On December 28, Hla Group (HLA) and adidas jointly announced a comprehensive upgrade of their two-year deep channel cooperation, officially establishing the HLA × adidas "Sports+" ecosystem.
The press conference highlighted that the two companies will achieve resource complementarity: Hla Group will open up its full-channel scenarios to help adidas's sports categories reach a wider consumer base; adidas will inject professional sports technology and brand value to enhance the competitiveness of Hla Group's athleisure categories. The partnership will transcend traditional commercial cooperation, extending into broader social value by channeling the energy of sports into the development of China's sports industry. The co-creation of this "Sports+" ecosystem will specifically revolve around three key pillars: the systematic upgrade of the "Lan Pao Yan Xi She" (Lan Running Research Club), a comprehensive enhancement of the "One More Gram of Warmth" public welfare IP, and the launch of the HLA x adidas Year of the Horse limited edition hoodie. Together, these initiatives will form a complete closed loop encompassing product reach, community empowerment, and public welfare care. From "Store Coexistence" to "Ecological Resonance": Cross-Industry Integration Leveraging Hla Group's deep channel penetration and local market insights accumulated over many years, combined with the robust product capabilities empowered by adidas's top-tier sports technology, the two companies have formed a complementary partnership of strengths: By the first half of 2025, over 500 adidas FCC stores have been successfully established in multiple provinces and cities across China, with the commercial DNA of both brands deeply integrated into the physical retail networks of China's tier-2 to tier-5 cities. This advanced cross-industry layout enables professional sports equipment to reach lower-tier markets and mass consumers with higher efficiency and broader coverage. It not only solidifies the retail foundation but also accumulates massive user touchpoints, laying a solid groundwork for subsequent ecological co-construction. It is precisely based on this vast and effective "collaborative chessboard" that the two parties possess the confidence and core capital to upgrade their cooperation from "store coexistence" to "ecological co-creation." The cross-border exploration by Hla Group and adidas breaks the boundaries of traditional commercial cooperation, enabling a precise connection between the consumption potential of lower-tier markets and the product value of professional sports. Furthermore, using "Sports+" as a link, it connects the three core chains of channels, products, and users. This not only revitalizes traditional apparel retail but also expands the reach of professional sports brands, ultimately carving out a win-win path of industrial cross-border integration and setting a replicable, actionable benchmark for cross-industry collaboration. Building the Ecological Core: The IP Transformation of "Lan Pao Yan Xi She" The vitality of any ecosystem depends on a powerful central force. For the "Sports+" ecosystem co-built by Hla Group and adidas, this burgeoning core is the running club that Hla Group has focused on building in 2025 – the "Lan Pao Yan Xi She" (Lan Running Research Club). The "Lan Pao Yan Xi She" is a running club that Hla Group has prioritized developing in 2025, aiming to provide a platform for all runners to communicate, share, and receive comprehensive empowerment. Its core event IP – the HLA POW "King Challenge" – since its launch in July 2025, has attracted over 10,000 runners from 22 provinces across China to register. The live broadcasts of the events have garnered over a million views, not only generating significant buzz within the running community with each event but also rapidly establishing itself as a phenomenal benchmark in China's mass running scene due to its professional format and competitive level. At the press conference, Hla Group (HLA) and adidas announced systematic upgrades and deep co-creation centered around the "Lan Pao Yan Xi She," providing end-to-end empowerment from event operations and runner services to product development. In the future, through the joint efforts of both parties, the "Lan Pao Yan Xi She" is expected to evolve into a sustainably operated, industry-standard national running IP that empowers runners. Business for Good: The Social Extension of Ecological Value If the "Lan Pao Yan Xi She" represents the vertical deep cultivation of the ecosystem within core sports communities, then the simultaneous signing of the "One More Gram of Warmth" public welfare plan at the press conference demonstrates the breadth and warmth of this ecosystem's horizontal expansion into social value. Since its initiation in 2014, Hla Group's "One More Gram of Warmth" charity has reached over 1,700 schools in 24 provinces and regions across China, providing warmth to more than 300,000 students cumulatively. In the future, Hla Group will join hands with adidas, integrating resources from both sides to jointly focus on sports support for children in remote areas. A brand-new basketball, a professional sports development class, or a training session personally guided by a professional athlete could all serve as seeds, planting skills, healthy habits, and a never-give-up spirit in the children. This goes beyond simple material donations; it is a systematic "sports empowerment" aimed at making opportunities and the quality of sports education more equitable and accessible. This move is also a vivid practice of the "Business for Good" concept. It allows the "Sports+" ecosystem to break through the single dimension of commercial return and embed a solid module of social responsibility. Through public welfare projects, the ecosystem's influence can reach broader, more grassroots social structures, sowing the seeds of sports in children's hearts and empowering the national fitness campaign. Year of the Horse New Product: HLA x adidas Year of the Horse Limited Edition Hoodie Notably, the two companies jointly launched the HLA x adidas Year of the Horse limited edition hoodie at the press conference. This product, which blends Chinese zodiac culture with international sports design, not only meets year-end holiday consumption demand but also serves as the debut collaborative product for the "Sports+" ecosystem. It features the spirited "horse" as its core totem, infusing the cultural essence of "dragon-horse spirit" into modern design language, conveying the positive寓意 of taking the lead and striving forward in the New Year. This is not only a co-creation at the product level but also a fashion statement interwoven with cultural confidence and sporting vitality. It is reported that the hoodie is available for initial sale at selected Hla Group and adidas stores, Hla Group's JD.com official flagship store, and JD Sports. Hla Group's collaboration with adidas to build the "Sports+" ecosystem also signifies that their partnership has progressed from the initial "hard integration" of channels and products to a new stage of "trinity" ecological integration encompassing brand value, user operations, and social responsibility, providing the industry with an advanced model from commercial synergy to value co-creation. From commercial synergy to ecological co-creation, and from ecological co-creation to value sharing, the cooperation between Hla Group and adidas offers a rare benchmark sample for China's apparel and sports industries. It powerfully demonstrates that in an era of saturated traffic and homogenized competition, the breakthrough path for leading brands may not lie in engaging in more intense zero-sum games and internal competition, but rather in broadening perspectives, breaking boundaries, and jointly creating an incremental blue ocean that integrates user emotion, professional value, and social significance. It further becomes a vehicle for conveying life philosophies and creating social value, opening up new pathways for the sustainable development of the industry.
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