HLA has started to build its own ecosystem.

The cooperation between HLA and Adidas is becoming "profound."

On December 28th, at the Hailan Pegasus Sports Park in Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province, HLA and Adidas jointly announced that they would go beyond traditional business exploration and officially build a "sports +" ecosystem.

Interestingly, although HLA has been an agent for Adidas for more than two years, this press conference can still be regarded as the "first offline public" event for the cooperation.

As a local brand, HLA needs to go international, while Adidas needs to take root locally.

"Adidas is very different now compared to two or three years ago."

At the press conference, Zhou Lichen, the chairman of Hailan Group, said frankly, "Two years ago, we were 'testing' each other, and as of this year, we already have hundreds of (adidas FCC) stores."

In his perception, Adidas has truly achieved "loving China, being in China, and for China," and HLA has also become an important partner. The two sides have grown together through joint efforts, actively embraced the changes and challenges from the Chinese market, and will also effectively contribute to the development of Chinese sports.

Taking sports as the "core value"

The "fate" between HLA and Adidas began in 2023.

It is reported that HLA reached a long - term cooperation with Adidas by holding a stake in Sports. Sports is responsible for all product procurement for adidas FCC stores. Within the scope approved by Adidas, Sports has the rights to product portfolio, local marketing, and pricing, and the product selection for this store type also focuses more on affordability and cost - effectiveness.

Moreover, in addition to daily management, store location selection, and operation, Sports will also develop exclusive products for this special line.

In contrast, the co - construction of the "sports +" ecosystem is undoubtedly a continuation of the previous cooperation.

"We firmly believe that sports have the power to stimulate potential and unite people - it not only shapes a healthy body but also cultivates a positive lifestyle. It is this belief that makes us join hands with HLA to jointly explore the innovative integration of sports and fashion, international vision, and Chinese practice."

At the meeting, Shen Hui, the senior vice - president of Adidas' offline channel business in Greater China, also said so.

It is precisely based on the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle that the "sports +" ecosystem jointly built by HLA and Adidas will adhere to the principles of "openness, complementarity, and sustainability," always take "sports" as the core value, and expand to multiple dimensions such as event operation, product co - creation, public welfare activities, and cultural communication.

Co - creating sports events to empower runners

Among many sports projects, running is obviously one of the projects with the fastest growth rate and the largest number of participants in recent years.

The "Research Report on the Consumption of Chinese Road Running Population and the Development Trends and Characteristics of Event Economy" released by the General Administration of Sport of China shows that in 2024, the total annual consumption scale of participants in events certified by the Chinese Athletics Association was 16.8 billion yuan, a 26% increase compared to 2023. Among them,

The sports equipment manufacturing industry is the cornerstone of the road running economy.

The "Report" shows that in the direct consumption expenditure of runners, the consumption expenditure on clothing, shoes, hats, and wearable professional equipment accounts for nearly 60%. The data from channel parties can also prove the economic vitality brought by running.

In the first half of 2025, the retail sales of sports goods on four e - commerce platforms, including JD.com, Taobao, Tmall, and Douyin, reached 218.167 billion yuan, a 17.5% increase compared to 185.678 billion yuan in the same period last year, far higher than the 6% growth rate of the national online retail sales of physical goods in the same period.

In previous financial reports, Adidas also said that in the Chinese market, running shoes became the biggest highlight of the growth in footwear revenue. In contrast, HLA's layout in the running track has long been traceable. In fact, Zhou Lichen himself is a "heavy - duty enthusiast" of running.

Even earlier, Zhou Lichen publicly revealed his feelings, "After I started running, I met more people, and my world became broader. Running has brought me huge changes."

Also due to his love for running, in 2025, HLA focused on building the running club "Lanpao Research Institute," hoping to provide a platform for all runners to communicate, share, and be fully empowered. Since July, its core event IP - HLA POW "King of the Gods Challenge" has attracted more than 10,000 runners from 22 provinces across the country to sign up for the competition, and has quickly grown into a phenomenon - level benchmark in the field of mass running in China.

The press conference also announced that HLA will jointly carry out a systematic upgrade of the "Lanpao Research Institute" with Adidas. This cooperation is also an important implementation measure for the "sports +" ecosystem. In the future, the two sides will deepen cooperation in the field of mass events such as road running and cross - country running, and explore more diverse events and cooperation models.

In addition to its own IP events, HLA has also sponsored well - known domestic marathon events such as the Wuxi Marathon, the Jiangyin Half Marathon, and the Huanlihu Half Marathon for many years. Judging from the current results, the co - construction of the ecosystem between HLA and Adidas will not only inject momentum into the "Lanpao Research Institute" but also surely provide more Chinese runners with globally leading professional empowerment.

In addition to running, HLA has also continued to invest in other sports projects.

For example, HLA has sponsored a series of important events such as the Jiangsu Provincial Urban Football League, the warm - up matches of the Chinese Men's Basketball Team, and the Jiangyin Village BA. In the field of cultural and sports venues, HLA has also built cultural and sports halls, the Hailan Pegasus Sports Park, the Hailan Pegasus Leisure Park, and other comprehensive national sports and leisure landmarks in Jiangyin City.

The general perception in the industry is that due to the rise of the Village BA and the provincial league, the Chinese sports industry in 2024 is showing a "popular" trend, and HLA is continuously contributing to the development of "national sports" with more practical actions.

Business for good: 1 + 1 > 2

"In the past, people always thought that HLA was a men's clothing brand, but we have long been a comprehensive brand with the joint development of men's, women's, and children's clothing." When talking about the co - construction of this ecosystem, Zhou Lichen hopes that the cooperation with Adidas can "go even further, even three or four steps forward."

It is a clear fact that in the future, the two sides will also open more adidas FCC stores, bringing better sports clothing that combines leading technology and fashionable design to millions of ordinary consumers, so that "national sports" can truly have solid quality support.

At the press conference, HLA and Adidas also officially launched the HLA x adidas commemorative sweatshirt with the theme of the Lunar Horse Year, which integrates Oriental aesthetics and sports genes.

It is reported that this product takes the high - spirited "horse" as the core totem, injects the cultural core of the "Dragon - Horse Spirit" into modern design language, and conveys the good meaning of taking the lead and forging ahead in the new year.

As of now, the commemorative sweatshirt has been jointly launched at selected stores of HLA and Adidas, the official HLA flagship store on JD.com, and JD Sports. This is not only a co - creation of the two brands at the product level but also a fashionable expression that combines cultural confidence and sports vitality.

In addition, it is worth noting that as a listed company and an international enterprise, the cooperation between HLA and Adidas is not only limited to the business level but also always practices social responsibility.

The press conference also announced that HLA will integrate resources with Adidas, starting from practical actions such as a basketball and a sports public welfare class, jointly focus on sports support for children in remote areas, and upgrade HLA's public welfare IP "One More Gram of Warmth," which has lasted for more than a decade.

Public information shows that since the project was launched in 2014, it has reached 24 provincial - level administrative regions across the country, entered more than 1,700 schools, and provided warmth to more than 300,000 students in total. From the underlying logic, this is also a deep resonance between the two companies on the concept of "business for good."

It is believed that in the future, HLA will join hands with Adidas to jointly build a more professional sports ecosystem and a more vibrant business world for Chinese consumers in the posture of a runner.

Sports change lives. In a sense, the market also needs to re - evaluate HLA, a national brand with more than 20 years of development.