Xtep International Holdings Limited (SEHK stock code: 1368) is a Chinese
manufacturing company
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a range ...
of
sports equipment
Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...
based in
Kowloon Bay
Kowloon Bay is a body of water within Victoria Harbour and an area within Kowloon, Hong Kong.
The bay is located at the east of the Kowloon Peninsula and north of Hong Kong Island. It is the eastern portion of Victoria Harbour, between ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. Established in 2001, the company was listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 3 June 2008.
Xtep engages mainly in the design, development, manufacturing, sales, marketing and brand management of
sports equipment
Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...
, including
footwear
Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serves the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner of shoes therefore primarily serves th ...
,
apparel
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
, and accessories. Xtep is a leading professional sports brand with an extensive distribution network of over 6,300 stores covering 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the PRC and overseas. In 2019, Xtep has further diversified its brand portfolio which now includes four international brands, namely K-Swiss, Palladium, Saucony and Merrell. Xtep is a constituent of the MSCI China Small Cap Index, Hang Seng Composite Index Series and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect.
Business Development
The appointment of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
movie star
Nicholas Tse
Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and chef.EEGmusic.EEGmusic." ''Nicolas Tse profile.'' Retrieved on 22 April 2008. As multi talented celebrity, he became a TV ch ...
as Xtep's spokesperson in 2001 marked the precedent of entertainment star spokesmanship among sports brands in Mainland China. The sales of "Fire Shoes" products reached 1.2 million pairs in a few months.
In 2015, Xtep embarked on a journey as a professional sports brand with a focus on running. From 2015 to date, Xtep has remained as the sportswear sponsor of the highest number of marathons in Mainland China. It has also sponsored numerous world-famous international sports teams, athletes, celebrities and variety shows.
Xtep adopted a multi-brand strategy in 2019. On 4 March, Xtep entered into an agreement with
Wolverine World Wide Inc., a designer, marketer and licensor of a broad range of world's leading footwear and apparel brands, to form a joint venture to carry out the development, marketing and distribution of footwear, apparel and accessories under the Merrell and Saucony brands in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. On 1 August, Xtep completed the acquisition of K-Swiss Holdings, Inc. which holds globally renowned brands, K-Swiss and Palladium, for a cash consideration of US$260 million (approximately HK$2.03 billion).
In August 2019, Xtep signed on famous Asian American basketball player
Jeremy Lin
Jeremy Shu-How Lin (born August 23, 1988) is a Taiwanese-American professional basketball player who last played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He unexpectedly led a winning turnaround with the Ne ...
as spokesperson, marking its foray into the basketball business realm. Xtep also unveiled its "Basketball Product Co-Creation Plan" to come up with basketball products via product co-creation.
After previously supplying then-
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
side
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
and
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
side
Villarreal
Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain.
The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...
in 2010 and 2014 respectively, Xtep left the major
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
scene in 2017 and focused on other sports, mainly in
running
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
. In mid-2018, Xtep returned again to the football scene by signing a contract with
Saudi Professional League
The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...
side
Al-Shabab ahead of the
2018–19 season in a reported three-year contract. On 13 October 2019,
Egyptian Premier League
The Egyptian Premier League ( ar, الدوري المصري الممتاز), also known as WE Egyptian Premier League (WE EPL) after the addition of title sponsor WE, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the top level of th ...
side
Al Ittihad Alexandria
Al Ittihad Alexandria Club ( ar, نادي الإتحاد السكندري), simply known as Al Ittihad, is an Egyptian sports club based in Alexandria, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team, which currently plays i ...
announced Xtep as their new official kit supplier until 2022, replacing German company
Uhlsport
Uhlsport GmbH is a German sporting goods manufacturer. Originally established in 1948 as "Haase & Uhl OHG" and later renamed "Karl Uhl GmbH", the company became "uhlsport GmbH" in 1994. It is an international company which has its permanent headq ...
.
Sponsorship
Football
Club teams
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Al Ahli
*
Olympique de Mahina
Basketball
Players
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Jeremy Lin
Jeremy Shu-How Lin (born August 23, 1988) is a Taiwanese-American professional basketball player who last played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He unexpectedly led a winning turnaround with the Ne ...
References
Xtep 2019 Interim Report 019-08-21XTEP INT'L Forms JV to Run Merrell, Saucony Brands- AASTOCKS
019-03-04Xtep buys E-Land Footwear to develop series- The Standard
019-05-03Xtep expands its sportswear portfolio into basketball shoes and apparel, signing on star Jeremy Lin as brand spokesman- South China Morning Post
019-08-09
External links
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{{Carlyle Group
Sportswear brands
Sporting goods manufacturers of China
Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Chinese companies established in 1999
Privately held companies of China
Chinese brands
Shoe brands
Shoe companies of China