike and Li Ning. The internationalization of China's sports brands is discussed, including its current situation, modes, survival and development. Recommended strategies have been made in the end.The paper is divided into seven chapters. Chapter one is introduction presenting the background of the study and the content of the paper, thereby summarizing the significance of the dissertation, and pointing out the methods and design of the paper framework in the latter part.Related theories on brand internationalization are stated in chapter two. There are three key points in this section:the first one is the definition of brand internationalization, and then measurement criteria for it. Besides, opportunities and risks of going global are also discussed here, which provides adequate theoretical basis for China's sports enterprise.In chapter three, successful enterprises well-known from China are systematically reviewed. There are five common modes for Chinese companies, represented by Haier, TCL, Huawei, Glanz and Tong Ren tang, to carry out brand internationalization, which will be expounded in detail in chapter three. Meanwhile, inspirations are drawn from these successful Chinese companies going global for the sports enterprises who are to implement brand internationalization.Chapter four comes to the theme of the paper, analyzing the cases of brand internationalization of world sports enterprises. For a better description of the developments and strategies of sports enterprises both from home and abroad, specific cases of Adidas, Nike and Li Ning brand are listed. Brief introduction to these three companies is done here and their respective development and strategies are compared here too, which provides a realistic basis for China's sports enterprises.The status quo of China's sports brands is mainly analyzed in chapter five. Two issues are grouped in chapter five. The first is the development of China's sports brands and the development of foreign sports brands in China, where major sports brands and their respective market shares are introduced. In addition, the main characteristics and problems of China's sports are pointed out. China is famous for its manufacturing ability. It is said that 70% of the sports goods are made by China. However, there is still no one famous sports brand created in China, which is thought-provoking.Chapter six is the key chapter of the whole dissertation. Recommendation for China's sports enterprises going global is made according to the development of the world sports industry and the status quo of Chinese sports companies. Internationalization of China's sports brands can be strengthened in four aspects:the first one is product strategy. Product is the key. No high quality products, no survival, let alone internationalization. In addition, service should be improved too; the second aspect is pricing strategy. Price should be determined by consumer psychology and world market. Moreover, pricing strategies are different in different stages of internationalization; the third one is channel strategy. It is a detailed question how to sell China's sports goods to foreign consumers, by consignment in department store or by its brand chain stores, or by cyber marketing? China's sports enterprises should think about the alternatives; brand communication strategy is the forth aspect, which is unique for sports industry. Maybe two companies have the same product and product quality, the same price and the same sales mode, but get totally different effects. Marketing strategy may be the reason. By the way, attending sports exhibition regularly and strengthening public communication can never be neglected.Chapter seven is the conclusion of the paper, summarizing the main contents and pointing out the drawbacks of the writing. Research could have been further if more information could be found. At the same time, theories on internationalization are new and unsettled, and it can be strengthened if more time is given. In addition, data for sports industry is not collected by China Statistical Yearbook and the data can be updated.Anyway, the author believes that internationalization of sports brands is an inevitable trend. Therefore, under the macro-environment of globalization and integration, China's sports enterprises should positively engage themselves in the world sports market. The author believe that more and more Chinese sports brands will stride beyond China and step onto the world sports arena, and more and more foreign consumers will know and love Chinese sports brands.