In the third quarter of 2026, China's sports footwear industry entered a deep zone of adjustment: demand was weak, inventory was under pressure, and internal discounts came to an end. K-type differentiation became the clearest footnote in the industry. However, the more headwinds there are, the more we can see who relies on inertia to grow and who relies on ability to stand firm.
On October 21, Anta Group (02020) released operating data for the third quarter of 2026, using a questionnaire that was superior to the market to verify its resilience to pressure. During the period, with a mature multi-brand matrix and precise operating strategies, the Group's overall turnover remained steady. In particular, other brand segments represented by Descente and Kolon continued the strong momentum of previous quarters. What is more noteworthy is that in the context of the industry generally falling into a promotional vortex, Anta Group maintained healthy inventory levels and discount discipline, laying a solid foundation for growth in the fourth quarter.
As can be seen, even though the mass market in the industry is “under pressure”, Anta's resilience is still showing.
The multi-brand matrix continues to be stable, and its anti-cycle value has been verified
In the third quarter of 2026, Goldman Sachs's channel research confirmed the weakening of the overall prosperity of China's sportswear industry.
Goldman Sachs said that the overall sportswear industry in China was weak in the third quarter. The retail performance of most brands continued to be pressured and generally declined, mass market discounts and inventory pressure increased, and individual brand clearance intensified the promotional environment. At the same time, brand performance showed clear K-type differentiation, and the inventory and sell-out situation of high-end and specialty brands was clearly healthier than popular brands.
In this context, Anta Group's overall performance in the third quarter continued the steady pattern of the first half of the year and bucked the trend with data stations superior to the market.
Among them, although the performance of the Anta brand and the FILA brand fell short of the second quarter, both brands maintained a positive trend in terms of high annual revenue base of about 30 billion yuan. According to the research report, in the first three quarters, the number of units of the Anta brand was growing, while the FILA brand maintained a positive increase in the number of units. The turnover trend of these two major brands improved month by month in the third quarter, and recorded good year-on-year positive growth during the National Day holiday. This trend of marginal improvement is particularly rare in an environment where the industry is under general pressure.
At the same time, in the volatile industry cycle, the structural advantages of the Anta system have been further highlighted. Other brands, represented by Descente and Colon, continued to benefit from the structural opportunities of the rise of outdoor lifestyles. Retail sales achieved a 25%-30% year-on-year increase in the third quarter, and maintained positive growth of more than 30% in the first three quarters. Among them, Kolon's performance was particularly impressive. Even though competition on domestic outdoor racetracks continued to intensify, retail sales in the third quarter were still close to 30% year-on-year growth, maintaining the high quality business characteristics of high sales, high sales sales, and low discounts. And the contrarian growth of these brands is also the best proof of the success of Anta Group's multi-brand matrix strategy.
Furthermore, in the context of increased clearance in the industry, Anta is not following the trend of large-scale promotions, but instead maintains restraint in discount strategies and healthy inventory, which also lays a footnote on Anta's resilient characteristics. According to SPDB International Research, retail discounts for the Anta brand and Fila did not increase significantly year-on-year in the third quarter; in terms of inventory, Anta also maintained a healthy level. Through deepening the DTC model and accurate supply chain management, the company achieved high inventory turnover and avoided the risks caused by inventory backlogs.
In view of this, SPDB International pointed out in the research report that as we enter the fourth quarter, as Double Eleven and Double 12 will bring about consumer node catalysis, the superposition of the outdoor matrix continues to increase, and marginal restoration between the main brand and FILA, Anta Q4 flow is expected to be better than Q3, and there is still a foundation for achieving the goals for the whole year.
As can be seen, relying on a multi-brand matrix, high-end brands such as Descente and Kolon continue to outperform the industry's operating quality and healthy channel inventory. The anti-cyclical value of Anta Group's operating model has been verified once again in this round of industry reshuffle.
Technology creates barriers to differentiation, and technological compounding is showing
Of course, sports brands' long-distance running is ultimately a competition between technology and product power.
This simple judgment is being repeatedly verified by Anta with a gold medal. At the Nagoya Asian Games, the Chinese sports delegation won 169 gold medals. Of these, 43% came from 20 national teams sponsored by Anta, covering Anta's competition equipment for gymnastics, weightlifting, swimming, athletics, etc., which meant that Anta's “champion dragon suit” and special sports equipment withstood strict practical tests in top competitive scenes.
The 43% figure, if used only as a footnote to the size of the sponsorship, is a waste of its core amount of information. What it really marks is a decentralized channel that has already been cleared, that is, the technology of these national teams is expected to be further transformed into quantifiable commercial value.
Over the past ten years, Anta Group has invested more than 20 billion yuan in R&D, transforming top technology into popular products. This is the core difference that distinguishes the company from pure sponsorship brands. When every piece of equipment that escorts national team athletes to the limit is devolved to popular running shoes, training equipment, and outdoor product lines, consumers get expertise proven by champions. These same champion technologies are being transformed into a reason to buy in the mass market.
