Media

26 September 2024, Hong Kong – Leading PRC-based professional sportswear enterprise Xtep International Holdings Limited (the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”) (Stock code: 1368. HK) is pleased to announce the official launch of the Xtep Innovation Center today, following three years of planning. This aims to accelerate the brand strategy layout of “Xtep: Chinese Roots, World-Class Running Shoes”, injecting strong momentum into the Group's future market competitiveness, and opening a new chapter.

The Innovation Center is situated in the Siming District of Xiamen, where Xtep’s operational headquarters is located. It covers an area of over 30,000 square meters and brings together more than 700 employees, establishing a comprehensive closed-loop system spanning product planning, design, research and development, sample production, and supplier management. On the day of its launch, Xtep also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Siming District Government of Xiamen to jointly promote the establishment of new research and development institutions, including the “New Materials Engineering Research Laboratory for Sports” and the “Sports Health Data Engineering Research Laboratory”. This initiative aims to create a “Silicon Valley” for the sportswear industry, propelling future development.

The official launch of the Xtep Innovation Center

In addition, at the end of August, Xtep unveiled the sixth generation of 160X running shoe, incorporating the industry’s first “Golden Carbon Fiber Plate” and “Injection Moulding Foam” technology, breaking through the performance bottleneck of running shoes. 160X has become a popular running shoe on the running social platform Joyrun, demonstrating Xtep’s leading position in the field of running shoe technology.

Mr. Ding Shui Po, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Xtep International Holdings Limited, said, “Since its listing in 2008, the Group has invested over RMB2 billion accumulated to date in research and development. Today, with the official opening of this Innovation Center, it will serve as the ‘brain’ of Xtep’s research and development and the ‘heart’ of innovation. We will use this as a cornerstone, dedicating ourselves to creating more outstanding and higher-quality running shoes for Chinese runners, accelerating the brand strategic layout of ‘Xtep: Chinese Roots, World-Class Running Shoes’ and leading the industry towards new heights.”