Chinese brands boost image during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

The 24th Winter Olympics in Beijing catapulted dozens of Chinese brands into the global limelight, giving them unprecedented airtime to showcase their stuff on the world stage as 91 teams compete in the largest winter sports event. Anta Sports Products is the official sportswear provider of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and the Paralympic Winter Games. Founded by Ding Shizhong 31 years ago in Jinjiang, Fujian province, Anta has evolved into a top global sportswear manufacturer through a series of mergers and acquisitions (M&As). One of the Hong Kong-listed company’s most recent acquisitions was in 2019 when it led a consortium to buy Finnish firm Amer Sports, whose brands include Fila and Arc’teryx. Chinese President Xi Jinping wore an Arc’teryx cobalt blue parka at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on February 4. Anta’s ski suits feature windproof breathable technology, air turbulence control and slip drag reduction.

Club Med, which operates all-inclusive holiday resorts worldwide, plans to open eight to nine ski resorts in Northeast Asia by 2023, riding on China’s snow sports boom. The company inaugurated its Changbaishan Resort in Jilin last month. Club Med, established half a century ago, was taken over in 2015 by Shanghai-based Fosun Group controlled by Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang. Its unit Fosun Tourism Group is constructing Taicang Foliday Town, an Alpine-themed tourism destination that will host the largest indoor ski resort in Jiangsu province. It is expected to open in 2023.

As the logistics partner of the Winter Olympics, JD.com has deployed 5G, big data and artificial intelligence (AI) to enable logistics services in the competition zones and venues. JD.com was founded by Richard Liu in 1998. JD.com claims to be China’s leading one-stop e-commerce platform, offering over 550 million active customers a wide range of products across every major category from consumer goods to electronic devices.

Olympics' organizers worked with several major Chinese social platforms – WeChat, Douyin, Kuaishou, Bilibili and Weibo – from January 23 to February 4 to engage with online users.

Shenzhen-listed BOE Technology is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of LCD, OLEDs and flexible displays, attracting Chinese audience's attention during the opening ceremony.

The online search firm Baidu Maps is the big data service partner for transport in Zhangjiakou, which is some 60 minutes by car from Beijing. The ski town is hosting ski jumping, biathlon and snowboarding, among other events. Founded in 2000 by Robin Li, Baidu is now one of China’s largest technology companies focusing on artificial intelligence.

China’s leading sports apparel brand Li-Ning launched its first snowboard winter sportswear series on February 4, the opening day of the Games. The company said that apart from the wind-and-waterproof breathable fabric, a chip is also used in the sportswear to help detect people trapped in avalanches. Founded in 1990 by China’s former Olympic gymnast and gold medallist Li Ning, the Hong Kong-listed company has a market value of about USD2.8 billion.

Midea Group, one of the world’s largest home appliance makers, announced on January 25 that it had appointed Eileen Gu, the American-born freeskier who competed for China, as its global Ambassador. Gu became a star overnight after winning the gold medal in the women’s big air event. Midea, following its acquisition of Germany-based Kuka Robotics in 2017, is in the process of transforming itself from a traditional labor-intensive manufacturer to a hi-tech player. Founded in 1968 by Chinese billionaire He Xiangjian, the company started as a producer of water bottle caps in Shunde, Guangdong province.

Air China was responsible for transporting the Olympic flame from Greece to Beijing and is the official partner for logistics services. The carrier started operations in July 1988 after the government decided to split the operating divisions of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC Airlines) into six separate airlines.

Shanghai-based Hengyuanxiang Group, a well-known textile firm founded in 1927, is the official supplier of uniforms to the International Olympic Committee members attending the Winter Olympics. Hengyuanxiang is also providing bouquets made of wool to replace the traditional fresh flowers presented to medal winners during the awards ceremony, the South China Morning Post reports.