Part of Erke's 2011 tennis series Photos Provided to China Daily

Research, international certification boost sales and recognition

After registering surging sales in its home market, sportswear maker HongXing Erke Group is now focusing on innovation, brand building and developing advanced talent to become a top global clothing brand.

"After achieving great success in the Chinese market, we aspire to become a global leader in sportswear through innovation," said Wu Rongguang, president of the group.

Established in 2000, HongXing Erke developed into a top Chinese sportswear brand in just 10 years. In 2005 it became the first in the sector to be listed overseas.

Last year it was among the top 500 brands in China with a value of 7.1 billion yuan.

Wu credited the company's success to its innovation capacity that has provided high-quality, comfortable and fashionable sportswear and accessories over the past 10 years.

Its sportswear and shoe quality center is the first in the industry in China to receive accreditation from the China National Accreditation Service.

The brand became the first among its peers to be carried aboard the Shenzhou Spaceship, China's first manned spacecraft.

As part of its bid at the global market, in 2005 HongXing Erke became a member of the Satra Technology Center, a UK research organization for consumer goods industries and a leading authority on footwear research and accreditation.

Wu said science and technology is not only about high-quality products and advanced manufacturing equipment, but also necessary to market operations, sales management and branding.

To increase the competitiveness of its brand, the company has made continuing efforts for better products and offering value-added services that built its brand. It has acquired a number of No 1 titles in a wide range of fields including scientific innovation and environmental protection.

"When a brand has huge success in the domestic market, it will naturally aspire to cross borders to serve people of different cultural backgrounds and join globalization for sustained development," said Wu.

That strategy resulted in the birth of Erke Play. The group will now use its advantages and bring more quality and value-added products to the market to meet the diverse need of different groups in the world, Wu added.

The company's brand strategy is illustrated by its Tennis Strategy program that enhances its image through sponsorship of tennis events at various levels and associations with famous tennis players.

Through partnership with the top tennis event in Asia - the ATP Tennis Masters tournament in Shanghai - from 2009 to 2013, the company has forged a "trendy yet elegant international brand highlighting its popularity with the young".

Despite the achievements, HongXing Erke knows its rise to become a global brand is challenged by both domestic and international counterparts, Wu said.

He notes the first step for the company to become a global leader is to become the first choice among customers so "it will provide convenient shopping, a good environment, perfect products, competitive prices and excellent service".

It also plans to integrate its public relations and advertisement efforts for better communication with consumers.

Brand building and sustainable development is largely enabled by human resources, Wu said, and talent lies in the very heart of HongXing Erke business agenda.

By encouraging capabilities and professional ethics, the corporation has helped the development of employees through a range of programs. It also reached an agreement with Tianjin University at the beginning of the year to offer further study opportunities for aspirant employees.

Like many other businesses in China, HongXing Erke has also faced challenges such as price hikes in materials and labor costs since the beginning of the year. The difficulties are within expectations and under control, said Wu.

"We always have stock of materials to meet our demand and market performance. We also follow the labor market closely, so the overall cost is well under control. We have also improved efficiency in the supply chain through close cooperation with our partners."

HongXing Erke has also strengthened its corporate culture in recent years, integrating it into its overall goal of building itself into a global leader in clothing. Through guidance and training, every new recruit of the enterprise will be familiar with its corporate culture.

"They will voluntarily place the corporate interests first and be willing to grow together with the enterprise," said Wu. "The long-term development of an enterprise is founded on its culture."

Ground-level view of HongXing Erke's flagship store in the city of Guangzhou, Guangdong province