Gymnastics Prince Racks Up Honours in Business Arena

Li Ning became a legend of China's gymnastics programme by racking up great honours for the nation at the international sporting arena, according to the latest Business Weekly.

Now, as a gymnast-turned businessman, he has spent a decade building the country's leading sportswear producer, and is now battling tough competition to push LI-NING Sports Equipment to global fame.

Born in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on March 10, 1963, Li showed early talent and enthusiasm for music. The interest was fostered by his father Li Shibo, a local primary school music teacher.

He was even "worshiped" as a "child star" in his primary school by teaching model operas to classmates.

Li Ning dreamed of following the footsteps of his father to become a musician.

However, when an amateur gymnastics team gave an exhibition for senior pupils of fourth grade and above, Li found a place for his own passion for turning somersaults.

The team trained every afternoon after school, and Li would stand on his toes to watch through the window of the gymnasium hall. His attempts at copying his idols made his father afraid that the boy might hurt himself without instruction from a teacher. So he went to the physical education teacher and pleaded him to take Li Ning in. Thereby seven-year-old Li debuted in the world of gymnastics as an extra.

In 1971, eight-year-old Li was admitted by the Guangxi Gymnastics School for his outstanding overall quality, beginning his formal gymnastics training.

"As a kid, I was extremely energetic. I used to turn somersault on the ground, in a jumping pit and even in bed. I was keenly interested in gymnastics though I didn't really know at that time what gymnastics' true meaning is. Maybe it was my zeal and strong persistence that moved the coach and made him pick me," Li recalled.

In the athletics school, most of Li's classmates were three to four years his senior. Li had to work very hard to catch up to his bigger teammates.

"Once I asked the kid to build up body strength by raising a barbell. Li Ning was so concentrated on the training that he even forgot to count. He said he would start fresh and he did start fresh. It was through hard work that Li Ning improved his skill," said Liang Wenjie, Li's coach at the school.

Hard efforts finally paid off as the once extra amateur gymnast pocketed three golds at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, at which the Chinese delegation made their Olympic debut.

"Our performance at the Games gave a boost to morale of people with Chinese descent around the world. And I received a flood of credits and unanimous applause from society, which also imposed on me an ever increasing sense of social responsibility, " Li was once quoted by China Central Television.

Li was not China's first world champion, but his success was of special significance.

It came at a time when China had just unfolded its opening-up plan and Chinese were eager to win international recognition. Li was among the first batch of athletes to obtain such recognition in a sports field with sharp expertise and strong willpower.

Now almost two decades later, the "gymnastics prince" finds himself pinned in the commercial battle of sports equipment manufacturing against even more powerful rivals from abroad to earn honour for the country.

After the Seoul Olympics in 1988 when he met his "Waterloo" as an athlete, failing to bring home a single medal of any colour, Li decided to bid farewell to his gymnastics career, once but not for all.

Li took the advice of Li Jingwei, president of sports beverage maker Jianlibao, to serve as special assistant chief manager and image spokesman for the company.

Li said he was sure that he could have enough room at Jianlibao to fully exert his capability and to get involved with some business related with sports.

Stepping down from television screens and giant billboards advertising Jianlibao's sports drinks and sportswear, Li Ning established his own enterprise - the LI-NING Sports Equipment Co Ltd - in Sanshui city, Guangdong Province in 1990 under the senior Li's encouragement.

It was the first company in China named after an athlete.

Ten years later by the end of 2000, the firm had grown into a domestic sports product giant with net assets exceeding US$20 million from the original investment of US$1 million.

"During the past decade and especially the last five years, LI-NING Sports Equipment has been enjoying sharp profit gains by means of technology renovation and new products development, " Li said.

In 1999, domestic sales revenues of the company reached 650 million yuan (US$81 million), leading global giant Nike's 300 million yuan (US$37 million) and Adidas' 100 million yuan (US$12 million) in China.

LI-NING's sales revenue grew to 700 million yuan (US$87 million) last year, while the company's target for this year was 800 million yuan (US$100 million).

In contrast to Nike's pyramid business pattern in China, LI-NING adopted a "grass-roots strategy" in sales promotion and many of LI-NING's advertisements feature ordinary young people.

But the domestic success may have little to do with the international market.

Nike reaped US$9 billion in sales revenue worldwide in 1999, which equals 100-fold of LI-NING's income over the same period.

Even Li Ning himself admitted that it will be an egg-against-rock contest for his company to combat the overwhelming odds on the global market.

"But in three years' time, we hope it will be the time for us to stand a foothold in the international sportswear industry, " Li said.

"Actually, our products have already attained recognition from quite a few European and North American sales agents."

When LI-NING was shown for the first time in 1999 at the International Trade Fair for Sports Equipment and Apparel (ISPO), the world's top sports products exhibition held in Munich, the firm's products aroused great interest among executives from around the world.

All the samples were sold out on the spot, and some executives even visited China later for further talks about the feasibility of serving as LI-NING's agents.

At the dawn of the Sydney Olympics last year, LI-NING was announced to be the sole sponsor of the competition and training gear for the French gymnastics team, which ranks among Europe's top four, over the next four years.

The company is now sparing no efforts in reshuffling, and is looking forward to another leap forward by listing on either domestic or foreign markets, Li indicated.

"If granted, we prefer to go public in China. Otherwise we have to look for overseas investors, and be listed abroad, " Li said.

Li, 38, can now usually be found reading up on international business rules in the law department of Peking University.

After experiencing unprecedented glories as both an athlete and a businessman, Li seems to have a deep understanding about doing both sports and business.

"Topping the podium of world sports gala is much more difficult than earning money. But it is also very difficult if one wants to make big money. In doing sports, everybody pinned the hope on me to win the title. But in running a business, it is up to all the employees to materialize my expectation."






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