The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2009–2021
Anta revived loss-making FILA China by buying back every store
Anta bought loss-making FILA China in 2009, converted dealer stores to company-run retail, and grew it from 50 shops to ¥20bn+ revenue.
Anta Sports (安踏体育) · FILA
The solution
In 2009 Anta bought FILA's China business from Belle when it had about 50 stores and was losing money. In 2011 the new chief, Yao Weixiong, repositioned it as premium sports-fashion and began converting distribution to 100% direct retail.
Over three years Anta bought stores back from dealers one by one. Wholesale typically hides demand for 8–9 months; direct retail put every store's sales in Anta's own ERP.
When the 2012 sportswear glut hit (reportedly ¥38.2bn of industry stock), wholesale rivals like Kappa saw dealers vanish by three-quarters and inventory grow 5–6x; FILA absorbed the shock in a year and turned profitable in 2014.
FILA China passed ¥10bn retail revenue in 2018 and ¥20bn in 2021; store count reached 1,981 by June 2024, making FILA about a third of Anta's group revenue.
Why it worked
- Direct retail reveals true demand instead of dealer orders.
- Premium pricing survives when the brand controls the store experience.
- Inventory shocks are absorbed by the brand, not abandoned dealers.
- Store-level data makes markdown decisions weeks faster.
What can be applied
When you're repositioning a brand upward, control the channel: wholesale hands pricing and inventory decisions to people who can't see the end customer.
Aftermath
Growth slowed after 2022 (¥21.5bn, −1.4%) because same-store sales alone must carry a fully direct chain; FILA changed leadership in 2025 and refocused on tennis, golf and elite running while closing weak stores.
Sources
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