KANGNAI, HAILI, AND LI NING 145 accepted to provide sports equipment for the Asian Games torch relay, slated to take place in Beijing in 1990. A number of estab- lished foreign sports apparel companies had bid on providing the clothing for the Asian Games, but Li argued that it made no sense to have foreigners advertising their companies on the backs of Asians participating in the games, and he won the contract to pro- vide 10,000 athletic suits for the event. Li decided to use his own name as the brand for the clothing, reasoning that his popularity as a sports star would be a powerful selling point. Having succeeded at the Asian Games, Li moved his company to Beijing and decided to focus on providing clothing and equip- ment to other sports enthusiasts. On June 28, 2004, the company was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The IPO raised $70.54 million, which enabled it to evolve into a professionally managed corporation. At the same time, the company established an R&D center in Hong Kong. The idea was to be in touch with global trends, provide new designs, and make Li Ning's products internationally competitive. GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT In 2003, Li Ning was still trailing behind foreign brands like Nike and Adidas, but it was already producing more than half of the sports apparel and footwear sold by Chinese companies in China. From 2004 to 2008, the company added around 800 stores a year. By August 2010, there were more than 7,000 outlets across China, 11 flagship stores in major cities, and new stores opening at a rapid clip. The vast majority of the outlets were franchises sup- plied by 130 distributors. The company was also introducing 600 new shoe models a year. The flagship stores were intended to build brand recognition and credibility. Li Ning was actively talking about plans to have more than 9,000 stores by 2013. At the same time, it announced plans to consolidate or drop some 600 stores American Management Association / www.amanet.org