Running shoes sell over 26 million pairs, with revenue approaching 30 billion yuan. Li Ning has shifted from steady management to an active "offensive" strategy.

Ask AI · Why is Li-Ning敢于全面进攻 during an industry downturn?

This article is sourced from Times Finance, by Zhou Hang.

Li-Ning’s full-scale offensive is quietly beginning.

On March 19, Li-Ning Company Limited (02331.HK) released its 2025 results. As of December 31, 2025, Li-Ning Group’s revenue grew 3.2% to RMB 29.598 billion, setting a historical record. Operating profit increased from RMB 3.678 billion in the prior year to RMB 3.898 billion; net profit was RMB 2.936 billion, and the 9.9% net profit margin was better than market expectations.

Against the backdrop of an overall lackluster recovery in the consumer industry, the figures in this earnings report can be described as solid. However, the guidance for high-single-digit (or above) revenue growth in 2026 releases new signals. The reaction from the capital market may reveal something: on the morning of March 20, Li-Ning’s stock price surged by more than 13% at one point. By the close, Li-Ning was at HKD 21.44 per share, up 8.56% for the day; its latest market cap was about HKD 55.4 billion.

At the March 20 earnings press conference, Li-Ning Group co-CEO Qian Wei said plainly, “This year, we still need to consolidate our foundation and actively expand. But this is not a reckless posture; it is an attitude of meeting challenges and seizing business opportunities.”

This is not just talk. In the past few years, the key words Li-Ning has communicated externally have always been “prudent operations.” And this time, management, on the basis of prudence, has emphasized “active expansion.”

Behind the shift is that the company completed key planning in 2025. Now they have more confidence to kick off an entirely new Olympic cycle.

Li-Ning is getting more aggressive

Where does Li-Ning’s confidence to launch an offensive come from?

The latest performance shows that in 2025, Li-Ning Group’s net cash inflow from operating activities was RMB 4.852 billion. As of the end of December 2025, Li-Ning Group’s net cash (cash and cash-equivalent items plus time deposits) reached RMB 19.97 billion, an increase of RMB 1.8 billion compared with the same period last year.

In a period when cash-flow anxiety is common across consumer goods, this cash reserve not only means the ability to withstand risks, but also “ammunition” they can deploy at any time. “A sufficient cash reserve provides us with a solid financial foundation and flexible deployment capability.” Li-Ning Group’s CFO Zhao Dongsheng said the same at the earnings conference.

Inventory management is another metric that the capital market repeatedly scrutinizes.

As of the end of 2025, Li-Ning Group’s full-channel inventory-to-sales ratio remained stable at four months. The company’s inventory turnover days were 64 days—both essentially unchanged from the previous year. In a challenging environment, such healthy performance behind the scenes is the result of large-scale, refined operations. More importantly, the company’s inventory aging structure remained healthy. From the perspective of channel inventory, inventory below six months accounted for about 85% of total inventory; inventory of 7 to 12 months accounted for 9%; and inventory above 12 months was only 6%. This also leaves ample room for subsequent category expansion and channel innovation.

The balanced development of Li-Ning’s channels also provides a solid foothold for its strategic shift.

As of the end of 2025, Li-Ning brand stores (excluding Li-Ning YOUNG) were 6,091, down slightly by 26 year-over-year. Behind this is a proactive optimization of store structure—from quantity to quality. The revenue contribution ratios from the three main channels—direct retail, wholesale, and e-commerce—were 23%, 46%, and 31%, respectively, keeping the overall structure balanced.

Worth noting is that Li-Ning’s e-commerce channel transaction volume achieved high-single-digit growth. Against the backdrop of overall pressure in the broader market, it demonstrates the resilience of its online business. At the same time, Li-Ning YOUNG stores added a net 50 to reach 1,518. The steady expansion of the children’s apparel business also helps the group lock in the next generation of consumer audience.

Running category at the top, badminton quietly “turning the tables”

Prudent finances are Li-Ning’s defensive base. Active moves across multiple fronts are an important signal that Li-Ning is launching a full-scale offensive.

Before the earnings call began, founder Li-Ning, Group co-CEO Qian Wei, and Group CFO Zhao Dongsheng intentionally held up the sports shoes on their feet in front of the camera. The shoes Li-Ning wore were a professional running shoe called “Chi Tu 9 ULTRA,” equipped with a 超䨻 capsule.

Qian Wei said directly, “Some categories have been continuously expanding and attacking over the past three or four years.” The explosion of the running category is the core support for Li-Ning’s offensive.

Data shows that in 2025, Li-Ning’s professional running shoe sales exceeded 26 million pairs. Among them, new product sales for the three core IP lines—Fei Dian, Chi Tu, and Ultra-Light—exceeded 11 million pairs. The share of retail sales volume for the running category has already risen to 31%, making it Li-Ning Group’s largest category.

Li-Ning’s “running community” dominance is being further strengthened. Among elite runners who finished the Beijing Half Marathon in “90 minutes,” Li-Ning had the highest wear rate. Among runners in the Shanghai Marathon who “broke three hours,” Fei Dian had the highest wear rate, with a significant year-over-year increase. Since 2019, Li-Ning’s Fei Dian series has cumulatively helped athletes win 277 championships and climb onto the podium 522 times.

When discussing the recent development of Li-Ning’s running categories, Qian Wei emphasized, “Actually, a few years ago the group began with the intention to increase its offensive posture toward running-category business. In recent years, we have been very proactive in promoting the development of the running category. In a sense, this year’s running-category surge is not a business scale that simply arrived—it’s something we consciously pushed from top to bottom to build.”

