Today the China sportswear market resembles a triangle with high-prestige, low-penetration brands at its apex and low prestige, high-penetration brands at its base, said Tom Doctoroff, ceo, JWT North Asia, which handles Anta. "In between there is a 'white space' and it is filling in," he added.
Lower-tier consumers offer the best opportunities for growth. As a result, Nike is moving down-tier, but insists it will retain a premium positioning in those markets. Nike's China PR representative denies press reports suggesting it might launch a lower priced sub-brand. And in December 2010, Mark Parker, president/ceo of Nike, said: "We're not expecting to be going down market in those cities... We're a premium brand and we're going to continue to sell at prices that you would find around the rest of the world."