When it comes to Kappa, many young people today may not know much about it, but for many people born in the 80s and 90s, Kappa was an indelible memory in their youth, and it once led the trend of an era! In China, because of its unique logo design, Kappa is more commonly known as "back to back".

At the peak of its development in 2010, Kappa's annual revenue reached 4.262 billion yuan, operating profit reached 1.741 billion yuan, and there were as many as 4,000 stores. Its popularity is evident! However, Kappa, which once crushed all major sports brands, experienced agents taking the lead in selling fake goods in just a few years. It lost more than 700 million in 5 months and was granted the exclusive right to use its trademark...

Now, it has fallen into obscurity and gradually faded out of the public eye. Why did "Kappa", the former king of sports brands and China's number one sports brand, fall to this level?

Due to the previous over-expansion of the domestic sports shoes and apparel industry, inventory backlog, coupled with changes in industry channels, the industry has transformed from brand wholesalers to brand retailers. During this period, China Trend failed to predict the market trend and make changes in time, which caused Kappa to go downhill and gradually faded out of the public eye.

Success is also a failure, Olympic dividends have disappeared, industry consumption has declined overall, and sports brand inventories have surged. While other brands are constantly seeking innovation, Kappa seems to be still immersed in the glory of the past, and its business model is still Stay in the inertia of large-scale expansion.

After Kappa reached its peak moment, other sports brands jumped on the national trend. Unfortunately, Kappa failed to capture the pulse of the industry and gradually began to fall behind. In the following year, it fell out of the list of sports brands. For the first echelon, sales have dropped all the way since then, from 4.26 billion yuan to 1.41 billion yuan in 2013.

In 2012, Kappa encountered a sales model crisis. In order to make money, dealers sold their inventory while selling fake products. For a time, Kappa fakes were rampant on the market. The original "high-end sports brand" Hit rock bottom straight away. In 2014, Kappa entered the home furnishing field. From research and development to production and sales, Kappa embarked on a road of brand licensing. With continuous transformation, Kappa has gradually drifted away from its original intention. In addition, due to the hidden dangers of the asset-light model, Kappa's brand premium capability is also declining year by year.

Looking at the history of the rise and fall of Kappa’s brand, we can see that capital operation can indeed see results faster than brand operation, because brand operation relies on continuous investment, but direct authorization to sell trademarks can guarantee profits despite droughts and floods. Kappa, which once stood at the top of the Chinese sports brand pyramid, has now fallen here. The importance of the company's brand development is self-evident. Whether Kappa can turn around in the Chinese market ultimately depends on the operation of the brand itself.