Digitization: A New Opportunity for the Sustainable Development of China’s Sportswear Industry

Abstract

Although the market size of China's sportswear industry has tripled from 2012 to 2019, the growth of it slowed down in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The problems we face in the short term are the postponement and cancellation of games, the reduction of outdoor activities and the plunging of travel. In the long run, people are losing faith about the predictable future and are less willing to invest. This paper proposes that digitization will be a new opportunity for the sustainable development of China's sportswear in the next five years, and discusses why, what and how digitization contributes to the long-term development from five sports segments: place, performance, production, promotion, people. Further, we will discuss what roles government policy makers and free markets entrepreneurs play in the process. Overall, digitization can accelerate technology’s application in the sportswear industry and increase the extensive connection between the governments and emerging enterprises.