案例分析 李寧爲何不敵耐克和阿迪

The story

情況

Gymnast Li Ning became a Chinese hero in 1984 when he won six medals at the Los Angeles Olympics, the country’s first appearance at a summer games in 32 years.

體操運動員李寧在1984年成爲中國人的英雄，當時他在洛杉磯奧運會上贏得6枚獎牌。那屆奧運會是新中國時隔32年之後參加的首屆夏季奧運會。

By 1990 he had set up his own sportswear company, Li-Ning. It was an immediate hit, and in 1999 the company’s revenues in China reached Rmb700m, more than twice Nike’s Rmb300m and Adidas’s Rmb100m.

到了1990年，李寧創立了自己的運動服裝企業李寧公司(Li-Ning)。李寧公司可謂一鳴驚人，1999年，該公司在華收入達7億元人民幣，是耐克(Nike)和阿迪達斯(Adidas)的兩倍以上——這兩家公司在華收入分別爲3億元人民幣和1億元人民幣。

The challenge

挑戰

The growing spending power of China’s middle-class consumers and their appetite for foreign brands, combined with the surging popularity of basketball and football – with which Nike and Adidas were associated – helped the two overseas companies win more sales in China than Li-Ning.

中國中產階級消費者的消費能力日益增強，而且他們青睞國外品牌，再加上籃球和足球在中國的受歡迎程度急劇飆升（耐克主打籃球相關產品，而阿迪達斯主打足球相關產品），這讓耐克和阿迪達斯的在華銷售額超過了李寧公司。

The strategy

策略

Initially, there was little overlap in the market segments targeted by Li-Ning and its foreign rivals. The Chinese company offered mass-market leisurewear and Nike and Adidas sold professional-standard athletic wear; Li-Ning was market leader in China’s second and third-tier cities, while Nike and Adidas were in Beijing and Shanghai.

最初，李寧公司與國外競爭對手的目標市場重合度很低。李寧公司賣的是大衆市場休閒服裝，耐克和阿迪達斯賣的是專業標準的運動服裝；李寧公司是中國二、三線城市的市場領軍者，耐克和阿迪達斯是北京和上海的市場領軍者。

But after 2001, when China won the bid to host the 2008 Olympics, interest in sports reached new heights. Li-Ning tried to emulate its foreign rivals’ marketing tactics.

但在2001年（那年中國贏得了2008年奧運會舉辦權）之後，中國人對體育的興趣達到了新的高度。李寧公司試圖效仿國外競爭對手的營銷策略。

Brand ambassadors: The overseas companies used celebrity athletes such as American basketball players Michael Jordan (Nike) and Kobe Bryant (Adidas). Nike also signed three of China’s globally successful sports stars: hurdler Liu Xiang, tennis champion Li Na and NBA star Yao Ming.

品牌大使：海外公司聘請明星運動員作爲品牌大使，比如耐克與美國籃球運動員邁克爾•喬丹(Michael Jordan)簽約，阿迪達斯與科比•布萊恩特(Kobe Bryant)簽約。耐克還與三名在全球取得成功的中國體育明星簽約，他們是跨欄運動員劉翔、網球冠軍李娜和美職籃(NBA)球星姚明。

Because Mr Li was his brand’s biggest ambassador, consumers began associating Li-Ning only with gymnastics goods.

由於李寧是李寧公司最重要的品牌大使，消費者一開始只將李寧品牌與體操用品聯繫起來。

Sponsorship: Nike-sponsored activities focused on basketball, while Adidas did the same with football. Li-Ning sponsored sports where China traditionally dominated, such as diving and gymnastics, but these did not have the same youth appeal.

贊助：耐克主要贊助籃球領域的活動，阿迪達斯主攻足球領域。李寧公司贊助的是中國傳統的體育強項，比如跳水和體操，但這些運動對年輕人的吸引力沒有足球和籃球那麼大。

After its 2004 initial public offering, Li-Ning bought the rights to use the NBA logo and players in its marketing and advertising in China. But it could only afford to sponsor lower profile teams and events.

