Shoes might be in by the end of the year.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: The Chinese athletic shoe makers Li Ning has teamed up with Xiaomi, the leading smartphone manufacturer in China to produce “smart” running shoes by the end of the year.
According to reports, the new effort of Li Ning is aimed at improving the companies depleting share in the market. TPG Capital and Singapore Wealth fund GIC, which backs the shoe brand Li Ning had registered a continuous three years of loss.
The new initiative of the company hopes to revive the golden days of Li Ning by attracting the youngsters with new designs and features, in addition to a full-fledged media campaign. The company had earlier got NBA basketball celebrity Dwayne Wade to sign a multi-million dollar sponsorship deal.
The new partnership between Li Ning and Huami Technology, the company that designed Mi Band and moreover a property of Xiaomi, is noted as the first ever collaboration between a sports and technology company in China.
The new smart shoe will have a chip embedded inside the sole that will be wirelessly connected to the Xiaomi smartphone app. This allows runners to keep track of their progress and results, analyse their performance, and make adjustments.
According to the press release of Li Ning, “We have chosen to collaborate with the Mi band because of Huami Technology’s strength in ‘smart’ wearable products. We hope to use this opportunity to provide professional ‘smart’ running shoes to running enthusiasts in China at an affordable price.”
Li-Ning had aggressively done sponsorship during the 2008 Summer Olympics being held in Beijing, China. It also sponsored several Chinese sporting teams, as well as the Spanish and Swedish Olympics teams.