Anta Sports, one of China’s largest sporting goods brands, expects a slowdown in the same-store-sales growth of its retail partner stores for the third quarter of 2011 when compared with that of the last quarter. The company said the guidance was based on unaudited operational data currently available and was “in line with the recent challenging local sportswear retail market in China generally.”
The company also said it “expects a more relaxed and flexible policy on the retail discount” offered by the its retailers for the third quarter of 2011.
Anta said it has generally managed to implement its 4-year (years 2009 to 2012) store expansion plan (of an average of 600 to 800 new stores per year) in the first three years of implementation. The store expansion plan for 2012 will be “further ascertained and determined” by the company toward the end of 2011, taking into account, among other factors, the prevailing conditions of the retail industry in China.
While the orders placed at the company’s trade fair for the second quarter of 2012 have yet to be assessed and finalized, the Anta Board expects the trade fair growth rate to be lower than that for the first quarter of 2012, which is in line with the company’s strategy for that quarter.
