It's a sporting leap all right. For the first time foreigners will wear a Chinese sports brand when appearing in the opening celebration and medals ceremonies at the Beijing Olympic Games.
Chinese sportswear manufacturer Li Ning announced in March that it will be the official clothing supplier for the Swedish delegation to the Beijing Games and Vancouver Winter Games.
If Swedish athletes win, they will wear Li Ning clothes to accept medals and flowers during awards ceremonies.
"Li Ning is confident about the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games. We have gone global and will now participate in world sports more often," says Zhang Zhiyong, the company's CEO.
The company was already a supporter and long-term partner of Chinese sports teams. The agreement with Sweden's athletes shows that Chinese brands are making a contribution to the Olympic Games and have gained stature in the world of sports.
Sino-Swedish handshake
Sweden is an important power in sports and has one of the highest percentages of sports enthusiasts in the world. The clothing Li Ning will design and produce for the Swedish delegation ranges from award-ceremony outfits to training apparel.
Its Olympic designs will be officially unveiled next year.
"Li Ning has gained worldwide compliments and recognition for its Olympic clothing designs," says Gunilla Lindberg, vice-president of the International Olympic Committee and general secretary of the Swedish Olympic Committee.
"They were awarded 'Best Award Ceremony Uniform' by international journalists at the Sydney Olympic Games. When we thought of sports wear, we realized it would be better to cooperate with a real Chinese brand rather than choose an international brand that was in reality already made in China."
"Li Ning and our country have common ground. Sweden is a small country, and Li Ning is a small brand in the international sportswear industry. However, we are both growing to welcome the challenges," says Lindberg.
"The Olympic Games also transcend national boundaries. The Swedish Olympic Committee is very pleased to cooperate with the number-one Chinese sports brand and we hope that Li Ning will provide a unique product series representing true Swedish style," she adds.
Sweden's participation in the Olympics can be traced back nearly a century. In 1912, the fifth Olympic Games were held in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.
In recent Olympics and Winter Games, Swedish teams have achieved good results. In the 2004 Athens Games, Sweden won four gold medals. The country is even stronger in the Winter Games. It finished sixth in gold medals and also total medals at the 2006 Torino Games, with seven golds and an overall medal count of 14.
Jan-Ove Waldner, a renowned table tennis player, is the Swedish athlete that Chinese people know best. The first person in history to win every competition in table tennis, he has been in competition against the strong Chinese table tennis team for 17 years, and has even been given a Chinese nickname - Lao Wa, which notes that he is an "old friend".
He might be the best example of Li Ning's slogan that "Anything is Possible".
Li Ning also has a lengthy relationship with the Olympic Games. In 1992, the company provided awards ceremony clothing for the Chinese delegation, the first Chinese sporting goods company to do so. It marked the end of Chinese athletes wearing foreign brands at the Olympic Games.
Li Ning has now been with the Chinese delegation for 12 years. At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, its design that featured a flying dragon and "butterfly shoes" received many compliments and won an award of its own - as best award ceremony uniform.
But in 2008, Chinese athletes will not be wearing Li Ning-sponsored uniforms. The company lost out to its international giant adidas, which estimates say will pay some $80 million for the sponsorship, a figure that could surpass Li Ning's annual marketing costs.
Still, Li Ning will provide competition clothing for four Chinese national teams - the gymnastics, diving, table tennis and shooting teams - as well as Spain's men's and women's basketball teams, Argentina's men's and women's basketball teams and Sudan's track and field team.
"We predict that 40 percent of the gold medals in Beijing Olympic Games will go to the four Chinese teams," says Zhang, expecting Li Ning's logo to appear frequently in the Games.
"We still have a lot to do for our Olympic strategy. We are looking forward to more sponsorship cooperation with delegations from other countries. Anything is possible," says Wu Weiguo, vice-president of Li Ning.
The top sports brand in China, Li Ning will have 5,100 stores across the country by 2008, including in all first- and second-tier cities and many third-tier cities.
"To meet the goal of being listed in the top five sports brands in the world by 2018, we have to make a lot effort from now, especially in the international market," says Wu.
He says Li Ning has formulated an international plan, but cannot elaborate.
"Li Ning is a listed company and our international competitors are too strong. We cannot disclose any details of our plan," he says.
But he tells China Business Weekly that to be an international company, Li Ning has to make its brand known overseas.
"We now have 20 to 30 test stores in Europe. The turnover of these stores account for no more than 2 percent of our total business," says Zhang.
But through sponsorship of the Swedish team, Li Ning's logo will gain more exposure in Europe and be accepted there, he adds.
