Li-Ning: Make the Change

In 2010, Li-Ning launched a new logo and slogan targeting young consumers. It had planned to expand its domestic market advantage by rebranding and lay a foundation for its next step toward globalization, however, the market reaction in 2011 was unsatisfactory: consumers born in the 1970s and 1980s complained of having been forgotten by Li-Ning, and younger consumers born in 1990s didn’t recognize Li-Ning as a professional sports brand with international impact. Meanwhile, the company’s channel partners also expressed their dissatisfaction with the price increases and centralization of the distribution network, leading to a decline in sales orders. Surpassed by Adidas, the company dropped to third place in the Chinese market. Then, its share price dropped from a peak of HK $31 to HK $6, losing 80% of its stock value. What was wrong with Li-Ning? Was brand rebuilding itself the problem? Or was there something wrong in the brand rebuilding process? The case involves how to rebuild brands, and how to implement brand rebuilding.