At the earnings conference, he put forward a clear target: “In the coming years, we hope that Li-Ning running can become the No. 1 running brand in consumers’ minds.”

If the rise of the running category was somewhat expected, the badminton category’s “turnaround” was to some extent more surprising. In 2025, Li-Ning Group’s badminton category revenue grew 30%. Annual racket sales exceeded 5.5 million units, reaching a historical high.

Looking back at the reasons why Li-Ning’s badminton category performance exceeded expectations, Qian Wei said, “We took a difficult but correct path. A few years ago, Li-Ning’s badminton category still focused mainly on apparel, with equipment accounting for a very low proportion. But we adjusted our strategy—gave up a lot of short-term scale and focused on professional core equipment like rackets and string. Today, Li-Ning badminton equipment revenue has climbed to 85% of total category business.”

Staying “present” in every growth opportunity track also gives Li-Ning more directions for its offensive. In 2025, Li-Ning accelerated its layout of emerging tracks such as outdoor, tennis, and pickleball. As sports consumption becomes increasingly social and scenes become more segmented, the explosion of any new track could reshape industry dynamics.

The expansion of the outdoor category is especially worth paying attention to. Qian Wei disclosed at the earnings conference that in 2024, Li-Ning Group started from zero to build an outdoor presence. In 2025, retail transaction volume doubled on a small base.

This leap cannot be said to be slow. But Qian Wei’s remarks also reveal caution. For outdoor to become an independent and competitive channel, the breadth of products is still not rich enough; the store profitability model has not yet been produced. “The base is still too small. We still need to adjust in many places.”

The layout of emerging tracks such as pickleball and tennis is being carried out in parallel. Qian Wei mentioned that Li-Ning began moving into pickleball two years ago. Now it has comprehensively promoted the product layout of pickleball, including a 7-year long-cycle title sponsorship of the “Li-Ning Cup” China Pickleball series. The new generation tennis rackets are also planned to be launched in the first half of 2026. He acknowledged that compared with big categories like basketball and running, the business space in these new tracks may be difficult to match—but they should not be underestimated.

Worth noting is that channel expansion also provides an important handle for Li-Ning’s proactive offensive.

In 2025, scenario-based stores such as Li-Ning’s “Long stores” and the outdoor independent store “COUNTERFLOW 溯” were rolled out one after another, precisely reaching segmented consumer groups. As an integration of sports spirit with everyday consumption scenarios, Long stores combine new series such as the “Glory Gold Label” to provide high-quality outfit options for urban consumers pursuing a better quality of life—meeting all-day, multi-scenario needs such as commuting, business, and light exercise. Outdoor independent stores focus on light-outdoor lifestyle.

For a company with annual revenue of nearly RMB 30 billion, whether these new channels and new markets can become performance growth engines in the short term still needs time for validation. But what is certainly true is that under Li-Ning’s “single-brand” strategy, the group’s capability to expand categories has formed systematic replication and migration capabilities, bringing more room for imagination for further offensives.

Long-term value behind Li-Ning’s push

Li-Ning’s objective is not to pursue rapid, high-speed growth in scale.

In marathons, the winners are never the ones who sprint hardest in the first half, but the ones who keep pacing most steadily and allocate energy most reasonably. Li-Ning’s development logic is also just like that—it does not pursue short-term bursts, but focuses on long-term value.

In 2025, Li-Ning again joined forces with the Chinese Olympic Committee as a partner. At the Milano Winter Olympics held early in the year, China’s sports delegation appeared wearing Li-Ning equipment. According to analysis by a third-party organization, during the Winter Olympics, Li-Ning ranked first in social voice among sports brands across the entire internet, and ranked third across all categories in social voice.

At the same time, Li-Ning also opened offline the world’s first Long store brand location, launched the “Glory Gold Label” series, and for the first time used the logos of the Chinese Olympic Committee jointly with Li-Ning’s brand logos on products. According to a research survey by Guojin Securities, this series has received favorable early consumer evaluations at the terminals and is expected to become an important engine for sales growth in 2026.

However, Qian Wei still emphasized, “These kinds of collaborations have never been about marketing actions that pursue immediate business conversion. The core value lies in long-term brand mindshare building. We hope that through sustained investment, consumers and sports enthusiasts will continually strengthen their recognition of Li-Ning’s professional sports in the medium-to-long term.”

And when discussing the short-term financial impact, Qian Wei also did not shy away: “It does bring some pressure to the current financial statements, but we believe the value it enables in the medium-to-long term is worth it—or to put it more directly, it is a thing that must be done. Looking at last year’s financial report, marketing expenses increased slightly. But by improving operating efficiency, we will offset as much as possible the increase in related expenses and drive the group to achieve a relatively healthy and stable financial position.”

This firm commitment to long-term value, together with the steadfastness of the single-brand strategy, is closely aligned with the original intention that founder Li-Ning repeatedly highlighted: “to walk alongside China’s sports cause.” This is also what makes Li-Ning Group’s most distinctive differentiation—beginning with founder Li-Ning’s identity as an Olympic champion, and continuing through decades of deep binding with China’s sports cause.

From 2025 to 2028 is a brand-new Olympic cycle. For Li-Ning, which holds top-tier sports resources and has “multiple blossoms” across many categories—along with new-category development and new-channel expansion for new customer groups—the offensive layout has already been preliminarily completed. The value of its push is expected to be released step by step.