Lining Struggles In America

Lining, the Chinese athlete, won the world's attention at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He held the torch high at the opening ceremony in the sky above the National Stadium, showing both China's ambitions and his global first class sports.

3 years later, Lining has returned to the ground, and his Li Ning Co has signed several high-profile spokesmen such as basketball.

The company's share price has also made a substantial response, which has dropped 63% this year, far exceeding the overall decline of 29% in the Hongkong market.

The Li Ning Co issue highlights the difficulties faced by Chinese companies in building new global brands that match their manufacturing capabilities.

Some companies have made progress, such as Lenovo Group, but it has benefited a lot from the IBMPC computer business in 2005.

Most companies haven't made much progress. They have to face sophisticated global competitors and face the fact that brands are hard to recognize.

According to a survey by WPP PLC, a market research firm and a media company, 83% of consumers outside China do not know the name of a Chinese brand or company.

Li Ning Co, a new American partner, is planning to re open the US market in the name of Lining Digital Corporation, which will first focus on online sales before the planned entity store starts.

George Lu, President of Lining Digital Corporation, said: "we plan to plan and analyze online data in order to understand the US market before further expansion.

But it is hard for his company to expand its awareness in the US.

According to Barclays Bank analysts, too many inventories have led to many discount sales of Lining retail outlets, which frustrated Lining's ambition to compete with Nike.

Li Ning Co's profits in the first half of 2011 fell by nearly 50% compared with a year ago, which is the latest measure of the company's performance.

Revenue in the first half of this year dropped by nearly 5%, to 4 billion 300 million yuan, or about 678 million dollars.

The company did not disclose US sales figures.

The operation of Portland's front office has been difficult. About half of the 30 designers and other employees who design tennis shoes and clothing for the US market are leaving this year.

Li Ning Co executives declined to comment on the matter.