(Yicai Global) May 10 -- The resumption of physical sports drove a significant rebound in sales of sports gear and wear in China, including sneakers, in the first quarter of this year.

Adidas posted worldwide revenue of EUR5.3 billion (USD5.8 billion) in the three months ended March 31, with China contributing EUR884 million (USD968 million), up 70 percent from a quarter earlier, according to its recent earnings report. Sales at the firm’s self-operated stores notched up double-digit growth.

The first-quarter results in China were better than expected, and the German sportswear maker remains optimistic about medium- and long-term development in the market, Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden said in the report.

China’s Anta Sports Products recently released data showing that first-quarter retail sales of Anta brand products rose between 4 percent and 6 percent from the same period of last year. Sales of Fila-branded goods, whose trademark Anta acquired in 2009 for the China mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao, jumped between 7 percent and 9 percent.

In addition, retail sales of Chinese brand Xtep grew about 20 percent from the same period last year. Li-Ning's retail turnover in offline channels jumped by 10 percent to 20 percent year on year, but online sales sank between 10 percent and 20 percent.

But from the perspective of first-quarter revenue growth, sports brands in China are still in a weak recovery state, because the base in 2022 was not low, Sealand Securities noted in a report. The sneakers business has recovered more strongly than sportswear, according to online business analysis.

Meanwhile, the resumption of mass sports has also driven the recovery of sales of professional sports equipment, the report said.

A marathon, for example, can directly boost sales of sports shoes and apparel. The Shanghai Half Marathon, which has been working with Adidas for nine years, returned after a two-year gap, becoming this year’s first road-running event in Shanghai with more than 10,000 participants.

In addition, Beijing, Changchun, and Qinhuangdao have also started registration for marathon events.

Editor: Peter Thomas