Anta Sports Products said retail sales of its namesake brand fell by a mid-single-digit percentage in the third quarter from a year earlier, and sales of its Fila brand fell by a low-single-digit percentage. Five days later, rival Li Ning reported that its own retail sell-through dropped by a low-single-digit percentage over the same three months.

The updates, filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Oct. 21 and Oct. 26, show that China's consumer slowdown has now reached two of the country's leading domestic sportswear brands. For investors in Hong Kong, where both companies are listed, the figures matter heading into the Singles Day online shopping festival on Nov. 11.

Anta and Fila turn negative after a growing second quarter

The reversal at Anta was sharp. In its update for the second quarter, published in July, the company said retail sales of both the Anta and Fila brands had grown by a low-single-digit percentage, and by mid single digits for the first half as a whole. Three months later, both brands were shrinking.

Anta's smaller labels, which include the outdoor brands Descente and Kolon Sport, kept growing. Retail sales of all other brands rose 25% to 30% in the third quarter, the same pace as in the second quarter, though below the 35% to 40% growth they recorded over the first half, the filings showed. The figures exclude Amer Sports and brands that joined the group after Jan. 1, 2025.

Anta reports retail sales only in ranges and stresses that they are unaudited operating indicators, not revenue. The numbers include sales by its franchisees and distributors, both in stores and online.

InnovestX Securities, a Thai brokerage, said in a Thai-language note on Oct. 22 that the Anta brand's decline was steeper than it had expected, while Fila's drop was in line. The brokerage attributed the weakness to soft consumer spending and unfavorable weather, and said sales began recovering in September and continued through the Golden Week holiday in early October. According to the note, Anta's management said the weakness was concentrated in July and August, kept its full-year sales and margin targets, and expected a recovery in the fourth quarter. The brokerage also said the Anta brand's online selling prices after discounts had fallen by a further 2 percentage points.

Anta also has a new moving part. On Oct. 7 it said it had completed the purchase of a 29.06% stake in Puma, the German sportswear brand, made up of about 43 million shares, with the transfer taking effect that day.

Li Ning's stores weaken as online sales grow

Li Ning said sell-through at its main-brand outlets, excluding its children's line, fell by a low-single-digit percentage in the quarter ended Sept. 30. Offline sales dropped by a mid-single-digit percentage. Within that, its directly run stores were flat and sales through franchised distributors fell by mid single digits. Its e-commerce business grew by a high-single-digit percentage.

The company had 6,099 main-brand points of sale in China at the end of September, a net increase of 36 from the end of June. So far this year it has closed a net 61 directly run outlets while distributors added a net 69. Its Li-Ning Young children's chain shrank by a net 25 outlets in the quarter, to 1,491.

On the same day, Li Ning said its board would meet on Nov. 5 to consider declaring a special dividend. The company gave no amount and said the payout may or may not be approved.

Official data show sports goods lagging

The company figures match the national picture. Retail sales of sports and recreational articles fell 1.1% in September from a year earlier and were down 3.4% for the first nine months, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Apparel, footwear and textiles rose just 1.2% in September, compared with 4.6% growth for the year to date.

Overall retail sales of consumer goods rose 1.1% in September to 4.24 trillion yuan, the statistics bureau said. That was faster than the 0.4% pace in August and beat the 0.5% gain economists had expected, Anadolu Agency reported. Much of the drag came from cars, where sales fell 21.2%. Excluding autos, retail sales grew 3.9%.

The weakness is not limited to sportswear. Toymaker Pop Mart said last month that its third-quarter revenue fell by as much as 50% as demand for its Labubu dolls faded, even as China's economy grew 4.5% in the third quarter on the strength of its factories.

The next test comes quickly. Li Ning's board meets on Nov. 5 on the special dividend, and Singles Day peaks on Nov. 11. After that, the statistics bureau's October retail figures will show whether the Golden Week holiday that Anta pointed to as a bright spot carried through to the wider market.