Chinese consumers, while interested in the performance benefits of specific sports products, are also very focused on the design, style and fit of a specific product.[Photo provided to China Daily]

New entrants

While Nike and Adidas remain the most popular sports brand in China, new brands are also doing well.

Since the American sports brand Under Armour entered the China market in 2011 it has enjoyed huge, consistent growth, its sales figures more than doubling every year, it says.

It now has 179 new stores in 19 new cities and says it expects this to increase to 473 stores in 79 cities by the end of this year. It recently opened the Hangzhou Kerry Center store, its biggest brand house in China.

The label is now capitalizing on tremendous opportunities in e-commerce. In addition to official online shops in the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan it has also opened stores on TMall.com and JD.com.

"We're happy to see that more and more consumers are making sports and fitness an essential part of their lives," says Erick Haskell, managing director of Under Armour Greater China and Korea.

"The consumer understands that different sports and activities require different, specific gear and their buying trends reflect that new knowledge.

"Chinese consumers, while interested in the performance benefits of specific products, are also very focused on the design, style and fit of a specific product. Therefore, our goal is to market these aspects of the product prominently through both our in-store and online shopping experience. We've been optimizing our products and shopping experience (offline retail and simultaneous online offer), in compliance with demands and preferences of local consumers."