Leading Chinese sports giant Li-Ning plans to add 700 stores this year for a total of 4,000 in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2005, store number rose from 2,887 to 3,300.
The company said about 80 percent of the new stores, which will be located mainly in shopping malls, will be franchised.
Same-store sales, which increased 12.8 percent in the first half of 2005, will also see double-digit growth for the full year.
Ahead of the Olympics, the firm is also boosting promotional and NPD spending. Promotional investment will account for 14-16 percent of total turnover in 2007, compared to the current 13-15 percent, and NPD will rise to 5 percent of costs in 2008 from 3.8 percent currently.
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