Anta Sports(安踏)

Fast facts

Year Founded
1991

HQ Location
Jinjiang, Fujian, China
Publicly Traded?
Yes

Overseas Operations
Yes

US Sanctions
No
Military Affiliation in China
No

Revenue

USD 5.6 B

*2020 revenue was reported in RMB and converted using the exchange rate on December 15, 2021.

Valuation

USD 29.1 B

*Valuation is reported as market capitalization. It was converted from HKD using the exchange rate from June 26, 2022 13:49:20.

Employees

41,000

ANTA was established in 1991, while ANTA Sports Products Limited, a leading global sportswear company, was listed on the Main Board of HKEx in 2007. For many years, ANTA Sports has been principally engaged in the design, development, manufacturing and marketing of branded sportswear including footwear, apparel and accessories to consumers. 

Anta was China’s official sports apparel partner at the 2022 Beijing Olympics — having fulfilled the same role at Sochi in 2014 and Rio in 2016 — and is also a sponsor of more than a dozen domestic winter sports teams.

  • Ding Shizhong (丁世忠), Chairman and Executive Director
  • Ding Shijia (丁世家), Deputy Chairman and Executive Director
  • Lai Shixian (赖世贤), Executive Director
  • Wu Yonghua (吴永华), Executive Director
  • Zheng Jie (郑捷), Executive Director
  • Bi Mingwei (毕明伟), Executive Director
  • Wang Wenmo (王文默), Non-Executive Director
  • Dai Zhongchuan (戴仲川), Independent Non-Executive Director
  • Yiu Kin Wah Stephen (姚建华), Independent Non-Executive Director
  • Lai Hin Wing Henry Stephen (赖显荣), Independent Non-Executive Director
  • Wang Jiaqian (王佳茜), Independent Non-Executive Director
  • Tse Kin Chung (谢建聪), Company Secretary

Anta Sports is incorporated in the Cayman Islands. The company has established global design and R&D centers in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Japan, Seoul, South Korea, Milan, Italy, Mainland China, and Hong Kong, and has attracted nearly 200 design and R&D experts from 20 different countries and regions. Anta bought the Chinese activities of Italian brand Fila in 2009 and helped Japanese sportswear manufacturer Descente expand to China through a joint venture with Itochu in 2016. In March 2019, an investor consortium consisting of Anta Sports, FountainVest Partners, Anamered Investments and Tencent completed the acquisition of Amer Sports. Internationally renowned brands under Amer Sports have also joined the multi-brand camp of Anta Group, including Salomon (France), Arc’teryx (Canada), Atomic (Austria), Suunto (Finland) ), Wilson (USA), Precor (USA) and Peak Performance (Sweden), etc.

Anta Sports Sanctions

While at this time it appears that this company is not the subject of any U.S. or other global sanctions, it is important to note that Chinese companies tend to have more opaque organizational structures than their Western peers. Chinese companies’ affiliated brands, operating units, and overseas subsidiaries are not always obvious or even identifiable. Given this, a Chinese company may not be the subject of sanctions, but one of its subsidiaries may be, thus making it difficult to accurately ascertain a company’s full sanctions status.

Anta Sports Reputational Disclosures

In April 2019, Anta faced three different lawsuits in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen brought by Grown Up Licenses (Asia), which sells bags under the MoonRock brand. Grown Up is seeking damages totalling 9 million yuan ($1.34 million) for infringement of copyright covering the physical appearance of three of its distinctive red and blue schoolbags.

In July 2019, the company was targeted by notorious short seller Carson Block and his firm Muddy Waters. A report alleged that the company fraudulently boosts its profit margins, disguises its subsidiaries as independently-controlled distributors, and publishes financial numbers that cannot be trusted. After stemming the tide, the company declared that the Muddy Waters report was ”incorrect and misleading.”

Posted in Uncategorized

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *