Fujian Sports Equipment Going Global: New Model of "One Centimeter Wide, One Kilometer Deep"

21st Century Business Herald Reporter Dong Jingyi, Fuzhou Report

In March, the exhibition hall of the 6th China Cross-Border E-Commerce Fair in Fuzhou was bustling with activity. Data shows that over 100,000 professional visitors attended.

The sports goods booths were especially lively, with a wide array of products ranging from traditional sports shoes and apparel to specialized climbing shoes, from Pickleball paddles to indoor fitness accessories, filling each booth with an impressive variety.

This was a collective showcase of Fujian’s sports goods industry cluster. Currently, this industry cluster is at a delicate crossroads.

Over the past few decades, it has supported half of the global sports footwear and apparel market with a highly developed supply chain. Anta and Xtep emerged from this land, becoming household names. But behind these giants, many companies are at the front end of the supply chain, OEMing for international brands and quietly earning their keep.

Now, the situation is changing. Being at the bottom of the smile curve means facing increasingly fierce competition. Domestic peers are flocking in, with industry clusters in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Hebei, and other regions forming one after another, leading to intensifying price wars; overseas markets are also turbulent, with fluctuating tariffs and shipping costs squeezing profits little by little.

At this point, simply “making products” is no longer enough.

“It’s not about whether you want to change; market laws determine that we must change in a certain direction and accept market education. If you stay the same, doing business will become more and more difficult,” said Su Yangbin, founder of Sanfan Sports in Fujian, to 21st Century Business Herald.

More companies are trying to find their place in the wave of going global. Some are entering niche segments, some are obsessing over materials and technology, and some have transformed from OEM factories into brand owners. The process isn’t easy, but it is happening.

A Hundred Miles of Industry

Walking into the cross-border fair, the sports goods displays are dazzling, covering nearly all categories of sports products. Behind this richness is a complete supply chain accumulated over decades in Fujian’s sports goods industry cluster.

Since the 1980s, cities like Jinjiang, Putian, and Quanzhou have been receiving overseas orders, gradually establishing a full supply chain from raw materials to finished products.

Nationwide, 50% of sports footwear and apparel supporting products are produced in Jinjiang; globally, one in five pairs of sports shoes is made in Jinjiang, one in five swimsuits and one in five jackets also come from Jinjiang.

Through years of accumulation, the industry cluster has evolved from producing ordinary sports shoes to specialized categories, from OEM to independent brands. Brands like Anta, Xtep, and 361°—all well-known today—grew out of this land.

Take Anta as an example. Since its founding in the 1990s, it has transitioned from an OEM to China’s top sports brand. In January 2026, Anta acquired a stake in Puma, becoming its largest single shareholder with 29.06%. This Jinjiang-based brand has now stepped onto the global stage.

Beyond leading brands, countless hidden supply chain champions form a unique industrial cluster ecosystem.黎长仁, general manager of Quanzhou Di’en Sports Goods Co., Ltd., attributes the advantages of Fujian’s sports goods industry cluster to one phrase: complete supply chain, upstream and downstream all present.

“Our radius of ten miles can supply all materials for a pair of shoes—from soles and molds to threads,”黎长仁 told reporters. He recalls that in his youth, he worked in Guangdong’s shoe industry, where the supply chain was scattered and required cross-regional procurement. In Jinjiang, you can even buy everything just downstairs.

Another Fujian company, Kairuilin, also exemplifies the deep accumulation of the industry cluster. Founded last November, it quickly launched a full range of Pickleball paddles, sportswear, shoes, and bags within just a few months.

（Kairuilin booth with Pickleball paddles, photo by Dong Jingyi）

“Being able to produce all these in just three months relies on the concentration of local sportswear brands in Fujian,” explained Xing Gongli, general manager of Quanzhou Kairuilin Sports Goods Co., Ltd. His parent company, Xingda, has been in the footwear and apparel industry for 30 years, accumulating rich resources and experience. “In Jinjiang, I can take a button and assemble a pair of shoes—that’s very normal.”

This clustering effect brings dual advantages of cost and efficiency, and also creates a perception among overseas clients of “Made in Fujian”: “Quality is acceptable, and prices are very reasonable.”

