JD.com Inc.

07/30/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/30/2021 03:01

Sales Soar for Sportswear Brand Erke on JD.com After Flood Relief Donation

by Hui Zhang

Sales of Erke, a Chinese sportswear brand, surged by over 520% on JD.com on July 23rd, the first day of JD's promotion campaign on sports related products, after the brand donated RMB 50 million yuan ($7.71 million) worth of relief supplies and other aid to the flood-stricken Henan province.

Sales of Erke products spiked after the brand announced a RMB 50-million-yuan donation to Henan on Chinese social media last week. The brand received wide support from across China, as many Chinese netizens were moved by the company's kind act. Many netizens expressed support, in addition to concern for whether the domestic company's sales performance could support such a large donation.

'It seems like you might go out of business, because you donated so much,' one netizen commented. Some consumers even chose to pay extra money when purchasing products at offline store locations, despite salespeople at the stores advising against irrational consumption. The host of an Erke livestream event also called on consumers to spend rationally, but many consumers commented that they were happy to spend 'wildly' so as to support the brand.

Erke's sales spike is not an isolated case, as JD's data shows that the overall sales of domestic sports brands increased by more than 280% from July 22 to July 23 YOY, with running shoes, basketball shoes, pants and T-shirts ranking among the top categories in terms of sales volume. This growth has been attributed by some experts to increased interest in sports due to the ongoing Tokyo Olympic games.

In addition to Erke, domestic sports brands including Anta Sports, 361 Degrees, and PEAK also embraced significant sales growth of more than 500% during this period.

Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen and Guangzhou became the top five cities with the highest sales of domestic sports brands on JD, with sales in Beijing reaching 530% YOY, and even reaching 750% YOY in Shanghai.

'Thanks to JD.com's reputation for guaranteed authenticity and fast delivery services, it has become the go-to destination for consumers to buy sports brands both internationally and domestically,' said a spokesperson from JD Sports.

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