Why read this: This B2 companion is a clear way into a story your students already half-know: a Chinese teenager, a relative's small factory, 600 pairs of shoes, and the global sportswear giant that grew out of them. The article keeps the central narrative arc and the strategic thread — manufacturing strength, a multi-brand strategy, and a careful push into Western markets — while reducing the named-entity load and unpacking the heaviest finance and idiom vocabulary. Because Mandarin L1 students bring strong background knowledge of China's economic opening, the reading lets them practise English business vocabulary in territory they already understand, and gives a useful anchor for later discussions about brand-of-origin perception and global trade.
What to notice: Three features carry most of the lesson. First, the chronology jumps between the late 1980s, 1991, 2007, 2009, 2019 and the present — point this out so students can map the timeline before they read. Second, the article uses several glossed business idioms and phrases (supply chain, production hub, multi-brand strategy, controlling stake, scaling up, eyeing markets, copycat goods, e-commerce push, home turf, zero-sum game). Get students to notice that each gloss explains a strategy, not just a word. Third, the writer uses gentle hedging — 'may not yet be', 'may be wary', 'may be whether' — to soften claims about Anta's future. Ask students to compare a hedged sentence with a flat version and decide which feels more honest.
Skills practised: Following a non-linear chronology and tracking a single subject across many noun phrases (Anta, the company, the brand, the firm). Reading business-news idioms in context rather than translating them word-for-word. Working with passive structures and relative clauses at typical B2 density. Drawing one or two inferences — for example, why a 'made in China' label might be a problem, or why Anta buys Western brands instead of just pushing its own name abroad. Using textual evidence in a short evaluative answer, the kind of move the open questions ask for.
"The Chinese sports brand taking on Nike and Adidas"
"How a high school dropout with 600 pairs of shoes built a sportswear empire to rival the West"
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
In the late 1980s, when China's economy was just beginning to open up, a 17-year-old high school dropout took a train to Beijing with 600 pairs of shoes. His name was Ding Shizhong. The shoes had been made in a relative's small factory, and he was determined to sell every last pair.
He did. With the money, Ding opened his own workshop, where he started producing footwear for other companies. He was one of countless young Chinese entrepreneurs who suddenly appeared as private business was allowed to grow under the of the Communist Party. But Ding had bigger ambitions than most.
That tiny workshop has since grown into Anta, one of the world's largest sportswear groups. Anta is now the largest shareholder of Amer Sports, a Finnish company that owns several premium outdoor brands. This year, Anta also bought a stake in the German brand Puma. Its long-term goal, which Ding in a famous 2005 interview, is bold: "We don't want to be the Nike of China, but the Anta of the world."
Anta may not yet be a in the West, but inside China it is everywhere. The company runs more than 12,000 shops across the country and sponsors stars such as freestyle skier Eileen Gu. In February, it opened its first American flagship store in Beverly Hills, an upscale district of Los Angeles.
Anta's rise begins in Jinjiang, a city in the south-eastern province of Fujian. Founded in 1991, the brand started life far from the of Beverly Hills. The Chinese government had chosen the area to specialise in shoemaking, and foreign brands soon arrived looking for cheaper places to manufacture. Money flowed into Jinjiang. Thousands of factories, suppliers and logistics firms grew up around each other, forming a dense that could turn designs into finished shoes very quickly. By 2005, the United Nations estimated that Fujian alone made nearly one in five of the world's shoes.
Anta grew up inside this . For years, it made shoes cheaply for global brands while quietly building its own name at home. It opened new shops and sponsored national basketball and table tennis events. Branding consultant Wei Kan says Anta stood out because, unlike most rivals, it was a operation: it could design, make and sell its own products. In 2007, Anta listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, raising about HKD3.5 billion — a record at the time for a Chinese sports company.
Anta is now in the West, but abroad is harder than growing at home. Many Western consumers still see Chinese products as cheap or as . To get around this, Anta has used a : rather than push the Anta name into every country, it buys established Western brands and lets them grow. In 2009, it took over Fila in China and turned it into a major earner. In 2019, it bought a in Amer Sports. The strategy lets Anta reach customers who might be wary of a label.
