Li Ning e-commerce sales soared 90 per cent last year, driving an overall 13 per cent gain.

The Chinese sportswear company closed the year with CNY8.015 billion (US$1.165 billion) in sales, while its gross margin grew 1.2 points to 46.2 per cent. Its net income also increased, reaching US$144.5 million, compared to $116.2 million the previous year.

Footwear again led sales, up 15.7 per cent to $569.378 million, while apparel sales rose 12.7 per cent to $512.875 million and equipment/accessories followed with 4.9 per cent growth to $67.369 million.

In contrast, sales for third-party brands such as Aigle, Kason and Lotto, slumped by 23.6 per cent to $11.957 million.
Internationally, sales for the Li Ning brand itself grew by 36.4 per cent, reaching $29.356 million – just 2.6 per cent of the brand’s overall revenue.

At December 31, Li Ning had 6440 stores, up 5 per cent on the previous year. These comprise 4829 franchised stores (up 4.6 per cent) and 1611 (up 6.3 per cent) run directly.

In its annual report, the company says that while its business covers 44 countries, it believes that developing Asian countries will be crucial. “Cross-border e-commerce will remain our international team’s main focus this year.”