After acquiring German outdoor brand Jack Wolfskin in April 2025 and, months later, announcing a joint venture with South Korean fashion company Musinsa to establish Musinsa China, Anta’s growing stature as a global dealmaker has become hard to ignore. That perception has only strengthened in the new year, when market rumors surfaced around its interest in acquiring a stake in German sportswear brand Puma.
That speculation was confirmed earlier today, when Anta Sports announced it had agreed to acquire a 29.06% stake in Puma from Groupe Artemis, the investment vehicle of the Pinault family, for EUR 1.5 billion (USD 1.8 billion) in cash. The transaction would make Anta Puma’s largest shareholder and is expected to close by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Anta said the deal will be funded entirely from its internal cash resources.
The group may not be finished. Reports have also emerged that Swiss outdoor brand Mammut is exploring a potential sale, with Anta among the parties said to be considering a bid.
The moves point to a clear appetite for global expansion, backed by a balance sheet to match. At the same time, its growing prominence in cross-border acquisitions has partly masked a slowdown at its core Anta brand.
On January 20, Anta released guidance for its full-year and fourth-quarter 2025 results. For the full year, the Anta brand posted low single-digit growth, matched by Fila, while the group’s other brands delivered retail sales growth of 45–50%. In a sportswear market that has broadly decelerated, the contrast was notable. Anta also reaffirmed its guidance for full-year revenue and operating margin.
The fourth quarter, however, painted a more uneven picture. Sales at the Anta brand declined by a low single-digit percentage, while Fila, still undergoing restructuring, recorded mid-single-digit growth.
Fila’s long road back
Fila’s trajectory has drawn sustained scrutiny from investors. Anta’s acquisition of the brand remains one of its most consequential deals and one that shaped its broader strategy of focusing on a single core competency, building a multi-brand portfolio, and pursuing global expansion.
In August 2009, Anta acquired the rights to operate the Fila trademark in China from Belle International for RMB 332 million (USD 46.5 million). At the time, Fila had roughly 50 stores nationwide and was losing more than RMB 32 million (USD 4.5 million) annually. Leveraging its distribution strength in lower-tier cities, Anta repositioned the brand. By 2014, Fila had returned to profitability.
The turnaround rested on three pillars: installing a new management team, repositioning Fila as a sportswear brand for China’s growing middle class, and shifting from a wholesale model to direct retail, with a focus on first- and second-tier cities and shopping malls.
In the first half of 2019, Anta disclosed Fila’s financials separately for the first time. Revenue surged 80%, and the brand accounted for 44.1% of group sales. That disclosure coincided with a series of critical reports from Muddy Waters Research. Anta responded by pointing to Fila’s continued growth, blunting the impact of the allegations. Anta’s market capitalization later climbed to a peak of about HKD 500 billion (USD 64.1 billion).
That momentum proved difficult to sustain. After the pandemic reshaped global retail, performance across the sportswear sector began to diverge. In 2022, Fila’s revenue declined for the first time, while gross margin and operating profit fell 7.2% and 19.4%, respectively.
After stabilizing its base, Fila renewed its focus on middle-class consumers. In January 2025, longtime executive Yao Weixiong retired after nearly 16 years with the brand. He was succeeded by Jiang Yan, who previously led Anta Kids and Fila Fusion. Soon after, Fila rolled out its “One Fila” strategy, aiming to refresh its offline retail experience and restore its positioning in high-end sports fashion.
Many industry observers argue that Fila’s ascent reflected not only Anta’s execution but also China’s broader consumption upgrade during the 2010s. From 2016 onward, Anta’s acquisitions of brands such as Descente and Kolon Sport laid the groundwork for its later push into outdoor apparel.
Outdoor expansion, domestic pressure
Anta’s most prominent global bet has been Amer Sports, particularly its high-end outdoor label Arc’teryx. In 2019, a consortium led by Anta acquired Amer Sports for EUR 4.6 billion (USD 5.4 billion). Five years later, in February 2024, Amer listed on the New York Stock Exchange. That year, it reported USD 73 million in net income attributable to shareholders, marking the first positive return Anta generated from the acquisition.
Anta’s approach to Amer echoed its earlier playbook with Fila, emphasizing international talent, brand discipline, and direct-to-consumer expansion. From an investor perspective, Amer’s valuation dipped temporarily following last September’s incident involving an Arc’teryx fireworks display in Tibet, but the stock has since recovered. As of January 21, Amer shares were up 167% from their listing price, implying an annualized return of more than 64%.
At the same time, Descente, Kolon Sport, and other labels have emerged as a third growth engine alongside Anta and Fila. The portfolio now spans multiple consumer segments. Anta continues to target the mass market, Fila sits at the intersection of sports and fashion, and Maia Active focuses on women’s activewear. Within outdoor apparel, Amer anchors the high end, Descente concentrates on premium ski apparel, Kolon Sport caters to light outdoor users, and Jack Wolfskin serves the mass market.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, brands under Anta excluding the Anta label posted significant sales growth. Zhongtai Securities reported that Descente grew more than 25% during the quarter and 40% for the full year, with annual revenue exceeding RMB 10 billion (USD 1.4 billion). Kolon Sport expanded around 55%, while Maia Active recorded growth above 25%.
Anta has the capital and organizational capacity to pursue further acquisitions. Still, slower growth among mature sportswear brands is an industry-wide challenge. Some analysts attribute the Anta brand’s fourth-quarter decline to weaker Singles’ Day sales. The company’s interim report showed gross margin fell 1.7 percentage points year-on-year, largely due to heavier investment in professional and new product lines and a rising share of online sales.
Peers such as Nike and Li-Ning have faced similar pressures and have moved to rebalance their channel strategies by reinforcing physical retail. Zhongtai Securities expects the Anta brand to return to growth in 2026, although it forecasts continued margin pressure at both Anta and Fila. It also noted that Jack Wolfskin is likely to weigh on near-term profitability.
Taken together, the picture is clear. Anta’s global ambitions remain intact, but execution at home matters just as much. As its portfolio grows more complex, maintaining clear brand differentiation and protecting the credibility of its flagship label may prove to be the harder task. In a group built through acquisitions, defending the home front could be the most demanding challenge of all.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Xie Yunzi for 36Kr.