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** Brand Officer
Author Brand Officer
**More expensive than Nike and Adidas, successfully copied lululemon, the niche brand Ang Run has become a veritable one"Middle-class harvester".
Angpao, this slightly obscure professional running shoe brand, friends who have no fitness habits are estimated to be very unfamiliar.
In the field of fitness, Ang Run is the new favorite of many fitness peopleA full set of lululemon with Ang run is the standard for middle-class people in gyms in first-tier cities.
From the perspective of market performance, Ang Run has also handed over a brilliant report card!
Some time ago, Ang Run released its financial report for the third quarter of the fiscal year ended September 30It has created the strongest performance since its listing.
Net sales year-over-yearto 4800 million Swiss francs (about 3.9 billion yuan).Net profit jumped 185%.to 58.7 million Swiss francs (about 4.).RMB 8.1 billion).
According to the third quarter financial report, in the first nine months of this year, the net sales of Angpao reached 134.5 billion Swiss francs (about 1102.4 billion RMB),A year-on-year increase of 465%。
Gross margin also increased from 57 in the same period in 20221%，up to 599%, an all-time high.
The Asia-Pacific region, including China, saw the fastest net sales growth, an increase of 71 over the same period5% to CHF 41.6 million (about 3.)RMB 4.2 billion).
Founded in 2010, this emerging running shoe brand,In 2018, it entered the Chinese market for the first time.
After 5 years of low-key entry into China, facing the four major world running shoe brands - ASICS, Brooks, Saucony, and New BalanceHow did such an upstart in the industry capture the domestic middle class and achieve high growth?
I have to say that by harvesting the middle class, Ang Run did win.
The aesthetic orientation of the middle class is inseparable"Expensive", "Professional", "Niche".These are a few labels.
And Ang Run is exactly what they like.
Expensive, it must be expensive, otherwise how to show the identity of the middle class?
Like one of the middle-class three-piece Archaeopteryx, a jacket is tens of thousands, ** not cheap,This sets a bar for brandsOnly those who have the ability to spend can get it.
It can be seen from the Tmall*** of Angpao,Its men's and women's ** running shoes are basically more than 1,000 yuan.
*The tallest is a 2023 new Ang Run lightweight waterproof men's outdoor sneaker,The price is 2990 yuan.
The lowest priced item is the Cloud 5 lightweight, breathable and comfortable men's sports running shoeThe price is 990 yuan.
And in Nike***, its highest is a Superfly 9 Elite FG men's soccer boot Winter Fly Weave FD1157,The price is only 2339 yuan
There are also plenty of sneakers to choose from for a few hundred dollars.
is so arrogant, it can be seen that Ang Ran isThe main mid-to-high-end route is not only priced high, but also relatively narrow.
I have to say that the price of Ang Run is just right, a little more expensive than Nike, and they can accept itIt's rude to be too expensive.
Then, on the basis of expensive, it is also necessary to have professionalismOtherwise, it will be ridiculed as "IQ tax" and "people are stupid and have a lot of money"., the middle class is not happy.
At the beginning of its establishment, Ang Run has always emphasized that he has made it"The world's lightest cushioned running shoes", with the blessing of "black technology".
For example, they have issued several patentsExclusive cushioning technology CloudTec, Speedboard propeller plate, Helion Superfoam foam and much more.
One more point,Ang Run is a brand from SwitzerlandAs soon as I heard this birthplace, it came with professionalism.
Because Swiss mechanical watches and precision instruments are world-famousIt is a country that has taken precision and precision to the extreme.
MoreoverThe founder of Ang Run is a famous Swiss athlete, former triathlete and champion winner Olivier Bernhardt.
After the athlete retires, he starts a business to make running shoes, which is convincing and can be said to be leveraged.
Who else knows sneakers better than an athlete?
So in this way, everyone has no doubt about the professionalism of Angpao.
Another point is the niche.
This label is too important for the middle class.
Because they are tired of the hot styles on the bad street, they also have the psychology of "aesthetic fatigue" for mainstream running shoes.
What they want:Low-key, but noble, identity products.
As a result, Angpao, which entered the domestic market in 2018, attracted their attention.
The logo of the upper O and lower N continues the minimalist style of Switzerland, as well as the highly recognizable hollow soleAll of them give the running shoes a layer of "personality" and "distinctive" look.
After positioning the core consumer group, Angrun will "go out of the circle" and let more middle-class people know about this brand.
Therefore, it is still the consistent marketing routine of the sports brandCelebrity.
Ang Ran hired tennis superstar Federer as a spokesperson, and in addition, he is also an investor who contributes money and efforts.
Choosing a tennis star to be the spokesperson doesn't seem to have much to do with sneakers.
However, this is exactly in line with the positioning of Angpao.
Because,Tennis is a sport that is difficult for ordinary people to access, and it is a sport with a threshold, only those who have money and leisure can play.
That's itIt further strengthens the symbol of "middle class".
