What happened? Pou Sheng, the key distributor for Nike and adidas, reported FY23 results last night and we listened to their earnings call in Mandarin. BNPP Exane View: Our key takeaway is that the sporting goods environment in China remains challenged with revs anticipated to be flat. The silver lining is that Pou Sheng is adding exciting new brands like Hoka, Saucony, Bosideng, and the Korean yoga brand Xexymix (see link). The China sporting goods market is very challenged: Post our China Sporting Goods trip, we came back very cautious on the state of the Chinese consumer and demand for sporting goods within the country (see The Great Wall). This view was reinforced by Pou Sheng''s earnings call last night. Management noted that they are concerned with the state of China''s macro and potential geopolitical risk. Maybe the latter was a reference to Congress''s TikTok ban which could result in backlash towards iconic US brands like Apple, Starbucks and Nike in China. Management is projecting flat revenues for FY24. This is concerning as Pou Sheng, along with Topsports, are the two key retail partners in China and consensus is modelling Nike China revenues up 10% for FY25 which starts in a few months. Nike China up 8% was driven by sell in from wholesale and that''s a risk when Pou Sheng and Topsports are cautious on the environment. At adidas'' full year results yesterday, the company disclosed Greater China Q4 constant currency revenue growth of +37%, reflecting strong growth in both wholesale and own retail as well as multi-year soft comps. Management said that it has been able to market to consumers in an ''almost normal way'', noting that it was the best market situation it has faced in four years. It guides 2024 Greater China revenues to grow at double-digits (underlying cFX growth, excluding Yeezy). Nearer term, management noted that store traffic fell off after CNY but this was offset by online. Store revs represent 73% of FY23 revenues for Pou...