A leading annual footwear exhibition is expected to help promote the country's strategy of developing the sports industry and facilitate the industrial transformation of local garment and shoe manufacturing enterprises.

The Jinjiang Footwear and Sports Industry International Exposition, which was launched in 1999, opened on Monday and will last through Thursday in Jinjiang, Fujian province, which is known as China's footwear capital.

This year's event is organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the China National Light Industry Council and sponsored by the Quanzhou city government, the Fujian Provincial Chamber of International Commerce, the China Leather and Footwear Industry Research Institute and the China Leather Industry Association.

Some 1,800 large world-class booths have been set up for the event, which has attracted companies and experts from more than 70 countries and regions, including France, Germany, Italy and Australia. The area of the exhibition hall at this year's expo totals 50,000 square meters.

Over the past 17 years, the expo has played a crucial role in boosting the development of the city's shoe manufacturing industry and promoting the awareness of local footwear brands around the country and throughout the world, including Anta, Xtep and 361 Degrees.

In November 2007, Jinjiang was named a national base for the sports industry, after Shenzhen, Guangdong province; and Chengdu, Sichuan province, by the General Administration of Sport of China.

In 2014, the output of Jinjiang's sports industry surpassed 100 billion yuan ($15.42 billion), a record for the output of a single industry in the city, according to the local statistics bureau.

In 2015, the output of the city's sports industry topped 110 billion yuan, accounting for 29.7 percent of its total industrial output. The added value of its sports industry reached 38 billion yuan, accounting for 23.75 percent of the city's GDP.

The city is home to 42 national-level brands of sports goods and 21 listed sports goods manufacturing enterprises, Of these, 361 Degrees is an official sponsor of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games; Shuhua Co, a sports goods and fitness equipment manufacturer, is an official supplier to the Chinese Olympic Committee; and Anta Sports Products Ltd is a strategic partner of the committee.

The sales revenue of Anta surpassed 10 billion yuan last year, with its gross margin reaching 46.62 percent. The company has set the goal of increasing its annual sales revenue to 100 billion within 10 years through acquisitions and operation of multi-brands.

New highlights

What makes this year's expo different from the previous events is that it has been upgraded from a footwear exposition to a comprehensive sports industrial exposition. The move conforms to the national strategy of promoting sports industrial development and also meets the demand for the reform of local sportswear and footwear manufacturing enterprises.

The upgrade will also help optimize the structure of the city's sports industry and improve its image as a sports manufacturing center with global influence, said Ding Feng, deputy mayor of the city, at a news conference ahead of the event in Beijing late last month.

"We will spare no effort to make sure that this year's expo will be an international comprehensive high-end platform that gathers sporting goods, sports marketing resources, sports culture and sports technology," said Liu Wenru, mayor of Jinjiang, at the news conference.

The event, which is aimed at helping sports companies build brands with global reach, features such issues as supply-side structural reform, innovative development trends of the sports industry and the country's Internet Plus strategy, Liu said.

New pavilions for swimwear, sports equipment and sports e-commerce has been set up for the first time at the event, which highlights all industrial chains this year, he said.

The Jinjiang Swimwear Industrial Association has organized some 40 enterprises to set up booths in the swimwear pavilion.

A number of e-commerce giants, including Amazon, JD Mall and Suning, are displaying their latest products and technology in the sports e-commerce pavilion.

An app that features information releases, products exhibitions, online settlement and data analysis is being developed to facilitate participation.

A 1,500 sq m South Korea fashion pavilion has also been launched to introduce the country's latest outdoor gear to the Chinese market. The pavilion is being operated by a group of established South Korean entrepreneurs and experts.

Huge market potential

The output of China's booming sports industry is estimated to reach at least 5 trillion yuan within 10 years. Faced with such huge market potential, Jinjiang is pushing the integrated development of its sports industry and other sectors including culture, tourism, finance and the Internet.

In 2012, the city built five provincial demonstration bases for industrial tourism and 21 city-levels bases as well as three provincial-level sightseeing factories.

In 2015, Anta Sports Products received more than 20,000 visitors, which generated sales revenue of nearly 10 million yuan.

In recent years, the city has also sponsored a range of sports competitions, including the China Basketball Association games, the National Beach Volleyball Competitions and the final round of the China Bodybuilding and Fitness Competition, and generated revenue of more than 50 million yuan.

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Foreign businessmen discuss sports shoes from 361 Degrees at the Jinjiang Footwear and Sports Industry International Exposition on Monday in Jinjiang, Fujian province. Hu Meidong / China Daily

The Jinjiang Footwear and Sports Industry International Exposition opened in Jinjiang, Fujian province, on Monday. Hu Meidong / China Daily

Shoemaking machines from Taiwan attract attention of manufacturers from the Chinese mainland. Hu Meidong / China Daily

(China Daily 04/19/2016 page14)