Post-95 Generation Second Generation Takes Key Positions in Billion-Dollar Groups

Author | Zheng Qiao

Editor | Wang Xiaojuan

The post-95 generation has also begun to take charge of the financial lifeline of billion-dollar sports brands.

On March 18, XTEP INT'L (01368.HK) announced that former Chief Financial Officer Yang Lubin resigned and was appointed as the company's executive director. Subsequently, Ding Lizhi, the eldest daughter of Ding Shuibo, the founder, chairman, and CEO of XTEP Group, will take on the role of Chief Financial Officer of the group.

Public information shows that Ding Lizhi, born in 1995, holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of London. As early as 2017, Ding Lizhi joined XTEP and began to deeply participate in the supervision and implementation of multi-brand strategies, acquisitions, and integrations, as well as being responsible for multi-brand management, product development, and online and offline operations across the entire value chain. In 2024, she was promoted to vice president, overseeing the financial system.

Although she has been in the company for some time, her exposure to the outside world has been minimal. Currently, Ding Lizhi owns 73,494,957 shares of the company through her wholly-owned company Henley Hope Limited, accounting for approximately 2.65% of the company's total issued share capital.

However, Ding Shuibo has also stated that he is not in a hurry to pass the baton. He emphasized that "the operators of the enterprise are not limited to family members," but family members have already taken key positions in XTEP's management, with Ding Lizhi serving as Chief Financial Officer and her younger sister Ding Jiamin serving as e-commerce director, indicating that power is transitioning to the second generation of the family.

Rise of the Second Generation

In recent years, many well-known family businesses have seen their second generation step into the spotlight and gradually become key players.

Compared to her sister Ding Lizhi, the short video blogger Ding Jiamin, known as the second princess of XTEP, appears more frequently in the public eye. However, the older sister has already moved into a key position that controls the company's lifeline after years of training.

Ding Lizhi has also appeared in Ding Jiamin's Vlog. In the video, Ding Jiamin stated that her sister has a steady personality, while she herself is more lively, and the two sisters have a strong rapport in their interactions.

In the past few years, there has been little public knowledge about Ding Lizhi. At an earnings meeting, Ding Shuibo stated that Ding Lizhi has accumulated over seven years of experience in brand operations and finance.

According to public information, after being promoted to vice president in 2024, Ding Lizhi will mainly oversee the operations of the group's two major brands, K·SWISS and PALLADIUM; prior to Ding Lizhi taking over, XTEP announced the spin-off of the K·SWISS and PALLADIUM brands from the listed company, which will be privatized by the Ding Shuibo family.

Interestingly, similar to many stories depicted in novels, the two sisters of the Ding family have experienced brand marriages, attracting considerable external attention. In 2020, Ding Lizhi married Lin Xiaowei, the eldest son of Lin Xiaofa, the founder of Jomoo Group; in 2024, Ding Jiamin married Zhou Liyuan, the second son of Zhou Shaoxiong, the founder of Seven Wolves.

Compared to her low-key sister, Ding Jiamin plays the role of a bridge connecting the brand with young people on the internet.

"We, the 'second generation,' have slowly grown up and will naturally become the fresh blood of the brand, sharing the XTEP brand from the perspective of young people," Ding Jiamin once said in an interview Born in 1997, Ding Jiamin returned to China in 2019 after studying in the UK and joined XTEP INT'L. Although Ding Jiamin majored in financial accounting during university and her father hoped she would work in the finance department, she was more interested in the brand department.

In 2021, Ding Jiamin was transferred to the product department, leading the launch of the "Half Sugar Series" aimed at young women. She participated in product research and planning, and personally shot posters and endorsements, filling the gap for XTEP in the young women's market. Ding Jiamin also signed popular celebrities like Dilireba as brand ambassadors, personally participating in product promotion and endorsements.

Ding Jiamin quickly proved her insight into young women, achieving profitability in the first quarter of the official sale of the "Half Sugar Series."

In 2023, her responsibilities expanded to the trendy "X Gene Series," promoting the youthful innovation of sports fashion products. She also began overseeing the research and development of e-commerce footwear and apparel products, experimenting with live streaming sales, which drove rapid growth in online business. In 2024, she was promoted to Director of the E-commerce Product Center, fully managing the live streaming business. XTEP's online channels (such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu) saw sales growth of over 80% year-on-year, accounting for more than one-third of the main brand's revenue.

On social media, Ding Jiamin calls herself "the biggest fan of XTEP Group," with her personal Douyin account boasting over 880,000 followers. In interviews, she mentioned that becoming a "second-generation entrepreneur" was "a stroke of luck."

Ding Jiamin shares a variety of content in her videos, covering work routines, brand stories, personal life, and interactions with other second-generation entrepreneurs.

