(Yicai Global) July 26 -- Erke has seen a jump in popularity since it announced a CNY50 million (USD7.7 million) donation to flood-stricken central Henan province, prompting netizens to band together to give the struggling Chinese sportswear maker better support.

Erke shifted over CNY100 million worth of goods on a live sales event hosted on short video platform Douyin on July 24. Some orders will not be shipped until after Aug. 16 due to a lack of delivery staff, it said. Its store on Alibaba Group Holding’s e-commerce platform Taobao has seen the number of followers swell to more than 11 million.

There were questions raised on social media whether the Jinjiang, southeastern Fujian province-based company, which has been in financial difficulties since 2011 and was booted off the Singapore Stock Exchange last year, could honor this commitment.

President Wu Rongzhao responded today that the firm has already sent some supplies and will continue to fulfill its obligations.

Last year, Erke reported revenue of CNY2.8 billion (USD432 million), less than a twelfth of that posted by leading sports brand Anta.

Editors: Liu Xiaojie, Kim Taylor