(Yicai Global) May 4 -- Some sports brands have reported a pickup in sales in China in the first quarter of the year after the country eased its Covid-19 prevention and control measures.

US sports shoe brand Skechers posted a 10 percent jump in global sales to USD2 billion in the three months ended March 31, boosted by a 3 percent gain in the Chinese market.

China’s sportswear market has been recovering since the start of this year and is expected to reach CNY401 billion (USD58.1 billion) this year, up 10.5 percent from 2022, and CNY551 billion in 2027, according to estimates from market research institute Euromonitor International.

The sports sector is booming, said Haitong Securities analyst Shi Shengkai, who noted that China will remain the fastest-growing region in the sportswear field in the next five years.

Sales by Chinese sportswear giant Xtep, which cut prices by 25 percent to 30 percent in the quarter, jumped 20 percent. Anta Sports Products also saw first-quarter sales growth. Sales of its Anta and Fila brand products rose 4 percent to 6 percent and 7 percent to 8 percent, respectively. Its other brands logged a combined surge of 75 percent to 80 percent.

Outlet sales of adult goods made by Chinese sporting products giant Li Ning logged single-digit growth between January and March. Its direct channel sales jumped 10 percent to 20 percent, and those from wholesale channels edged up 4 percent to 6 percent. Online sales fell between 10 percent and 20 percent.

Overall retail sales of textiles and clothing in China climbed 12.7 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. They jumped 17.7 percent in March alone.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione