361° Badminton Strategy: Discount Reliance & Growth Concerns

Another brand has ambitions for badminton.

In late June, a city match called “Hit-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It-I-It Through this competition, 361° showed off the new professional badminton shoes “Winning PRO”, which was matched with series of competition suits and racket accessories. This action marks the 361° of running and basketball that has been rooted in 361°, and has included badminton in the professional sports map for the first time.

The 361° entry into badminton was not a whim. In 2024, 361° Group’s revenue exceeded 10 billion yuan for the first time, reaching 10.07 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.6%; net profit was 1.149 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.5%.

However, there are still hidden concerns behind this record financial report. Even though it has reached the threshold of 10 billion, 361°’s money-making ability has not been significantly improved: its gross profit margin in 2024 is only 41.5%, which is higher than that of Anta (62.2%),Li Ning(49.4%) There is a certain gap. And high revenue comes from discounts to a certain extent, for example, the average wholesale price of sports children’s shoes has decreased by 5.1% year-on-year. Even so, 361° inventory remains at a high level: as of the end of 2024,361 degreesThe inventory reached 2.109 billion yuan, a significant increase of 56.2% from 1.35 billion yuan at the end of 2023; the inventory turnover days increased from 93 days in 2023 to 107 days, an increase of 14 days year-on-year.

361° is not unaware that over-reliance on discounts is short-termism. In the past two years, this company has been experiencing high-end access through advantageous vertical categories. For running category, 361° released the “CQT Carbon Critical Running Professional Matrix” at the end of 2023, covering a variety of running shoes such as Feiran 3, Feibiao Future 1.5, Speed ​​Float, Feiran 2 ET, etc., to cover the public to professional runners. The basketball category relies on Jokic signature shoes JOKER1 to open up the international market.

But these highlights still cannot hide their “back-to-back dilemma” in the professional track. According to data from professional running communities such as Yuepao Circle, 361° and other shoes such as Feiran 3 and Feibiao 2 are not as good as the competition.NikeBig brands such as Adidas are also lower than professional brands such as Soconi and HOKA. The preferred rate of professional runners is low, and the event is not exposed enough. In the existing basketball market, Jokic is obviously difficult to get along with a group of peopleNikeSigning stars to compete. On the product side, the Joker1 basketball shoes that passed the initial stage did not show a strong premium level.

In fact, the 361° dilemma reflects the collective anxiety of domestic second-tier sports brands. If you have a certain share in a certain category but never have a hit product and cannot reach the top scale, consumers’ recognition of brand professionalism will always be lacking in quality, making it difficult for the brand to break through the price ceiling.

It is this anxiety that makes 361° look at the badminton market and a vertical market with huge potential. According to data from the General Administration of Sports of China, badminton is the most involved ball sport in China, with a population of up to 250 million, accounting for 6.9% of national fitness. According to third-party institutions’ forecasts, badminton consumption in 2024 has approached 500 million. The owner of a sports goods collection store in Wuhan, Hubei told Interface News that the proportion of badminton products in his store has increased significantly in the past two years. “Around 2010, football and basketball products were the best sold, and now it has been badminton in the past two years. Currently, half of the store is used to display badminton products.”

At 361°, entering the badminton category is not a particularly large crossover. In the badminton product matrix, badminton shoes and badminton rackets are particularly reflected in the accumulation of brand technology. Most brands with names in the badminton market rely on these two flagship products. When 361° was held in Dongguan, World Youth Championship champion Lin Guipu was invited to stand. At that time, Lin Guipu was wearing a pair of winning PRO badminton shoes. “The most important performances of badminton shoes are shock cushioning, torsion resistance and wear resistance of the soles.” A Peng, a veteran badminton enthusiast and Guangdong native, told Interface News. The above items are also key technologies that are valued for running shoes and basketball shoes products, and have accumulated 361°.

Although the initial selection of products to enter the badminton market has been completed, the 361° breakthrough is destined to be not easy. At present, the global badminton equipment market has been firmly controlled by the three giants, YONEX, VICTOR,Li NingThe first echelon formed has an absolute advantage. Interface News learned from insiders that on a mainstream e-commerce platform, the above three brands jointly control more than 60% of the online share of badminton. If we specifically look at the two products of badminton rackets and badminton shoes, the proportion will be even larger.

After visiting many badminton halls in Shanghai, the reporter found that the logos of the above three brands cover almost all professional venues on the stadium display cabinet and threader workbench. A threader from a stadium in Qingpu District, Shanghai told Interface News: “There are many people who come to play basketball if they just wear dozens of quick-drying clothes. But 90% of them still recognize these three brands.”

Such high popularity is the most feared thing that the badminton track is the one that makes the badminton track most afraid. Taking YONEX as an example, the price of its high-end racket Tianxun 100ZZ in the secondary market once soared from the original price of tags of 1,754 yuan to more than 3,500 yuan; the “Noble in the Ball” badminton AS-05 soared from 100 yuan per play to 200 yuan. Even so, the halo of the top brands still allowed YONEX to gain preference from consumers: in 2024, the Asian market where the mainland Chinese market is located contributed nearly half (49.2%) of net sales, with annual revenue of 67.999 billion yen (about 3.392 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 24.0%. Its growth rate and growth rate are the most prominent among the four major markets of YONEX.

This premium capability is based on the monopoly of endorsement of top athletes and event sponsorship. All five gold medals in the badminton event at the Paris Olympics were won by YONEX sponsored players;Li NingRelying on the layout of the entire industrial chain and the emotional connection with Chinese consumers, VICTOR has received great exposure in badminton events – in 2024, the brand provided official equipment for the Thoms Cup and Uber Cup, and became a sponsor of the 1,000-level China Open and the 2024 year-end finals.

Faced with the first-comer advantages of the three major brands, the differentiated route chosen by 361° is to surround the market at low prices, that is, to anchor the mass consumption and the sinking market. Interface News saw that the average price of the three most popular badminton rackets (including dealer online store data) in 361° will not exceed 50 yuan, and the price advantage is obvious. This ultimate cost-effective strategy is synergistic with its channel layout for heavy investment in the sinking market: According to data provided by 361°, as of the end of 2024, more than 70% of 361°’s stores were located in third-tier and below cities, and stores in first-tier cities accounted for only 5.2%.

The 361° event positioning is also aimed at popularization. The “Hit-up” city tournament did not invite top stars, but set up a relatively low “361 match system” to attract local friends to join the team. The location selection in Dongguan, Guangdong is also different from the Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen that most brands prefer.

361° is currently more restrained in the badminton category. When the brand announced its entry into the new track, it only launched regional events and small-scale basic product lines. In terms of signing sponsorship of large-scale events, professional teams and professional stars, 361° did not make much move. Whether the badminton category can become the next stage of 361° growth surprise remains to be tested by the market.