The LI-NING Singapore flagship store officially opened its doors at ION Orchard in July 2009 as part of its global expansion. The boutique is the company’s first badminton concept store, as well as the first flagship store outside China. The opening also marked the official announcement of the brand’s Southeast Asia regional office.

The brand, which was founded in 1990 by popular Chinese gymnast, Li Ning, is the largest sports brand from China. LI-NING’s strength lies in its in-house capabilities in product innovation, branding and marketing, manufacturing and retail. The brand sees Singapore as a key base to execute its strategy of sports category differentiation for badminton and brand internationalisation.

In Singapore, LI-NING will focus on brand building through sports development. Its key initiatives include a partnership with the Singapore Badminton Association and plans of setting up a badminton academy.

Speaking about the sporting brand’s expansion in the Republic, Quek Swee Kuan, Assistant Managing  Director, EDB said, “LI-NING’s choice of Singapore as its strategic centre for product innovation, global branding and marketing, reinforces our attraction as a ‘living lab’ for sports companies to gain consumer insight, test consumer tastes, and develop new products.”