Sports Shoe Wars Summary

Often regarded as a goldmine by the corporate world due to the potential size of its market, China in recent years has been considered by many international firms to show great promise in terms of earning returns on foreign direct investment. This large, emerging economy has thus become the most attractive and ideal site for numerous industries in regards to the expansion of operations. An example of such can be seen in the documentary, Sport Shoe Wars: Battle of the Giants in China, which depicts the rivalry between Li-Ning, Adidas and Nike in their race for market leadership of the sporting goods industry in China. It further goes on to explain how each of the three companies were attempting to leverage the importance of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing to ultimately become the dominant brand in China. The documentary examines the different strategies taken by the three companies in their pursuit to gain China’s market share, while simultaneously uses excerpts taken from numerous Chinese consumers to explain both how the sporting goods industry has changed the landscape of urban China as well as the ideals of customers in regards to sportswear. Ultimately, Sport Shoe Wars: Battle of the Giants in China delivers an exceptional overview of the competitive landscape in China within the sporting goods industry and the changes to Chinese culture which the expansion of international businesses brought about.

The documentary begins by examining the different strategies implemented by each of the three firms, which are then used to further explicate the companies’ ideals and thoughts behind gaining market share in China. The first brand to be analyzed in the video is Adidas, which is portrayed as being the firm that gives significance to quality, innovation and performance. The video goes on to display a training session for retailers, which suggests that Adidas ensures its retailers are well informed of their products in order to educate customer such products, to...