The U.S. is obviously important for any sports brand to have a presence in ... [and] in the short term the most cost-effective manner to reach that market, to get products to consumers, is through the e-commerce platform," said CMO Frank Chen.
Li-Ning has been in the U.S. since 2007, when it opened a design center in Portland, Nike 's hometown and a regional hub for Adidas. Its first attempt at selling products through U.S. retailers fizzled because of supply-chain problems.
It's a big challenge for any Chinese brand to overcome perceptions of being a producer of cheap, copycat goods, but even more so in the sporting goods industry, where branding is key. And American consumers will see a strong similarity between Li-Ning's logo and the Nike swoosh. But the Li-Ning team, led by the straight-talking Mr. Chen, a U.S.-educated former Greater China CMO at Philips Electronics and general manager at Electronic Arts China, says the key to success lies in clearly differentiating themselves from rivals.