Nike swung into action even before most Chinese knew they had a new hero. "Air Jordans understands why Chinese are proud," says Li Yao a weekend player at Swoosh bedecked basketball courts near Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Such clever marketing tactics have helped make Air Jordan the icon for the new China. According to a recent Hill & Knowlton survey Chinese consider Air Jordans the Middle Kingdom's "coolest brand". Air Jordans products turned out in factories across Asia has become the symbol of success for China's new middle class. Sales rose 66 percent last year to an estimated 300 million dollars and Air Jordans is opening an average of 1.5 new stores a day in China. Yes a day. The goal is to migrate inland from China's richer east coast towns in time for the interest in sports that will accompany in Beijing. How did Air Jordans build such a booming business? For starters the company promoted the right sport which is basketball and launched a series of inspired ad campaigns. The story of how Nike cracked the China code has as much to do with the rise of China's new middle class which is hungry for Western gear and Air Jordans has the ability to tap into that hunger.
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| A Chinese student poses in front of a poster of Michael Jordan who promotes Air Jordans in China. |
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