With her personal IP, Ding Jiamin also started live streaming. She invited her "second-generation" friends into the live stream, including Shizhan Cheng, the "Towel Prince" from Jieliya, Lin Xiaowei, the Chief Operating Officer of Jiujin Group and founder of the Xiaomu bathroom brand, and Xiao Manling, General Manager of the Overseas Center of Huaxiangyuan Tea Co., Ltd.

The decision for young second-generation leaders at XTEP to take on key positions is not an isolated case; sports brands from Fujian are generally entering a generational transition period, welcoming a wave of "second-generation entrepreneurs."

In recent years, local sports brands like Anta have also seen the founders' children take on important roles. In the Ding family of Anta, Ding Shijia's son Ding Sirong leads the high-end outdoor brand Kelong, promoting brand localization and youthfulness; while Ding Shizhong's son Ding Shaoxiang is responsible for Descente, focusing on the skiing and high-end sports market.

Running Shoes "Run" Out Growth

Along with personnel changes, XTEP also released its 2024 performance report.

XTEP's financial report for 2024 presents a complex performance picture. On one hand, the company achieved revenue of 13.577 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.5%, with net profit reaching 1.238 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.2%, setting a historical high. The gross profit margin also improved overall by 1.4 percentage points to 43.2%, and inventory turnover days decreased by 22 days year-on-year to 68 days, reflecting improved supply chain efficiency after divesting low-efficiency brands.

However, the revenue growth rate of the main brand XTEP plummeted from 24.5% in 2021 to 3.2%, with revenue accounting for as much as 90.8%, highlighting concerns about sluggish growth From the perspective of various businesses, there has been significant growth in the professional sports sector, with revenue increasing by 57.2% to 1.25 billion yuan, accounting for 9.21%, becoming the second growth curve. The gross profit margin for this segment surged by 17 percentage points year-on-year, driving overall profitability.

Among them, the Saucony brand performed particularly well, with revenue exceeding 1 billion yuan and a compound annual growth rate of over 100% over the past four years. It has continuously attracted elite groups in high-tier cities through the expansion of 145 stores and its apparel and lifestyle product lines. Additionally, the synergy between Maile and Saucony is significant, indicating that after divesting the non-core brands K·SWISS and Palladium, resources are more focused.

Last year, XTEP's children's business also saw growth, with revenue increasing by over 20% year-on-year, although the net number of stores decreased by 119.

In terms of channel transformation, e-commerce revenue accounted for over 30%, with emerging platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu growing by 80%. The upgrade of the ninth-generation stores improved the average transaction value, but the number of offline adult stores decreased by 189, showing that the traditional distribution model is under pressure.

XTEP is already planning some channel upgrades. XTEP stated that from the second half of 2025 to 2026, it will reclaim 400-500 distribution stores to convert them to direct sales, enhancing data-driven and retail efficiency.

However, industry insiders generally believe that XTEP's current growth is primarily driven by Saucony, known as the "Rolls-Royce of running shoes," which is also seen as XTEP's aspiration to create its own "ancestor bird." In December 2023, XTEP acquired the equity held by the joint venture for $61 million and acquired 40% of Saucony's equity in China, achieving 100% ownership of Saucony's business in China.

In the 2024 Shanghai Marathon, the wearing rate of XTEP running shoes surpassed that of international brands for the first time, confirming its brand influence. Additionally, XTEP will shorten the new product launch cycle through the production of smart factories, with the turnover days for footwear inventory in 2024 reduced to 68 days, better than the industry average.

However, XTEP also faces numerous challenges and risks. The main brand is overly reliant on the running category, with insufficient market penetration in basketball and cross-training. At the same time, as international brands like Nike, Adidas, and ANTA accelerate their penetration, Saucony needs to establish differentiated recognition in the high-end market to cope with increasingly fierce international competition.

Ding Shuibo stated at the earnings conference that the group's strategy is very clear, focusing continuously on running and developing in the direction of "professionalization and refinement."

XTEP also plans to increase R&D efforts to build the largest running ecosystem in China. Furthermore, XTEP will continue to leverage the synergy between the XTEP main brand, Saucony, and Maile to expand market share.

Currently, the characteristics of XTEP's various brands are also somewhat similar to the roles in corporate management. Although the first generation and the main brand have not seen growth, they are substantial in size, while new brands and the second generation are emerging but currently struggle to support a significant presence, indicating that a true transfer of power will still take time.

For XTEP, the second generation stepping into key positions is not only a transition of power but also a test of the company's strategic innovation and governance capabilities. In the future, whether XTEP can achieve brand upgrades and market breakthroughs after the second generation becomes a key role will still depend on its execution capability and adaptability to the industry Risk Warning and Disclaimer

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