Gene Yoon, brand chairman of Fila Group
The Fila Group plans to become the world’s fourth-largest sportswear firm in five years with $3 billion in annual sales, its brand chairman, Gene Yoon, said yesterday.
If the company reaches that goal, it will come in behind Nike, Adidas and Puma. Currently, Fila is not even in the top five sportswear brands, officials said.
“When Fila Korea acquired [the Fila Group] in 2007, the firm was in an unstable [financial] situation,” Yoon said after participating in the Fila 2009 Global Conference held at the Grand Intercontinental hotel in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul. “But for the past three years we have successfully solved the problems by restructuring, which included repaying debts and venturing into overseas licensing. And now we’re ready. It’s time to make money.”
Compared with 2007, Yoon expects the firm’s global sales to increase 20 percent, to $1.2 billion this year.
“We really had various economic crises but have solved them,” the chairman said. “We are now setting up the platform to visualize our future by building up a strong sourcing structure.”
Yoon said that collaboration with international corporations – including Honda and Firestone – help complement the brand’s weaknesses and will aid its expansion.
“At present, the [Fila] brand in China is like a blank sheet of paper; it’s nowhere,” said James Zheng, the executive vice president of Fila China. “In five years, though, we are hoping to become a leading sports brand there, one that contributes to the global Fila.”
Fila China signed a partnership agreement with Anta Sports, China’s leading sports brand, to boost its presence in the country. Meanwhile, Yoon said Fila Korea will go public sometime next year.
By Lee Eun-joo [angie@joongang.co.kr]
