China Sportswear: How can brands be successful in China – lessons from Adidas ‘Urban Errand‘ viral marketing campaign

Research evidence excerpt

China Sportswear: How can brands be successful in China – lessons from Adidas ‘Urban Errand‘ viral marketing campaign

Asia Pacific Equity Research

22 June 2026

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China Sportswear

How can brands be successful in China – lessons

from Adidas "Urban Errand" viral marketing campaign

A quick response to consumer demand is one of the key success factors in the Consumer

rapidly changing China sportswear market, in our view. The recent Adidas AC Qian Yao

(covered by Chiara Battistini, Wendy Liu) ‘Urban Errands’ incident (86-21) 6106 6277

showcased the importance of a quick response that turned a translation qian.q.yao@jpmorgan.com

mistake into a viral marketing campaign. We attribute such outcome to SAC Registration Number: S1730521050001

Adidas’ localization strategy in China. However, we believe local brands have J.P. Morgan Securities (China) Company

maintained their edge vs international brands, in terms of localized Limited

communication and rapid market reaction, given their deep understanding of Carson Fan

Chinese culture, closer proximity to end consumers and shorter decision- (86-21) 6106-6294

rong.fan@jpmorgan.com

making chains. Anta is our top pick in the China sportswear sector, as we SAC Registration Number: S1730522070002

believe Anta’s well-executed multi-brand portfolio and its greater-than-peers’ J.P. Morgan Securities (China) Company

potential for overseas expansion should position it to seize more opportunities. Limited