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ANTA Brand Releases 5-year Strategic Targets and a 24-month Acceleration Plan LEAD TO WIN

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Today, ANTA Group (stock code: 2020.HK) announced a five-year strategic targets and a 24-month acceleration plan “Lead to Win” for its ANTA brand. ANTA brand aims to achieve a 18-25% CAGR increase in retail sales in the next 5 year; making its CAGR increase of online business to over 30% and then to 40% in 2025; consolidate multi-level high-quality channels, open more stores in the first-, second- and third-tier cities, with retail sales generated from these channels accounting for over 50% of the brand’s total; double the number of stores in shopping centers; increase overall market share by 3-5 percentage points, and maintain ANTA’s leading position in Chinese sports brands.

Two strategies are at the core of ANTA Brand in the coming 24 months — rooted in performance sport and brand transformation. Through core measures such as leveraging its global sports R&D capability, winning the Generation Z, seizing the opportunities of the “Two Olympics”, accelerating DTC transition, succeeding the digitalization, maintaining the leading position of ANTA Kids brand and promoting sustainable development, ANTA aims to sharpen its competitive edge in the Chinese market in sports R&D, branding and market scale. Taking the Olympics as the high ground for brand transformation, ANTA will fully seize the historical opportunity of the Two Olympics to make ANTA the go-to performance sports brand for Chinese people.

According to Ding Shizhong, Chairman and CEO of ANTA Group, “30 years on, ANTA has maintained growth for seven consecutive years through multiple reforms and transformation and became the first place in market share in China. What is exciting is that the sportswear industry in China has entered a golden age. Taking advantage of the accumulated sports resources over the years and the love of Generation Z for Chinese brands, I believe that ANTA brand has the potential and ability to achieve accelerated growth to lead the market. ANTA will not only help national professional athletes improve their performance through our world-class R&D innovation capability but also will apply the premium-quality technology and materials to mass products to provide sports-lovers with more professional choices. ANTA is also committed to promoting sustainable development and green growth, and fulfilling social responsibilities. I believe that after over 30 years of accelerated transformation, ANTA brand will achieve rapid growth in the next 24 months and become a leading sports brand in China.”

To invest 4 billion yuan in R&D in 5 years

“Rooted in performance sports” means ANTA takes professionalism as the foundation of the brand. In the next five years, ANTA plans to invest more than 4 billion yuan in R&D to strengthen its core capabilities in technological innovation. As a brand that has sponsored eight Olympic Games and 28 Chinese national teams and owns more than 1,400 national patents, ANTA will continue to sponsor outfits for more national teams while improving innovation and R&D capabilities; at the same time, ANTA will accelerate the independent R&D and iteration of technologies for general sports products, and constantly improve the global distribution of innovation resources, especially the five design centers in Chinathe United StatesJapanSouth Korea, and Italy. ANTA will deepen the industry-university- research cooperation with universities and research institutions, such as Tsinghua University, integrate the global high-quality strategic supplier system, and establish strategic partnership with world-leading materials and chemical suppliers to build an innovative platform that is based on internal and external integration, and maintains continuous innovation in the professional sports market.

To take a lead in basketball, running and women’s series by being more professional

ANTA will continue to focus on the two core categories that can best present its professionalism: running and basketball. Meanwhile, ANTA will step up efforts to develop women’s series.

In terms of running products, upholding the concept of “Born for runners and Evolved for Runners”, ANTA will apply cutting-edge technologies to build a nitrogen technology platform and a running product matrix to make breakthroughs in high-end product lines, so as to establish ANTA as a professional sports brand. Leveraging big data, ANTA aims to provide professional outfits that is most suitable for Chinese runners of all levels through in-depth research on the feet shape and running habits of Chinese people. ANTA running will support world-class sporting events and top runners, cultivate youth runners, and support Chinese runners to compete in international events. ANTA running’s goal for 2025 is to increase the volume of running shoes from 20 million pairs to 40 million pairs.

Built on the advantages of the basketball category in the market, ANTA will continue to invest heavily in basketball products, and introduce world-class product design resources to bring the design and innovation of ANTA basketball products to a whole new level. While continuously sponsoring top international basketball stars by providing them with highest qualities products, ANTA also aim to expand its market share through our comprehensive product portfolio and investment in potential All-star team. ANTA Basketball will also vigorously develop outdoor and campus sports, invest in the “Shock the Game” IP developed by ANTA, and use junior high basketball league as an entry point to develop the campus sports in China. ANTA aims to create a basketball brand that represents the younger generation and a basketball culture of Chinese youngsters. ANTA’s goal for 2025 is to increase the volume of basketball shoes from 6 million pairs to 12 million pairs.