The industry’s deep roots also give Fujian companies more room to maneuver amid market changes. Su Yangbin told reporters that his company has gradually shifted from initial OEM to design and branding, but also increasingly feels the pressure of intensified industry competition.

“As the market changes, industries in Zhejiang, Guangdong, and other places also start producing sports goods. Our advantage has been somewhat diluted. But what remains in Jinjiang is the stability of quality and craftsmanship, which is hard for other regions to break through in the short term,” Su said.

When the benefits of low-price competition fade, the real moat for companies becomes the efficiency of the supply chain, stable craftsmanship, and continuous innovation.

Building High Walls in Deep Waters

“China doesn’t lack products; what it lacks is creativity,” Su Yangbin bluntly stated.

He observed that market polarization is becoming more pronounced: either the cheapest options or brands with design and quality assurance. The once-popular “middle-tier” customers—those with moderate volume and good profit margins—are gradually decreasing.

“Either you compete on price for traffic, or you move upward, focusing on quality and profit rather than volume,” Su explained.

Faced with these changes, Fujian companies are seeking new ways out.

Sanfan’s strategy is to avoid price wars and develop differentiated products. They launched a multi-functional product combining push-up support, resistance stretching, ski machines, and waist twist discs, assembled with clips for multiple uses. They registered structural patents in the U.S. and sell to local brands.

Some companies are shifting toward niche segments, like Di’en Sports.

Before 2012, Di’en also made general sports shoes. But with severe homogenization and unviable price wars, they pivoted to specialized competitive sports shoes. “One centimeter wide, one kilometer deep,”黎长仁 describes their current positioning.

Currently, over 80% of Di’en’s overseas business is from OEM. Initially, they provided design services, and clients produced the shoes. Later, with enough technical expertise, they moved into ODM, with clients adopting their designs. Eventually, they launched their own brand, PODARECK. “It’s a natural progression,” he says.

“Once, a salesperson received an inquiry from a Greek client looking for wrestling shoes of PODARECK quality. The salesperson said that’s our brand. The client didn’t believe it, so we sent the trademark registration certificate and translated it for him,”黎长仁 recalled.

From OEM to brand, this journey has taken many years for Fujian companies.黎长仁 notes that the brand wave in Jinjiang has gone through several phases. The earliest full-category players mostly didn’t succeed—“at most, one or two out of 100.” Now, many focus on niche segments—“focusing on tennis or wrestling shoes on Amazon, and being in the top ten is very possible.”

Competitive sports shoes require extremely high standards, where a difference of 0.1 seconds can decide the outcome, demanding special attention to grip and durability.

This professional threshold necessitates technological investment.黎长仁 revealed that their R&D expenses account for 20% of total investment—“a very high proportion.” They use new materials like nanotechnology and graphene, making shoes lightweight and functional. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the Canadian skeleton team’s racing shoes were made by them.

Similarly, Kairuilin is also seeking “one kilometer deep.” Backed by 30 years of experience in carbon fiber materials from Xingda Group and technical support from Fujian Haixia Graphene Industry Technology Research Institute, Kairuilin specializes in Pickleball equipment.

“These materials are non-replicable,” Xing Gongli told reporters. Their paddles retail domestically at 840 yuan and about $100 in the U.S., fitting the mainstream price range there. “Meets the requirements of the PTA tournament in the U.S., suitable for direct competition use.”

It’s clear that a new consensus is forming in Fujian’s sports goods industry cluster: rather than fighting over prices in the red ocean, it’s better to build high walls in the deep sea. As黎长仁 said, their goal is to “be a small king on this hill.”

This trend is accelerating.邓海, CEO of Fujian Mido Mido Network Technology Co., Ltd., told reporters that the advantages of traditional export “big three” are diminishing, and new channels and categories are emerging rapidly. Each product is becoming more segmented to meet specific customer needs, with digital marketing precisely targeting them. “It might look like a ball or a net, but now it incorporates many features to satisfy personalized needs and even emotional value.”

For companies in Fujian’s sports goods industry cluster, choices are becoming clearer. Some aim to be “big kings,” others want to be “small kings,” and some just want to carve out a “one kilometer deep” niche in a “one centimeter wide” field.

No matter which path they choose, it’s not easy now. But Fujian companies are striving to find their blue ocean amid the red sea, seeking a way to thrive without price wars.

Their story of going abroad is far from over.