Anta Sports Products Ltd has replaced the head of its flagship Anta brand, as its ambitious retail transformation shows signs of slowing.
Xu Yang, CEO of the Anta brand, resigned for family reasons, the company said recently. Group co-CEO Lai Shixian has assumed the role effective immediately and will oversee the brand's daily operations. Anta said its medium- and long-term strategy for the core brand remains unchanged.
The management reshuffle comes after a three-year effort led by Xu to reposition Anta through an expansive direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategy, diversified store concepts and new premium product lines.
While the initiative strengthened the brand's operating capabilities, it also increased costs and failed to sustain the pace of growth targeted by management, according to an industry expert.
Revenue at the Anta brand rose to 34.75 billion yuan ($5.14 billion) in 2025 from 30.3 billion yuan three years earlier. Growth, however, slowed sharply, easing from 10.6 percent in 2024 to 3.7 percent in 2025. The performance fell short of the company's target, announced at its October 2023 Investor Day, of delivering a 10 percent to 15 percent compound annual growth rate in retail sales between 2023 and 2026.
Under Xu, Anta embarked on one of the industry's most extensive retail segmentation strategies, transforming a traditionally standardized store network into more than 10 specialized formats.
Among the largest initiatives was Super Anta, a hypermarket-style concept exceeding 1,000 square meters designed for value-oriented consumers. The company had initially planned to operate 160 locations by 2025, but currently has about 120.
Other concepts included Anta Collection SV, aimed at elevating the brand through premium sports-fashion positioning; Anta Champion, focused on professional sports; and ATSV, a footwear-specialty format. At its peak, the company operated more than 10 different retail formats simultaneously. Overseas, the brand expanded to 241 stores.
The brand also expanded its product portfolio. Annual sales of its PG7 running shoes exceeded 4 million pairs, and Anta signed NBA star Kyrie Irving to develop a signature basketball line.
The investments, however, generated only modest earnings growth.
In 2025, the operating profit for the Anta brand increased just 2.5 percent to 7.2 billion yuan. The company said the brand recorded only high single-digit growth in the first quarter of 2026.
Large-format Super Anta stores required significant investment in rent, labor and inventory because of their predominantly directly operated model. Meanwhile, Anta Collection SV expanded into premium shopping malls, where occupancy costs are high and operational efficiency requirements are more demanding.
Cheng Weixiong, founder of Shanghai Liangqi Brand Management Co, said many of the capabilities developed during Xu's tenure — including segmented merchandising, tiered store operations, professional-category research and development, and digital DTC systems — remain valuable long-term assets.
The challenge, Cheng said, was that the capital-intensive retail model was not well suited to Anta's mass-market product portfolio and franchise-based distribution network.
The proliferation of specialized business units increased organizational complexity, raised operating costs and made inventory management less efficient, said Cheng. Meanwhile, rapid expansion of directly operated premium stores diluted returns and disrupted the existing franchise ecosystem, he added.
Going forward, Cheng said Anta should retain its capabilities in category management, digital retail and product innovation while moderating investment in capital-intensive store formats and slowing the pace of direct retail expansion to improve profitability and inventory turnover.
