Winter Olympics: Eileen Gu propels Anta, Midea into the global limelight along with dozens of lesser known Chinese brands
- Anta, JD.com, Baidu and several other Chinese companies are providing goods and services to help the Beijing Winter Olympics proceed smoothly
- President Xi Jinping wore a parka at the opening ceremony made by Arc’teryx, a sportswear maker owned by Anta
The 24th Winter Olympics in Beijing has 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.
Here are the top companies and brands across a multitude of industries that are basking under the limelight, as official sponsors and advertisers.
Anta Sports Products
Anta is the official sportswear provider of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics from February 4 through 20, and the Paralympic Winter Games that follow from March 4 through 13.
Founded by Ding Shizhong in Jinjiang, in eastern Fujian province 31 years ago, Anta has evolved into a top global sportswear manufacturer through a series of mergers and acquisitions. 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 Salomon, Arc´teryx, Wilson, Suunto and Peak Performance.
Chinese President Xi Jinping wore an Arc’teryx cobalt blue parka at the opening ceremony on February 4.
Anta’s ski suits worn by star freeskier Eileen Gu, also known as Gu Ailing, who struck gold in the big air event on Tuesday, feature windproof breathable technology, air turbulence control and slip drag reduction technology.
Club Med
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 the northeastern province of Jilin last month.
In June 2020, Club Med Taiwoo located in Chongli, Zhangjiangkou, where the Winter Olympics are being held, opened as the resorts operator quickened its pace of expansion in China.
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 Foliday Town Taicang, an Alpine-themed tourism destination that will host the largest indoor ski resort in eastern China’s Jiangsu province. It is expected to open in 2023.
03:30
China celebrates as US-born skier Eileen Gu wins Winter Olympics gold for host nation
JD.com
As the logistics partner of the Winter Olympics, JD.com has deployed 5G, big data and artificial intelligence to enable logistics services in the competition zones and venues. It devised a set of applications focused on mobility services to build a logistics plan for delivering goods and information during the games.
The company signed a 62.8 million yuan (US$9.9 million) contract with the Beijing municipal government for this purpose.
JD.com was founded by Richard Liu Qiangdong 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.
Tencent, ByteDance, Kuaishou, Bilibili, Weibo
As the largest online promotional event for torch-bearing in the history of the Olympics, the organisers worked with several major Chinese social platforms – WeChat, Douyin, Kuaishou, Bilibili and Weibo – from January 23 to February 4 to engage with online users.
Users of Tencent’s super app WeChat could obtain a digital certificate as an escort runner for the torch relay by registering on the official landing page. The initiative drew a response from around 30 million people who became virtual escort runners.
02:16
China’s obsession with Beijing Winter Olympic panda mascot sparks souvenir buying spree
BOE Technology
The Shenzhen-listed company is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of LCD, OLEDs and flexible displays. BOE Technology’s state-of-the-art LCD and OLED displays attracted huge attention from the Chinese audience during the opening ceremony.
This included a snowflake-shaped cauldron with a diameter of around 15 metres and one of the world’s largest 8K displays measuring 10,393 square metres that can function under extreme cold while holding up a large number of performers.
Baidu
The online search giant’s 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.
Baidu Maps’ services include establishing a transport operations coordination centre, managing electronic roadside signs that can be remotely operated and smart parking in Zhangjiakou.
Founded in 2000 by Robin Li, Baidu is now one of China’s largest technology companies focusing on artificial intelligence.
Li-Ning
China’s leading sports apparel brand launched its first snowboard winter sportswear series on February 4, the same day as the games’ opening ceremony, to lure mainland Chinese winter sports fans.
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 US$2.8 billion.
Midea Group
Midea Group, one of the world’s largest home appliance makers, announced on January 25 that it had appointed Gu, the American-born freeskier, as its global ambassador.
Gu has become an overnight star in China after winning the gold medal in the women’s big air event for her adopted country.
Midea, following its acquisition of Germany-based Kuka Robotics in 2017, is in the process of transforming itself from a traditional labour-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, a district of Foshan in Guangdong province.
Air China
The official partner of the Beijing Winter Olympics was responsible for transporting the Olympic flame from Greece to Beijing.
In August 2017, China’s flagship carrier signed an agreement with the organising committee to offer logistics services to the sports event.
Air China was also responsible for carrying the Chinese delegation to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The carrier started operations in July 1988, after Beijing decided to split the operating divisions of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC Airlines) into six separate airlines.
02:10
Tears and online criticism as China’s US-born skater Zhu Yi falters in another Olympic routine
Hengyuanxiang Group
Shanghai-based Hengyuanxiang, 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 company was also a sponsor of the summer Beijing Olympics in 2008.
