ANTA Sports Products Limited, a leading branded sportswear enterprise in China, is pleased to announce that ANTA, the brand established by the Company, has been named one of the "Best China Brands 2015" for the sixth consecutive year by Interbrand, the world's largest integrated brand consultancy.
According to the ranking, ANTA moved up one place to 26th from 27th last year as its brand value rose by 9% y-o-y to RMB8.124 billion. It is also the only Chinese sportswear brand to be shortlisted for two consecutive years. This not only underscores the unrivaled strength of ANTA's brand equity and its competitive edge, but also reflects the public's strong recognition of ANTA and its products.
In addition to winning two investor relations awards at the "Asian Excellence Awards 2015" organised by Corporate Governance Asia magazine, ANTA Sports was also named "Best IR Company - Mid Cap" and "Best IR Presentation Collaterals - Mid Cap" at the inaugural HKIRA Investor Relations Awards organised by the Hong Kong Investor Relations Association ("HKIRA").
These designations once again demonstrate investors' widespread recognition for the Company's excellent performance in investors relations and its efforts in complying with best practices in investor relations over the years.
Besides, the Company continued to carry out social responsibility initiatives and held the "Charity Hour, Athletes at Service" program, an innovative sports charity model which allows close interaction between the public and celebrity athletes so as to motivate more people to participate in sports.
Proceeds from sales for the program are donated to benefit national youth sports development. The first "Charity Hour, Athletes at Service" event was held at the ANTA Store at Shawan Road, Jinniu District, Chengdu, where Grand Slam doubles tennis champion Zheng Jie, Winter Olympics silver medalist and freestyle skiing world champion Li Nina, Winter Olympics silver medalist and figure skating world champion Zhang Dan, as well as ex-Chinese national basketball team member and star CBA player Liu Ziqiu, became salespersons to provide passionate and professional sales services to customers.
During the one-hour event, the celebrity athletes racked up sales totalling RMB152,160, which will be donated to help promote sports among underprivileged young people in Sichuan Province.
Meanwhile, ANTA's first "Sport-All for All" charity project was held in Deyang, also in Sichuan Province, to allow local children to realise the Olympic spirit and experience the joy of sports, as well as to stimulate active participation in sports among children.
The project included a charitable donation campaign and face-to-face interaction between Olympic champions and children. ANTA Sports donated a total of RMB1 million worth of sportswear to the Deyang Municipal Sports Bureau.
Renowned athletes such as Winter Olympics freestyle skiing champion Han Xiaopeng, Winter Olympics silver medalist and freestyle skiing world champion Li Nina, Winter Olympics and world champion mixed figure skater Zhang Dan, ex-Chinese national basketball team member and star CBA player Liu Ziqiu and Zhu Dong, etc., shared stories detailing their personal growth with the students of Deyang Olympic Talent School.
The project also involved interactive games and all involved wishing Beijing success in its bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.