In Wolf Claw, this set of logic shows another differentiation that is more difficult to replicate: not to push an extreme technology to the highest premium, but to make the technology “just right.”
In the third quarter, Wolf Claw's global renewal strategy was actually implemented, and the “Mountain House Supply Station” themed stores in Changchun and Shenyang were the first to open, replicating the European alpine hiking scene, allowing consumers to complete a miniature hiking experience while walking. This concept will be implemented one after another in the north and in cities such as Munich and Zurich. On the product side, Wolf Claw focused on the core scene of “trekking” and launched the “Trailblazer” jacket series. The key is the proper application of technology — that is, long-distance crossing enhances protection and durability; short- and medium-distance hiking focuses on lightness and comfort; Jono switching takes into account convenience and design. It doesn't push an “ultimate technology” to the highest premium, but rather allows users at different stages to get “just the right” equipment.
At the same time, the pace set by the Group for Wolf Claw is also just as pragmatic: the Chinese business will gradually achieve break-even in 2027. Maintaining this kind of patience in a brand that takes two to three years to refine its products and channels is itself evidence of strategic strength.
From this, it is easy to see that in an industry that is generally shrinking conservatively, Anta Group's technological compounding effect continues to expand. Every gold medal on the field, every pair of running shoes on the shelf, and every jacket on the mountain trail all point to the same answer: take your specialty to the extreme, then make the ultimate benefit to the public. This is not only Anta's technological strength, but also its resilience through the cycle.
Settle down with Puma and use globalization to anchor long-term doctrine
True long-term doctrine is never about betting that ignores risk, but instead takes the initiative to bet on future structural opportunities after understanding the cyclical tides. The anti-cyclical resilience shown by Anta Group in its three-quarter report is the driving force of the present; while the Puma share settlement, which was settled on October 7, is a layout for the farther future.
On October 7, Anta Group officially completed the sale of 29.06% of Puma's shares and became its largest shareholder with a cash consideration of 1,505.5 billion euros. This cross-border deal is an imaginative step in Anta Group's global strategy and a key step in its long-term chess game.
The domestic sports footwear circuit has long entered the stock game. Price internal volume, inventory pressure, and cycle fluctuations have become the norm, and the growth ceiling of the single market is visible to the naked eye. If you want to break out of the domestic cycle and open up a second growth curve, globalization is a must-answer question that leading brands cannot bypass. Following Amafen Sports, Puma is another key piece of the puzzle in Anta's global strategy, marking the Group's steady progress from a local sports leader to a global sports giant.
Looking further, unlike the model of consolidation of holdings and deep dominance of operations, Anta Group is only the largest shareholder and has not obtained control. It is a patient value investment.
Puma has deep professional assets and global competition resources in the fields of soccer, racing, running, etc., and has established a stable customer base and distribution system in mature markets in Europe and the US. The Chinese market operation and DTC direct management capabilities, which Anta Group excels at, can make up for the competitiveness that Puma urgently needs. Anta Group positioned this deal as a “value investment,” and the market also generally believes that judging from Amalfin's integration experience, its revenue grew exponentially after being acquired and empowered, and that Puma's room for improvement in the Chinese market is enough for people to reasonably expect synergy effects.
And as Puma has completed Anta's global mass sports, trendy sports, and soccer tracks, Anta's globalization matrix has become more and more complete. The consensus of CICC, SPDB International and other institutions on this deal is also very clear: the transaction positioning is reasonable, the cash flow arrangement is steady, and the group's dividend policy will not be shaken. In an industry environment where many companies are chasing short-term exploits and valuing quarterly reports, being willing to lay out global assets with a longer cycle and higher barriers is itself the most vivid footnote of long-term philosophy.
epilogue
The industry environment in the third quarter reminded the market that the sneaker and apparel industry has never been a straight upward track.
The pace of Anta Group's layout during the industry downturn just revealed the strategic logic of a mature group: investing in the future when others shrink and anchoring long-term value in the midst of short-term fluctuations, which has long-term resilience against market cycle risks.
Behind 43% of the Chinese national team's gold medal is a technological barrier built with year-round R&D investment. Wolf Claw's “just right” philosophy points to an accurate response to the real needs of consumers, and Puma's delivery has opened up a long-term space for global collaboration. Anta Group said it is confident that it will meet the full-year business guidelines and achieve the 2026 profit forecast.
For investors and the market, the current focus may shift from fluctuations in single-season turnover to a more fundamental question: what position will Anta Group occupy in the global sporting goods landscape when the reshaping of the industry is completed. Judging from the current strategic layout and execution pace, the room for imagination for answers far exceeds the anxiety caused by short-term fluctuations.