XIAMEN, China, May 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In recent years, the global athletic footwear market has maintained steady sales volume growth. This expansion is driven by the escalating consumer demand for superior comfort, advanced functionality, and everyday versatility, coupled with technological breakthroughs in midsole materials and manufacturing processes toward high performance, lightweight structures, and sustainability. Concretely, global athletic footwear sales volume has expanded from 4.57 billion pairs in 2021 to 5.30 billion pairs in 2025. In the Chinese market*, the growing popularity of marathons and road running events among the general public has further catalyzed the expansion of the professional racing shoes and related running gear segments. Against this backdrop, Xtep has distinguished itself with market leadership that has been independently validated.
Based on independent market research conducted by Frost & Sullivan on the global and Chinese running shoes and sportswear industries, Xtep has been awarded three prestigious market leadership recognitions: " Leading Position in global running shoes market based on sales volume in 2025."; " Ranked No.1 in China by Marathon Running Shoes Wearing Rate for 3 consecutive years（2023-2025）"; and " Ranked Top 3 among Chinese Sportswear brands. (Measured by Sales value of 2025)." From the scale of event sponsorships and depth of runner services to on-track product performance, Xtep's comprehensive cultivation in the running domain has received definitive validation from international authoritative research institutions and the global market. To understand how Xtep achieved these milestones, it is essential to first examine the broader running shoe industry—its product categories, evolution, and current market drivers.
Running Shoe Market: An Overview
Running shoes are purposefully designed athletic footwear engineered to deliver superior cushioning, support, stability, and breathability. Their core value proposition lies in joint protection, running efficiency enhancement, and multi-scenario adaptability. Categorized by function, the market comprises stability, racing, and cushioned running shoes; based on application scenarios, the product portfolio is divided into road running shoes, treadmill and indoor athletic shoes, and trail running shoes.
The global running shoe industry has evolved through three distinct epochs: the Performance-Oriented Era (Pre-1980s–2000), during which products primarily served competitive sports with a core focus on functional enhancements; the Technological Iteration & Mass Expansion Era (2000–2015), characterized by major upgrades in core technologies such as cushioning, support, and lightweight engineering, alongside the popularization of running among the general fitness public; and the Segmented Scenarios & Brand Premiumization Era (2020–Present), where consumer preferences have shifted toward specialized niches and platform-based technological innovations, steering the industry toward high performance, multi-scenario utility, and strategic brand differentiation.
Echoing global megatrends, China's running shoe industry has undergone a parallel upgrade from rudimentary features to specialization, scenario-specific design, and robust brand positioning. Since 2000, international brands have accelerated their market entry into China, while domestic powerhouses such as Xtep, Anta, and Li-Ning have steadily risen, propelling the Chinese running shoe market into its own era of technological iteration and mass-market expansion.
Market Drivers of the Running Shoe Industry
Driven by the widespread adoption of healthy lifestyles and the continuous momentum of marathons and road running events, market demand within the running shoe industry has been continuously unleashed. In 2024, a total of 749 road running races were hosted nationwide, drawing a cumulative total of over 7.04 million participants. In 2025, the racing landscape pivoted toward optimizing quality while rationalizing quantity, with 594 events held throughout the year, attracting 6.399 million participants. The mainstream popularization of these events has significantly expanded the runner baseline, thereby generating sustainable growth in demand for professional running shoes, functional apparel, and supporting gear.
The competitive landscape of the running shoe industry is pivoting from basic functionalities to a holistic competition encompasses technological platforms, product matrices, and multi-scenario adaptability. As marathons serve as a crucial testing ground for the product capabilities of professional footwear, domestic running shoes have seen a continuous surge in their wearing rate, brand exposure, and word-of-mouth reputation on the race tracks in recent years. An increasing number of runners are opting for domestic professional running shoes for both daily training and competitive races, underscoring the growing market endorsement of domestic brands regarding racing performance, wearing experience, and product stability.
Xtep Builds a Comprehensive Professional Running Ecosystem to Fully Meet the Needs of Both Elite and Mass Runners
Since establishing its strategic focus on running in 2007, Xtep has consistently deepened its footprint in the running track. Driven by technological R&D, oriented by runner needs, and supported by professional services, Xtep has constructed an industry-leading professional running ecosystem characterized by all-scenario coverage and all-population adaptability, cementing its status as a premier brand in China's running domain. Adhering to innovation-driven and independent R&D, Xtep has consolidated four core running technologies: XTEP FIT Technology, which leverages over 300,000 Chinese foot shape data points to establish China's largest foot shape database, crafting shoe lasts tailored to the Chinese populace; XTEP DURA Technology, which pioneers the use of marathon-grade CPU materials coupled with AI gait analysis to design outsole patterns, achieving a wear-resistant and anti-slip lifespan of over 2,000 kilometers; XTEP ACE+ Technology, which utilizes a supercritical foaming process with a dual-density "soft upper, resilient lower" golden combination design, delivering an outstanding resilient and elastic underfoot feel to help runners accelerate; and Xtep's proprietary XTEP POWER Technology Matrix, which innovatively applies aerospace-grade PI fibers and basalt fibers to running shoes, effectively resolving the industry pain point of carbon fiber brittleness and fracture, thereby providing runners with more powerful propulsion and long-lasting stability. These four technological platforms act synergistically to form the technical bedrock of Xtep's professional running footwear.
In terms of product matrix, Xtep centers on its flagship "Champion Edition Collection" to build a comprehensive running shoe portfolio spanning elite racing, progressive training, and mass jogging. Among them, the 160X Champion Edition series has undergone multiple generations of iterations. As of 2025, it has empowered 141 Chinese athletes to clinch 620 marathon championships, becoming one of the most iconic domestic racing shoes on the marathon circuit. On March 1, 2026, at the Tokyo Marathon, Xtep's running brand ambassador, Feng Peiyou, wearing the Xtep 160X 7.0 PRO in the "Champion Sonata" colorway, shattered the national men's marathon record with a time of 2 hours, 05 minutes, and 58 seconds, ushering Chinese marathons into the "2:05 Era." Concurrently, models such as the 360X (the world's first flexible carbon plate running shoe), the 260X (an all-around competitive training powerhouse), and the AirFlow (a flagship cushioned running shoe) collectively form a comprehensive product lineup covering everyone from elite racers to mass fitness enthusiasts. Notably, Xtep running shoes have secured the No.1 ranking in China by Marathon Running Shoes Wearing Rate for 3 consecutive years（2023-2025）*.
Furthermore, Xtep continues to champion China's road running cause, having sponsored over 1,000 marathon events nationwide, making it the brand with the highest number of marathon sponsorships in China. Xtep has established 71 running clubs, serving over 2.5 million "Xtep Runners" members. Concurrently, through its proprietary IPs such as the "Chinese Running Race & Mass Running" initiative (jointly launched with the Chinese Athletics Association since 2019) and the "321 Running Festival," Xtep has constructed a one-stop runner service ecosystem encompassing professional gear, training courses, community activities, and event services.
1. Sourced from Frost & Sullivan's 2025 Independent Global Running Shoes Market Research Report. （Related： LEIFRAS Co., Ltd. Achieves 45% Growth in After-School Day Care Network, Expanding from 20 to 29 Locations Nationwide ｜ Latest ）
2. Sourced from Frost & Sullivan's 2025 Independent China Marathon Market Research Report.
