The analysis here covers how sport and lifestyle brands actually operate in Asia. It runs on public information and established frameworks, not on client work.
Many brands and investors working with us read something here first. Journalists use the same material to check a claim before they run it.
Longer pieces run on Medium, and the newsletter on Substack carries shorter notes as they happen.
New work goes out by email before it appears here. Subscribe →
A&F's own financial disclosure shows the strategy started back in March.
Puma ties its China wholesale slowdown to Anta's stake purchase, which has not closed yet.
A record quarter, and a question the filings cannot answer.
Nike closes thousands of online storefronts in China from January 2027.
ESPN reports the deal at more than US$400 million over ten years. The sell-side break-even runs on signature shoe volume, the one piece of the deal everyone can see and the smallest piece of what it creates. Why the signature was never meant to pay, where the volume and margin actually sit, and what Curry is worth beyond the shoe.
Why acquiring a foreign brand works for some buyers and destroys others. Why Anta succeeded with FILA and Amer Sports, why BenQ-Siemens collapsed, and the strategic blind spot inside Nike and Adidas's asset-light bet.
Four archetypes for the brands gaining ground in China sportswear. Anta acquires, Li-Ning concentrates, On specializes, Adidas localizes. Why Nike fits none of them, and why that gap is structural.
Quoted on China consumer and sport markets by Bloomberg, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Nikkei Asia, the BBC, Footwear News, and Het Financieele Dagblad. Shorter analysis and earnings reactions run on LinkedIn.
We advise brands on decisions they have already committed to making.
See how engagements work →Analysts covering the category ask about the operating reality behind the reported numbers. Consultations and commissioned work are scoped on enquiry.
Send a research enquiry →