Being a Chinese brand still brings challenges. Eileen Gu, an Anta , became a when she chose to compete for China rather than the United States at the Olympics. Meanwhile, rivals are stumbling. Nike's lost momentum after Covid-19, and US tariffs have hurt earnings for both Nike and Adidas.
Anta admits it has further to go. As one spokesperson told the BBC, the global sportswear market "is not a ." But the harder question, analysts say, may be whether Western brands can defend their as a confident new rival arrives from China.
In the late 1980s, when China's economy was just beginning to open up, a 17-year-old high school dropout took a train to Beijing with 600 pairs of shoes. His name was Ding Shizhong. The shoes had been made in a relative's small factory, and he was determined to sell every last pair.
He did. With the money, Ding opened his own workshop, where he started producing footwear for other companies. He was one of countless young Chinese entrepreneurs who suddenly appeared as private business was allowed to grow under the of the Communist Party. But Ding had bigger ambitions than most.
That tiny workshop has since grown into Anta, one of the world's largest sportswear groups. Anta is now the largest shareholder of Amer Sports, a Finnish company that owns several premium outdoor brands. This year, Anta also bought a stake in the German brand Puma. Its long-term goal, which Ding in a famous 2005 interview, is bold: "We don't want to be the Nike of China, but the Anta of the world."
Anta may not yet be a in the West, but inside China it is everywhere. The company runs more than 12,000 shops across the country and sponsors stars such as freestyle skier Eileen Gu. In February, it opened its first American flagship store in Beverly Hills, an upscale district of Los Angeles.
Anta's rise begins in Jinjiang, a city in the south-eastern province of Fujian. Founded in 1991, the brand started life far from the of Beverly Hills. The Chinese government had chosen the area to specialise in shoemaking, and foreign brands soon arrived looking for cheaper places to manufacture. Money flowed into Jinjiang. Thousands of factories, suppliers and logistics firms grew up around each other, forming a dense that could turn designs into finished shoes very quickly. By 2005, the United Nations estimated that Fujian alone made nearly one in five of the world's shoes.
Anta grew up inside this . For years, it made shoes cheaply for global brands while quietly building its own name at home. It opened new shops and sponsored national basketball and table tennis events. Branding consultant Wei Kan says Anta stood out because, unlike most rivals, it was a operation: it could design, make and sell its own products. In 2007, Anta listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, raising about HKD3.5 billion — a record at the time for a Chinese sports company.
Anta is now in the West, but abroad is harder than growing at home. Many Western consumers still see Chinese products as cheap or as . To get around this, Anta has used a : rather than push the Anta name into every country, it buys established Western brands and lets them grow. In 2009, it took over Fila in China and turned it into a major earner. In 2019, it bought a in Amer Sports. The strategy lets Anta reach customers who might be wary of a label.
Being a Chinese brand still brings challenges. Eileen Gu, an Anta , became a when she chose to compete for China rather than the United States at the Olympics. Meanwhile, rivals are stumbling. Nike's lost momentum after Covid-19, and US tariffs have hurt earnings for both Nike and Adidas.
Anta admits it has further to go. As one spokesperson told the BBC, the global sportswear market "is not a ." But the harder question, analysts say, may be whether Western brands can defend their as a confident new rival arrives from China.
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
According to the article, what did Ding Shizhong do with the money he earned from selling the 600 pairs of shoes in Beijing?
- 02
Reread the paragraph about Jinjiang. Why does the article describe the city in such detail?
- 03
What is the main idea of the article?
- 04
How does Anta's multi-brand strategy help the company sell to Western customers? Use evidence from the article in your answer.
Suggested length: ~80 words
- 05
Evaluate how strong Anta's chances really are of catching up with Nike and Adidas. Give at least two reasons from the text.
Suggested length: ~80 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
According to the article, what did Ding Shizhong do with the money he earned from selling the 600 pairs of shoes in Beijing?
- 02
Reread the paragraph about Jinjiang. Why does the article describe the city in such detail?
- 03
What is the main idea of the article?
- 04
How does Anta's multi-brand strategy help the company sell to Western customers? Use evidence from the article in your answer.
Suggested length: ~80 words
- 05
Evaluate how strong Anta's chances really are of catching up with Nike and Adidas. Give at least two reasons from the text.
Suggested length: ~80 words