To sum up,Ang Run can be said to have accurately hit the consumption and psychological needs of the middle classSo, it's no surprise that it's favored.
According to the prospectus of Angpao,43% of customers own more than one pair of Run sneakers, and 75% of customers are happy to recommend Run to others.
It can be seen that Ang Run has indeed firmly delineated the "middle class" group.
With the departure of Ang Run, it has gradually become more well-known from the "niche", and it is inevitable that Ang Run will alsoFaced with more doubts and complaints.
Since Ang Run is a niche brand with vertical segmentation, it is for:The positioning of the crowd will be more focused and accurate, either a group with spending power or a habit of exercising and running.
And it just so happens that this group of people is very picky,There are high requirements and products for running equipmenttaste, if it does not meet their psychological expectations, it will inevitably make them jealous and disappointed.
On social platforms, there are many posts of stepping on the pit and complaining about running, which has aroused heated discussions.
Degumming, not durable, costly shoes, broken bottom, stuck instepand so on are more keywords, and many of the following "sympathetic" Angpao consumers are also complainingIts quality control is poor, and the quality is not worthy of **.
"More than 1,000 yuan shoes break in a few months, and my 150 Reebok is still very strong. ”
Some netizens even bluntly said that who would buy a serious runner?
"If you're serious about buying a big brand, you'll find a more mature and cost-effective option than every one of their collections. ”
However, there are also many fans of Ang Run, saying that Ang Run is flexible and light to the touchThe soles of the feet are not prone to soreness, and the light foot feeling and sensitive feedback are very differentIt was comfortable.
Ang run this brand is very magical, if you don't understand it, you will feel very chicken, and if you understand it, you will feel that it is true love.
Consumers feel that chicken ribs are normal, after all, the ** of Ang run is not cheap, and the middle class wants to obtain a "sense of consumer security" by buying mid-to-high-end brands.
As a result, there are frequent problems with the qualityThis sense of security for them is shattered, naturally, not happy.
And the loyal customers of Angpao are actually moreIt comes from a change in experience and a sense of self-worth and belonging.
Because the marketing of Ang Run is really out of the circle, it isCrafted for community.
Ang Run was foundedThe "On Run Club" sports community, which will be held on a regular basisOffline runningand other activities, the theme is varied and the frequency is also high.
Run also organizes events with different partners such as sports communities, shopping malls and fun running circles.
This particular experience can form a two-way flow with the user, and this type of activity is used forIncrease user stickiness and loyaltyTarget.
After all, once the middle class finds and recognizes a brand and its products, they will have much higher-than-average brand loyaltyBe willing to keep paying.
Every activity, every feeling, is something that can be reproduced. After that, through their word-of-mouth, the interaction and sharing between users, and the spontaneous publicity of the circle.
This point has similar traces to lululemon's path to popularity.
It's no wonder that some people say that Ang Run is the "lululemon" of the running shoe circle.
Although Ang Run is a young brand, but in the past two years, there is obviously a very strong growth, coupled with the endorsement of "Fei Tianwang" sparing no effort, Ang Run running shoes have gradually been known by the public.
In running shoe giants Nike, Adidas, ASICS, etc., relying on decades of strong barriers on the brand side and product side, it is not easy for any new brand to get a share of the running shoe market.
Ang Ran also knew that it couldn't roll the giants, so it found another wayBy shaping a sense of identity, creating a symbol of the middle class.
It is aimed at sports enthusiasts and high-spending people who have requirements for quality of life.
It can be said thatProduct + Technology + Sustainability + CommunityIt is the magic weapon of Ang Run.
Imitate lululemon in creating a hit,Reach people by spreading the spirit of sports.
For the question "Will Ang Run be the next lululemon?".Most netizens disagree with this topicThey believe that Ang's popularity is only due to "luck".
"Ang Run is still a niche culture, lululemon is no longer it, it took a lot of time to iterate, the shoes are really because Nike and Adidas have fallen asleep recently, and there is a gap between Kanye and Virgil. ”There are also those who thinkAng Pao is a product of pure marketing, which only imitates the shape of lululemon, but not its essence.
"Lululemon is a pure marketing brand, he doesn't have any technology and star products, lululemon is leading the fashion of athleisure, it is not just a sports brand, but more of a lifestyle brand. ”
"Nike has changed people's habits of spending on sneakers, and lululemon has changed people's habits of spending on sportswear. ”As Ang Run stands at the fork in the road from professional to popular, danger also exists, and Under Armour is a lesson from the past.
Under Armour, which also started as a market segment and was once popular in North America, was ultimately overshadowed by its failure to please the mass market and its lack of focus on a "professional" sports brand image.
But in any case, Ang Run has at least survived the stage from 1 to 10, and it may be difficult to replace lululemonEvery aspect of the product's quality, target consumer groups and marketing methods is crucial.
Did you run through Ang?What do you think about its pricing?Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss and express your opinions or opinions, thank you.