Faced with a major surplus of inventory, Nike says it will open between 40 and 50 factory outlets in China this year. Each Nike factory outlet is planned to take up over 5,000 square feet, and will sell athletic shoes and apparel discounted by between 60% and 70%. This is good news for bargain hunters, but bad news for domestic sportswear outlets.
Previously, Nike has concentrated its Chinese business in major cities like Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai, but the apparel powerhouse plans to expand its reach into the secondary cities, which are currently dominated by domestic Chinese athletic brands.
An unnamed representative from ANTA, a Chinese sportswear company, told Chinese newspaper National Business Daily that he doubted most domestic brands will be up to the challenge. “Other sportswear brand stores of discount outlets have difficulty surviving around Nike’s factory outlets,” he said.