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(Hong Kong, 17 November 2014) ANTA Sports Products Limited ("ANTA Sports" or the "Company", stock code: 2020), a leading branded sportswear enterprise in China, is pleased to announce that ANTA, the Company's self-established brand, has been named "Best China Brand 2014" for the fifth consecutive year by Interbrand, the world's largest brand consultancy. In the latest ranking, ANTA ranked 27th in terms of brand value, which was up 6% y-o-y to RMB7.442 billion, making it the only shortlisted Chinese sportswear brand this year. 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.

ANTA Sports has been striving to boost its brand equity and become more competitive through its comprehensive sports sponsorship resources and highly effective marketing strategies. Since 2009, the Company has partnered the Chinese Olympic Committee in two consecutive Olympic cycles to provide tailor-made winning outfits for the Chinese Sports Delegation competing in major international competitions such as the Olympics and Asian Games. This year the Company even started its first-ever collaboration with the Gymnastics Sports Management Centre and the Weighlifting, Wrestling and Judo Sports Management Centre, bringing the number of Chinese national teams equipped with ANTA professional gear to 24, further promoting public recognition of ANTA's unique brand image which represents the essence of Chinese Sports.

Besides, the Company has currently signed up four NBA stars to endorse ANTA's basketball products, and has gone on to launch designated basketball shoes for them which are positioned as "National Basketball Shoes" offering high value for money, under its "Basketball is Priceless" strategy. These products are well-received by numerous basketball lovers. This year, the Company caused a stir in the Chinese basketball market when it struck an alliance with NBA China. This let it become the first Chinese sportswear brand licensed by NBA to launch and sell NBA trademarked basketball shoes and accessories in China, further strengthening its professional image and leading position in the basketball arena.    

Chairman and CEO of ANTA Sports Mr. Ding Shizhong, said, "Despite the fierce competition in China's sportswear industry, our financial performance has been surpassing the industry average since the launch of our innovative and bold restructuring measures in 2013 to adopt a 'retail-oriented' model in our operations. We also have a distinctive brand position - a functional sportswear brand targeted at the mass market. We have a strong focus on building our brand equity by integrating sports sponsorship resources with marketing strategies, while strengthening our innovation capability as well as brand and product differentiation. This lets us run ahead of our peers to be once more named 'Best China Brand' and to become the most valuable China sports brand."


Figure 1: ANTA ranks 27th in the "Best China Brands 2014" compiled and recently released by Interbrand, and is the only China sportswear brand shortlisted, leading other peers in terms of brand value.

About "Best China Brands"
The "Best China Brands" ranking is published specifically for the China market by Interbrand, the world's  largest brand consultancy. It is one of the most recognised brand equity value ranking charts in China. The chart has not only become a barameter of the brand equity development of various industries in China, but also serves as a key frame of reference for various brands which study their own brand equity development. The chart takes reference from financial data audited by independent third-parties, extensive consumer studies and market information, in shortlisting the 50 most valuable Chinese brands.

About ANTA Sports Products Limited
As one of the leading branded sportswear enterprises in China, ANTA Sports Products Limited primarily designs, develops, manufactures and markets ANTA sportswear, including sports footwear, apparel and accessories. ANTA Sports has established extensive distribution network with a leading presence in second and third tier cities in China under the management of regional distributors. ANTA Sports places great emphasis on branding by integrating sports resources and sponsorship, advertising and promotional activities and consistent store image to enhance brand and product differentiation. For the past 13 years, ANTA Sports' footwear has been enjoying a leading position in China composed index on market share.

For further information, please contact:

ANTA Sports Products Limited
Investor Relations Department
Tel:    (852) 2116-1660
Fax:    (852) 2116-1590
E-mail:    ir@anta.com / ir@anta.com.hk

Hill+Knowlton Strategies Asia
Agnes Suen / Ka Wai Li
Tel:    (852) 2894-6258 / (852) 2894-6252
E-mail:    anta@hkstrategies.com



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