Reebok aims to be fitness leader

Fitness player Reebok said on Tuesday that it is expanding its FitHub chain in China, aiming to be the nation’s best fitness brand and to grab more of the growing market.

According to a note sent to the Global Times, the company said it plans to open 500 FitHub stores by 2020, with 50 scheduled to open in 2017.

In the past few months, the company has opened seven of its signature FitHub stores across the nation, including Wuhan in Central China’s Hubei Province, Qingdao in East China’s Shandong Province and Hangzhou in East China’s Zhejiang Province, as well as a new store in Beijing in January 2017, the company said.

“China represents the future of the fitness market, and no country develops faster than China,” Chad Wittman, Reebok’s greater China general manager, said at a press conference in Beijing. The timing is right because the fitness revolution is taking place across the country, and it will continue to accelerate for some years, Wittman added.

Driven by the booming market, the General Administration of Sports of China said the scale of the sector is expected to exceed 3 trillion yuan ($ 435.80 billion) by 2020, and more players are getting deeply involved in the market.

Reuters has reported that Chinese sportswear maker Li Ning Co recorded net profit of 643.3 million yuan in 2016, lifted by a gain from the disposal of a stake in a subsidiary and stronger online sales. ANTA Sports Products said its 2016 net profit jumped 17 percent to a record high, buoyed by solid growth.

Reebok has repositioned itself as an entirely fitness- focused brand with innovative product technology, and it is forging powerful and exclusive global strategic partnerships.

Reebok focuses on three key categories: running, training and classics. Running will be a key focus for Reebok in 2017 in China, given its surge in popularity in recent years, the company said.