ANTA will step up efforts to develop women’s series. With the sports that women love as the core, ANTA will create a newly defined category driven by Innovation with Aesthetics. First, ANTA will make the best women’s trousers by applying brand new and premium technological materials, patterns and in-store displays; second, ANTA will partner with top suppliers in the industry to launch a series of popular products; third, ANTA brand will integrate R&D resources, IP crossover series, brand endorsers and other resources into design of women’s exclusive series and develop running and sports shoes aimed solely at women. The brand expect the retail sales of women’s series by 2025 will be close to 20 billion yuan.

To expand product series whose retail sales reach more than 1 billion yuan by winning Gen Z

The Generation Z who were born after 1995 are growing rapidly into one of ANTA’s main consumers. ANTA announced key initiatives to embrace the young people. First, expanding ANTA’s product series based on emerging sports favored by young people and work closely with celebrities like Wang Yibo and Gu Ailing with strong sporting attributes; second, strengthening product designs for young people, and build a platform comprised of young designers to create products that fit young people;  third, strengthening ANTA interaction with young people, for example, ANTA can invite young KOLs in marketing, or taking root in the sports communities to gain further recognition.

To seize the opportunity of the “Two Olympics” and launch “ANTA Champion Stores”

ANTA focuses on seizing the opportunity of the “Two Olympics” (2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics)”. The Olympic Games is at the peak of competitive sports. ANTA will intensify investment and marketing, release the power accumulated over the years, the brand will increase our investment and introduce the brand concept of “Sports for life, Anta for China“, to highlight ANTA’s sporting spirit, build a professional sports brand image, and promote the development of national sports.

ANTA will launch brand-new “ANTA Champion Stores” in mainstream business districts in first- and second-tier cities. Through professional and quality image and products, ANTA will create a distinct feature of its own and the store is going to be a new growth driver leading the brand to make breakthroughs. The Champion Store will promote the stories of the Chinese national teams and the behind-the-scenes life of the Olympic athletes. ANTA will also introduce “Champion Series”: a full-category of high-end product series including professional sportswear products and a combination of lifestyle and leisure products which incorporate the materials and technology adopted by the national team.

To speed up the DTC transition and lead the core channels

In 2020, ANTA has launched the DTC (direct-to-consumer) transition. So far initial results have been achieved in terms of product efficiency, store efficiency, and human efficiency. In the next 24 months, ANTA expects the contribution of DTC business to the total retail sales to reach 70% and store efficiency to increase by 40%. On the one hand, ANTA will implement channel transformation and lead the core channels: increase the proportion of mainstream channels by increasing our presence in first- to third-tier cities as well as increase the number of stores in shopping malls with growing CAGR to over 30%; on the other hand, ANTA will improve product efficiency through enhancing the omni-channel, strengthening the fast replenishment model and integration of omni-channel and products, to improve product efficiency.

To win the digitalization with an investment of over 400 million yuan in 24 months

Digitization is the key driver of DTC’s transformation. ANTA brand plans to invest more than 400 million yuan in the next two years to enhance its digital capabilities. On the one hand, it will strengthen the operation and content production of its own media platforms such as its official website, optimize the whole journey management of each consumer touch point, and enhance consumer stickiness; on the other hand, ANTA continues to strengthen its membership system to enhance the value of the membership experience and maintain the diversity of different platforms. By 2025, ANTA plans to double the number of its members to 120 million, with the member contribution rate reaching 70% and the member repurchase rate 40%; optimize the private traffic system through livestream ecommerce and KOL to increase the proportion of retail sales generated from this sector from less than 10% to over 20%; improve product efficiency through digital revolution, and increase the five-month sell-out ratio to 75% in the following 24 months. At the same time, ANTA will strengthen the intelligence of production and supply chains, so that products can be delivered to consumers faster and more efficiently.

To consolidate the leading position of ANTA Kids

ANTA Kids’ development strategy takes children’s exclusive sports technology and omni-channel operation efficiency as its core competitiveness. It plans to maintain sustained high growth online and offline, and improve the efficiency of omni-channel operation by integrating omni-channel crowd operations and membership marketing in online and offline stores. In the coming five years, Anta Kids aims to maintain high growth in store efficiency with online business accounting for over 40% of its total. The market share is expected to increase significantly, and ANTA Kids’ leading position in the children’s sportswear market will be consolidated.

Anta Kids will work with research institutions to increase the R&D of exclusive technology for children’s sports protection and promotion, and become an industry pioneer in the research on the data of children’s foot shape and posture while doing sports; develop products for four major scenes, that is, “running, outdoor activities, basketball, and football” and apply more technologies in children’s sports protection; at the same time, by sponsoring children’s sports events and training camps, Anta Kids tries to be a leader in the development of children’s healthy sports. In terms of channels, Anta Kids will continue to increase the proportion of stores in shopping malls and the number of integrated stores, and realize “one family, one-stop” shopping experience.