2004年進行首次公開發行(IPO)後，李寧公司購買了在華營銷和廣告中使用NBA標識及其運動員的權利。但它只贊助得起知名度較低的球隊和活動。

Mr Li lit the cauldron that signalled the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but Adidas won sponsorship of those games, which gave it the right to clothe the Chinese teams.

李寧點燃了標誌着2008年北京奧運會開幕的主火炬，但阿迪達斯贏得了那屆奧運會的贊助權，這讓該公司有權爲中國隊提供服裝。

Logos and slogans: The “L” logo of Li-Ning bore a marked resemblance to Nike’s swoosh, while its “Anything is Possible” slogan was not so different from Nike’s “Just do it”.

標識和廣告語：李寧公司的“L”品牌標識與耐克的“旋風”(Swoosh)標識驚人地相似，同時它的“一切皆有可能”(Anything is Possible)廣告語也與耐克的“想做就做”(Just Do It)沒多大差別。

In 2010, hoping to appeal to the “post-1990s-born” generation, Li-Ning launched a fresh campaign. But the new logo and slogan, “Make the Change”, did not excite the target audience and alienated its original, now older, customer base.

2010年，爲了吸引“90後”一代人，李寧公司啓動了一項新的努力。但新的口號“來改變吧”(Make the Change)卻沒有激發目標受衆的熱情，而且還疏遠瞭如今已上了歲數的原始客戶羣。

Pricing: Li-Ning raised its prices in 2010 but premium-segment consumers found the quality of Nike and Adidas was still better, while lower and mid-price-segment consumers chose cheaper, local brands.

定價：李寧在2010年提價，但高端客戶發現耐克和阿迪達斯的品質仍然要更好一些，而中低端客戶選擇了其他價格更低的國內品牌。

What happened

結果

Li-Ning grew from 3,373 outlets at the end of 2005 to 6,245 outlets three years later, including new stores in cities with Olympic venues. Although revenues jumped 54 per cent in 2008, moving Li-Ning ahead of Adidas, the latter had overtaken again by 2010.

李寧公司在2005年末有3373家門店，三年後發展到6245家門店，包括在奧運項目舉辦城市開設的新門店。儘管李寧公司在2008年收入飆升54%、從而超過了阿迪達斯，但後者到了2010年又再次領先於李寧公司。

Inflation and slower economic growth began to affect consumer sentiment and in 2011 growth in sportswear overall fell to 13 per cent from 20 per cent in 2010. Sales revenues in 2011 for Nike, Adidas and Li-Ning respectively were about $2bn, $1.7bn and $1.4bn. In the first half of 2012, Nike and Adidas had rising sales, whereas Li-Ning experienced declines .

通脹和經濟增長放緩開始影響消費者信心。2011年，運動服裝銷售的整體增長從2010年的20%降至13%。耐克、阿迪達斯和李寧公司在2011年的銷售收入分別爲20億、17億和14億美元。2012年上半年，耐克和阿迪達斯銷售增長，而李寧公司銷售下滑。

The lessons

教訓

Li NIng failed to adapt as the market developed, and the positioning confused consumers. Its logo and slogans were too similar to competitors’, which led consumers to think it was an imitator.

李寧公司未能適應市場的發展，其定位讓消費者困惑。該公司的標識和廣告語與競爭對手過於相似，這讓消費者認爲它是一個模仿者。

Brands must know their audience and innovate constantly to match consumers’ changing tastes. A brand that raises prices must make a corresponding increase in quality.

品牌公司必須瞭解自己的受衆，不斷創新以迎合消費者不斷變化的品味。一個品牌要想提價，必須相應提高其品質。

The writers are, respectively, dean and vice-president, a former research assistant, and a visiting researcher at Ceibs

本文作者分別是中歐國際工商學院(CEIBS)副院長兼教務長、前研究助理和客座研究員