A Study Of The International Sportswear Brands

The paper aims to reveal the characteristics of the international sportswear brands by analyzing the twelve brands introduced in the book Encyclopedia of Consumer Brands (1994) and by taking advantage of the brands'websites. Adidas, Asics, Avia, British Knights, Champion, Converse, Jantzen, K-Swiss, L.A. Gear, Nike, Reebok and Speedo are the twelve international brands involved.The analysis shows that the international sportswear brands possess the following traits related to brand building: (1) having a brand-building history of more than ten years; (2) precisely targeting at market object and scientifically positioning; (3) paying great attention to product R&D; (4) integrating the brand name with the logo; (5) sports celebrity endorsing; (6) emphasizing on adverting investment; (7) attaching importance to sports marketing especially Olympics marketing; (8) internationalizing with the developed countries as the first step; (9) placing much emphasis on brand maintenance.