LI-NING: FROM OLYMPIC HERO TO GLOBAL SPORTS BRAND

A legend sets the brand in motion

Mr. Li Ning, the founder of the Li-Ning brand, was a former Chinese gymnastic sensation – known as the “Prince of Gymnastics”. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, he won three gold, two silver and one bronze medals – and became a folk hero in China. After retiring from sports in 1988, he founded Li-Ning Company Limited in 1989/1990, based in Beijing.

From national pride to global player

The company became the first Chinese sports brand to be listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2004. Li‑Ning grew rapidly and took over the role of market leader in China – with over 6,000 stores in all provinces and regions as early as around 2017 .

In recent years, they have even appeared at Paris and New York Fashion Week, positioning themselves as a hybrid between performance sports and modern design.

When badminton, running and racket sports meet

Li-Ning focuses on research, product development and retail – within footwear, clothing and equipment for both elite and recreational players. This is perhaps why Li-Ning has a strong presence in the badminton world. For many years, Li-Ning was the official sponsor of the Chinese national badminton team and has collaborated with the Badminton World Federation since 2013, supporting international tournaments such as the China Open and the World Tour Finals. They have also sponsored big names such as Pusarla Sindhu, Srikanth Kidambi, Yuta Watanabe and the Danish Kim Astrup & Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.

For runners, they have established running classes and running events such as the Li‑Ning 10K Run League and various marathon sponsorships in China – e.g. Beijing, Shenzhen and Hangzhou.

A brand with ambitions

In addition to Chinese dominance, Li‑Ning is actively working on global expansion – especially in Europe – where they collaborate with official distributors such as us .

At the same time, they have modernized their branding with slogans like “Anything is Possible” and “Let the Change Occur” / “Make the Change” , and markets like sports + fashion brands are constantly intersecting.

How big are they then?

In 2024, Li‑Ning had a turnover of almost 26 billion Danish kroner with growth of over 3.9% from the previous year. Their global ambition extends to becoming one of the five largest sports brands in the world, with at least 20% of turnover from foreign markets . They are increasingly challenging clothing and sports brands around the world.