First Read Xtep International: Q226 sales missed; Saucony growth decelerated on reduced online discount for brand building

Research evidence excerpt

First Read Xtep International: Q226 sales missed; Saucony growth decelerated on reduced online discount for brand building

Global Research

18 July 2026ab

First Read

EquitiesXtep International

Q226 sales missed; Saucony growth decelerated China

on reduced online discount for brand building Clothing & Fabrics

12-month rating Buy

12m price target HK$5.72

Q: How did the announcement compare vs expectations?

Prior : HK$6.60

A: Q226 Xtep brand/Saucony sales dropped MSD/grew LSD YoY, both missed our

expectation of flattish/20%+ in preview. Xtep online, Xtep kids, and running category Price (17 Jul 2026) HK$3.69

had solid growth in Q2, of which H1 online sales outperformed offline and grew by RIC: 1368.HK BBG: 1368 HK

c.10% YoY with cross-border e-commerce sales more than doubling.

Trading data and key metrics

Q: What were the most noteworthy areas in the conference call? 52-wk range HK$6.74-3.62

Market cap. HK$10.4b/US$1.32b

A: Q2 sales was lower than expected, mainly due to weak traffic for street-side

stores amid sluggish demand and unfavourable weather, in addition to reduced Shares o/s 2,806m (ORD)

discount for Saucony to build brand equity. We see challenges on previous Free float 48%

revenue guidance for 2026. 1) Recent sales update: July-to-date retail sales trend Avg. daily volume ('000) 14,261

has yet to see sequential improvement vs Q2, but Saucony continued resilient offline Avg. daily value (m) HK$60.3

sales growth. 2) Inventory and discount: Inventory level at 4.5-5 months level, slightly Common s/h equity (12/26E) Rmb11.3b

increased QoQ due to inventory preparation for new products in marathon game season P/BV (12/26E) 0.8x

and new Saucony stores in H2. Xtep will enhance supply chain flexibility to improve Net debt to EBITDA (12/26E) NM

inventory turnover in H2.