The Nike booth.

The Chinese mainland's sports goods sector used the coming Beijing Olympic Games to show its increasingly tech-laden wares at a closely-watched show in May. The 22nd China International Sporting Goods Show (China Sports Show) attracted the attention of the entire global industry.

With eight pavilions and a showground at the China International Exhibition Centre covering 120,000 sqm, this year's event was the largest in the show's history as well as the biggest sporting goods exhibition in the Asia-Pacific.

The show was divided into seven sections based on product category. They included the Olympics theme and sports resources section, the sportswear section, the outdoor sports sector, ping-pong equipment, tennis and badminton sections, as well as the sports ground equipment and facilities and ball games sectors. There was also a fitness and rehabilitation equipment section.

Nearly 1,000 Mainland and foreign companies took part in the show, which brought some 3,000 leading brands, including Nike, Adidas, Li Ning, Puma, Mizuno, Speedo, Anta, Xtep, Kangwei and Yonex. Major tennis and "high tech" brands such as Wilson, Slazenger, Technogym, LifeFitness, Impulse and Good Family were present under the same roof.

A pure-gold basketball shoe from Anta.

Opening ceremony for the China Sports Show.

The four-yearly Olympics is not just a great occasion for world athletes but also the best testing ground for sporting goods. Official figures show that the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be using sporting goods and facilities worth an estimated Rmb170 million.

Currently, annual sales of sporting goods amount to between Rmb30 billion and Rmb40 billion on the Mainland.

Driven by the rapid development of sports and the demand generated by the Beijing Olympics, China's sporting goods industry indeed expects strong growth.

Urban consumption for sports goods is moving from the low end at a steep trajectory. Growing demand from rural people for low to mid-range sporting goods is a real boost to market demand, but now especially where it comes to demand from those in more prosperous districts.

Sports marketing the focus of forums

A packed scene around one booth.

The renamed Chinese Sports Marketing Resources Show 2008 aimed to be "the best Chinese sports marketing resources exchange platform". Centred on the theme of "utilising local resources to add value to the Olympics and perpetuating the Olympic glory with quality Chinese products", various forums were held to examine post-Olympics market opportunities.

The show also staged an "interactive" counter at the event's Olympics pavilion, providing a platform for exchange, interaction and co-operation between suppliers and buyers.

To enrich the show's content, the organising committee for this year's China Sports Show presented a series of networking activities for industry associations during the four-day event.

These included the 2008 Annual Meeting of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry, the Sporting Goods Industry Development Forum, the Chinese Sports Marketing Resources Show 2008, the 2008 Chinese Sporting Goods Competition and the Chinese Sporting Goods Marketing Summit - all providing opportunities for sporting goods manufacturers to present their latest products.

Strong presence from Mainland enterprises

The crowded Li Ning booth.

Mainland-made sporting goods were in the limelight on the showground, reflecting the significant progress made by local industry players. According to an executive from Li Ning, world-renowned sporting goods brands such as Nike and Adidas have most of their products produced or processed on the Mainland.

The Mainland has over 25,000 sporting goods enterprises, while Mainland-made sporting goods have a 65% share of the global market.

However, "made in China" is still synonymous with low value-added production to many. So, the Mainland's sporting goods industry has been working hard to innovate and improve quality.

Kendo uniform produced in Tianjin.

The racing boats produced by Hangzhou Flying Eagle Boat Co were used by the national teams of Russia and other countries at the recent Athens Olympics. They displayed technological innovation that catapulted this rural enterprise into the Olympics arena.

To begin with, Hangzhou Flying Eagle's products were seen as knock-off and derivative, but eventually they dominated rowing events at the Athens Games.

The company's designers noticed that water unavoidably enters a boat in strong winds and high waves, so how to drain out the water was an important technical requirement. Flying Eagle overcame this problem - and won three state-level technological patents in just two years.

Chinese sporting goods have entered the world arena through increasing research and development. Thanks to technological and qualitative improvements, the more professional Mainland-made equipment is reaching international advanced standards.

A collectible table tennis racket.

The swimsuit catwalk.

Among the better-known brands of ping-pong equipment are Double Happiness and Double Fish. Equipment bearing the Taishan and Jinling trademarks for track and field, weightlifting and other events are used in international competitions.

Taishan Co Ltd, which supplies over 200 items of equipment for six major events at the Beijing Olympics, was the star at the show.

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) is very strict about the testing of equipment, because the slightest error in the manufacturing process could endanger athletes.

In the past, FIG only considered large companies in Europe and the US when choosing competition equipment. Now Taishan is in the premier league. The company has devoted resources and energy to equipment design.

"If you look carefully, you will find that when European athletes with a bigger build move on the horizontal bar, the bar bends under their weight. This has to do with the flexibility-rigidity ratio of the bar. Our research focuses on resolving this dilemma," said Cui Gang, deputy general manager of Taishan.

Taishan has R&D bases at the East China University of Science and Technology and Shandong University, employing Chinese and foreign experts. It sends researchers to training grounds to get first-hand feedback from coaches and athletes. "For example, Judo exponents will tell you what kind of mat is more comfortable. Their choice is a good test for our products," said one Taishan executive.

High-tech swimming outfits for the Beijing Olympics.

The impact of the Beijing Olympics on the Mainland's sporting goods industry can already be felt. Local brands have been accepted at the events, bringing tangible benefits to the industry.

"The Beijing Olympics comes as a rare opportunity for the Mainland's sporting goods manufacturing sector. The 2008 Games will probably give China a chance to see the birth of a top-notch global sports brand of its own," said Ma Jilong, secretary general of the China Sporting Goods Federation.

from special correspondent Xu Lin, Beijing