NBA star Tony Parker signs shoes for fans on July 5 at Chengdu University of Technology, Sichuan Province. Parker led an entourage of more than 20 NBA stars to nine cities during their Peak China tour. Photo: Courtesy of Peak

 

On July 5, the basketball court at  Chengdu University of Technology in Sichuan Province was crammed with young fans eagerly awaiting the "Buy Peak, See Parker" promotion sponsored by Peak Sport.

Fans braved the sweltering heat anticipating the arrival of French basketball star and Peak brand ambassador Tony Parker. Earlier, all of Parker's signature TP9 line of basketball shoes had sold out at local stores.

Chengdu was one of nine cities visited by the Parker-led entourage of NBA stars. Their visits unsurprisingly triggered a surge in sales of Peak basketball shoes.

Every summer, Peak's China tour of NBA stars never fails to draw widespread public attention. Indeed, the NBA stars' China tours have evolved to become a part of the brand in itself.

Since Shane "Batman" Battier came to China seven years ago as a Peak brand ambassador, a long line of NBA stars have followed in his footsteps and treated fans to exhibition basketball games.

Peak enlisted more than 20 NBA stars for this year's China tour that connected players with Chinese fans in more than 50 cities.

Over the past four years, Chinese basketball fans have reveled at seeing Slovene sensation Sasha Vujacic, Metta World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest), Jason Kidd and Battier in China sharing their experiences.

Many basketball fans posted comments directed at Peak on Sina Weibo saying that the arrival of NBA stars in China had become synonymous with the sports brand giant. "Apparently, NBA players' China tours have become a festival for us," one fan wrote.

This represents a win-win relationship for both fans and Peak Sport. Every visit of contracted sports stars delivers a surge in the sale of Peak shoes. In the first half of this year, Peak suppliers made replacement orders for up to 400,000 pairs of basketball shoes.

According to a report by the China General Chamber of Commerce, Peak has dominated the domestic basketball shoes market for the past five years.

Xu Zhihua, CEO of Peak Sport, vowed his company would introduce more NBA stars to Chinese basketball fans under the goal of fostering greater brand loyalty.

"We will strengthen our leadership in the basketball shoes market through upgraded design and quality of products that meet customers' expectations," he said.

Global Times