Li-Ning, the number 3 manufacturer of sneakers sold in China, after Nike and Adidas, has set up shop in Nike’s backyard. Bearing a logo that is similar to the Beaverton-based athletic megagiant, Li-Ning has even signed its first NBA player.
Opening a U.S. outpost, industry observers say, indicates the fast-growing sporting-goods company wants to tap the pool of creative talent in the region, home to an increasing number of smaller outdoor and athletic-wear brands and supporting services.
Their price point is lower than Nike’s or Adidas’s, which may make them appealing to consumers, but Li-Ning’s overseas sales is but a blip in the industry. With the upcoming Olympics, the Beijing-based company’s prominence is certainly to rise as I’m certain China’s mainland athletes would be displaying them.
Li Ning has hired Alan Hardy, formerly a senior designer at Nike and design director at Converse, who most recently served as design director for the American Sporting Goods (ASG) office in Portland until it closed last month.
I’m not sure, however, if there will be many traditionalists who will quickly jump ship. For me, that “swoosh”-like logo bothers me. My feeling is that if a company is going to compete against the likes of Nike, having a logo that looks too familiar is sneaky– a form of flattery gone awry. Nevertheless, I’m glad that capitalism isn’t dead.
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