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A century-old brand that has undergone localization upgrades—how can it still explode in today’s fiercely competitive environment? On March 26, Xtep released its 2025 financial report. The group’s revenue from continuing operations grew 4.2% to 14.1511 billion yuan. Among this, the professional sports segment, where the professional running shoe brand Saucony is located, saw revenue rise 30.8% to 1.636 billion yuan.

In just a few years, the brand has achieved a leapfrog growth in revenue and quickly became a new favorite among the middle class. From “the shoe that everyone in the circle worships” to a lifestyle favored by elites, Saucony’s story is not merely a business case of brand revival. Breaking it down, it looks more like a slice that reflects consumer tiering and deeper community segmentation.

“A running-shoe fossil” brand refresh: from professional-first to elite living

Born in Pennsylvania, USA, the professional running shoe brand Saucony has a history of more than 100 years. It has been dubbed the “Rolls-Royce of running shoes,” and along with Asics, New Balance, and Brooks, it is counted among the four major running shoe brands. But for a long time, its fame was largely confined to the professional running scene—and it also stumbled several times in the Chinese market. The turning point came in 2019, when China’s leading sports brand, Xtep Group, took over the operation of Saucony.

Previously, the image of Saucony’s professional running shoes was both its advantage and its limitation. Xtep then positioned it as a “runners’ first class cabin,” and ultimately upgraded it to “a century-old running-shoe family, elite sports and lifestyle.” Its intention was unmistakable—to both maintain professional recognition and open the door to middle-class consumption.

Product scenario-based expansion and adjustments to pricing strategy are the most direct manifestations of this transformation. Earlier, when Saucony first entered China, it repeatedly failed due to its lowest retail price exceeding 1,000 yuan. After Xtep took over, it adopted a pyramid-style pricing structure, with most product prices mainly falling in the 400–1,300 yuan range. At the same time, Saucony integrated core running shoe technologies such as PWRRUN PB and FORMFIT with fashion design, covering use scenarios including daily commuting, social settings, and urban outdoor hiking.

The most critical step in the brand positioning upgrade is channel optimization. The financial report shows that as of December 31, 2025, Saucony had 175 stores on the Chinese mainland, most of them located in core high-end commercial districts in first-tier cities such as Sanlitun Taikoo Li and HK Hanjing, among others.

The transformation led by Xtep has produced remarkable results. Saucony’s annual revenue rose from less than 100 million yuan when it was taken over in 2019 to over 1 billion yuan in 2024, and in 2023 it became the first profitable new brand in Xtep Group.

Everyone wants to tell a story to the middle class—how is an “elite sports and lifestyle” ecosystem built?

If Saucony only stayed at product and channel reform, it might simply become a “more expensive professional running shoe brand.” Its real growth key lies in building a lifestyle experience that goes beyond product functionality.

Consumer segmentation is the most important backdrop in the industry right now. Nearly all sports brands are eager to tell a story to the middle class, but not many can truly win purchases.

Judging from Saucony’s actions in recent years, its marketing focus has undergone a subtle yet crucial shift. Keywords such as “city,” “lifestyle,” “aesthetics,” and “trends” frequently appear in brand promotions, and its track has expanded from the professional hall to a broader urban map.

Among them, “building communities” and “pushing events” are some of the most effective ways to connect with users. Saucony’s lineup is a long-term partner of the “From Mountains to Seas” relay between runners and vehicles, and it has also been operating elite running communities in major cities. In key events such as the 2025 Lanzhou Marathon, Saucony’s wear-through rate ranked first among international brands.

Taking a broad view of Saucony’s many cross-category moves, they point just as clearly to building a lifestyle and creating social symbols. For example, it has collaborated with coffee brands such as M Stand and MANNER; partnered with Japan’s fashion trend brand niko and…; placed advertisements at airports; and invited Peng Yuyan to serve as the global spokesperson. What these product categories and venues link together is a shared lifestyle consensus tailored to contemporary urban elites.

Revenue for the professional sports segment grew by over 30%—the financial report’s rapid growth and matrix synergy

The latest data disclosed in the financial report once again confirms the effectiveness of this playbook.

In 2025, Xtep Group’s revenue from continuing operations grew 4.2% to 14.15 billion yuan, while attributable net profit hit a historical high, increasing 10.8% to 1.3716 billion yuan. Of this, the professional sports segment represented by Saucony contributed more than 30% of the revenue growth to Xtep Group in 2025. In the same period, operating profit for the segment surged 46.4% to 114.5 million yuan. The gross margin was approximately 55.5%, significantly higher than that of mass sports categories.

Behind the impressive performance is a differentiated strategic synergy formed between Saucony and Xtep’s main brand.

Xtep’s main brand, backed by its “Chinese people’s race-for-speed” plan and a champions-family matrix, firmly captures the mindshare of “mass professional” runners. Saucony, on the other hand, targets the “high-end elite” market and serves middle-class consumers who value brand heritage, top-tier products, and community experiences. Unlike other leading competitors that acquired international brands to broaden product categories, Xtep’s acquisition of Saucony is intended to extend vertically within its strength areas and reinforce the group’s dominance in running. Data shows that the overall wear-through rate of Xtep and Saucony across six major重点 marathons in China reaches as high as 32.9%–54.1%.

Saucony’s future road is not entirely smooth. The financial report shows that Saucony’s revenue accounts for about 11.6% of the group’s total revenue, and its contribution remains limited. For this reason, while Saucony continues to launch new running shoe products, it is also further enriching categories such as sports lifestyle wool and functional apparel. On the other hand, as competition in the high-end running segment grows increasingly intense, Saucony needs to give middle-class consumers a more hardcore and clearer reason to choose it.

However, Xtep has already taken the most critical steps correctly in this high-end running chess game. From early stumbles in the initial China entry to leading the Xtep professional sports segment to deliver over 30% growth in 2025, Saucony has completed a stage-by-stage leap from a “running-shoe icon in the circle” to a “middle-class lifestyle symbol.”

It is worth noting that in February this year, Xtep proposed a placement of additional shares and issued bonds to raise nearly 1 billion HKD. A considerable portion is intended to be prioritized for Saucony’s direct retail channels and brand building, with a clear strategic tilt. With Xtep’s deep involvement in running for many years and its accumulated event resources, supply chain capabilities, and runner ecosystem, Saucony has already built a solid growth base. Its room for future growth is certainly worth anticipating.