On June 4, Canadian sportswear brand Lululemon released its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, reporting a 30-percent year-on-year increase in net revenue from the Chinese mainland, the fastest growth among its major markets.

　　Industry experts said the figures indicate that the Chinese market is becoming a key growth engine for international sports giants.

　　Meanwhile, Chinese homegrown brands have also performed strongly. ANTA Group, a leading Chinese sporting goods company, reported total revenue of more than 80 billion yuan (about 11.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, marking its 12th consecutive year of positive growth.

　　Driven by national initiatives such as Healthy China 2030 and strong consumer demand for sports and fitness, China's sports economy is entering a phase of accelerated growth.

　　Data showed that China's sporting goods market reached 2.49 trillion yuan in 2025, while the country's sports industry reached a market size of 5.12 trillion yuan. Industry insiders forecast that China's sports industry will grow to about 7 trillion yuan by 2035, accounting for more than 2.5 percent of GDP and becoming a new engine of market growth.

　　China's rapidly developing sporting goods industry not only holds enormous growth potential, but also spurs sports companies to accelerate innovation and product iteration.

　　In the eyes of Joe Ngai, senior partner and chairman of McKinsey's offices in Greater China, China has become "the world's most hardcore gym."

　　Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said while many European companies hope to integrate into China's innovation ecosystem and tap into its vast opportunities, they also need to adapt to the intense competition in the country.

　　"You need to be really good to succeed in the Chinese market," Eskelund said.