To promote sustainability and sports welfare

ANTA also announced its plan to continue to promote the R&D and innovation of sustainable and eco-friendly products. Besides publishing ESG reports for five consecutive years, ANTA also set its clear ESG goals and its aim to strengthen cooperation with international environmental protection organizations. ANTA has worked jointly with WWF, the world’s largest environmental protection organization, leveraging its global network and resources, and in accordance with the United Nations SDGs, to participate in the continuous improvement of water, energy utilization, waste discharge and supply chain management of over 3000 large-scale textile suppliers. Also, it will join hands with hundreds of millions of consumers to protect biodiversity worldwide and encourage the use of renewable and eco-friendly materials in plastic packaging bags. In terms of social responsibility, ANTA will continue to invest over 600 million yuan in the next three years in the “Happy & Healthy Growth Charity Program” that benefits a total of 7 million young people in underdeveloped areas, and participating in China’s rural revitalization through sports welfare.

SOURCE ANTA Group

Artificial Intelligence

QSAN Unveils Latest Solutions for AI Era at COMPUTEX 2024

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Introducing Next-Gen NVMe Array and All-New Container Platform
TAIPEI, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — AI is sweeping the globe, transforming industries and spurring enterprises to adopt AI in business. As companies gear up to seize this incredible opportunity of rapid business growth, upgrading their IT infrastructure is the first step. At COMPUTEX 2024, QSAN will unveil state-of-the-art solutions to assist enterprises in the AI era.

Unparalleled Performance All NVMe Flash ArrayThe next-generation XCubeFAS 5226 is now delivering extremely fast performance. It features low latency, high throughput, and robust IOPs to accelerate demanding workloads for the upcoming AI era.
Innovative Container PlatformThe KubeSwift series is an innovative appliance that empowers SMBs with CaaS (Container as a Service) capabilities. This all-in-one solution streamlines containerized application deployment, management, and scaling, providing a robust foundation for modern IT infrastructures.
High Scalability Enterprise Unified StorageAs artificial intelligence continues to advance, the value of data will grow exponentially, driving the need for expanded storage capacity. XCubeNXT is an enterprise unified storage system with PB-level scalability, high availability, and multi-functional connectivity. It aims to prepare for storing massive amounts of material generated by AI.
Register for QSAN Tech Talk
QSAN will host tech talks to provide insights into storage technology and the future. Professionals will have in-depth discussions on topics such as AI applications, storage technology trends, market analysis, and prediction. Register for tech talk for more forecasts.
Make an Appointment with a QSAN Expert Consultant
Tailor-made storage consulting will also be available at COMPUTEX 2024. For the best chance of accelerating your business, make an appointment with a QSAN expert.
QSAN at 2024 COMPUTEX Information
Event Date: June 4 ~ 7, 2024Event Time: (GMT+8) 9:30 AM ~ 05:30 PMBooth No.: M1435a (AI Computing & System Integration)Location: 4F, Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1 (TaiNEX 1)Address: No.1, Jingmao 2nd Rd., Nangang District, Taipei City 115, Taiwan
QSAN Showroom for Tech Talk and Expert Consultant
Event Date: June 4 ~ 7, 2024Event Time: (GMT+8) 10:00 AM ~ 05:30 PMLocation: QSAN ShowRoomAddress: No. 2, Ln. 1, Fukang St., Nangang District, Taipei City 115, Taiwan
For more information, please visit: www.QSAN.com
Media Contacts Email: [email protected] Address: 4F., No.103, RuiHu Street, NeiHu District, Taipei, Taiwan11494 Phone: +886-2-7720-2118

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Kanazawa University research: Biochemical tails tell a story

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KANAZAWA, Japan, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University report in Nano Letters how the use of high-speed atomic force microscopy helps to understand the crucial role played by certain biomolecules in DNA wrapping dynamics.

In plants and animals, the basic packaging units of DNA, which carry genetic information, are the so-called nucleosomes. A nucleosome consists of a segment of DNA wound around eight proteins known as histones. During gene expression (the process lying at the basis of protein production), nucleosomes are involved in various dynamical structural changes, such as nucleosome sliding, DNA unwrapping and other DNA–histone interactions. Of particular importance in these processes are the end structures, or tails, of the histones. Histone tails undergo chemical modifications, changing the histone’s functionality as needed. Detailed studies, and especially visualizations, of nucleosome dynamics are crucial for better understanding the role of histone tails. Mikihiro Shibata from Kanazawa University and colleagues have now succeeded in making video recordings of tail-less nucleosomes, showing that the absence of histone tails significantly increases a nucleosome’s dynamic activity.
The scientists used high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM), a powerful nanoimaging tool for visualizing molecular structures and their dynamics at high spatial and temporal resolution. For this, the nucleosomes needed to be put onto a substrate. Shibata and colleagues used a film of so-called pillar[5]arenes (molecules with a pentagonal tubular structure) as the substrate, forming an ideal surface as the nucleosomes are easily adsorbed to it without dynamical processes getting suppressed.
The researchers first looked at nucleosomes for which all eight histones lacked tails. Based on their HS-AFM observations, they concluded that nucleosome sliding and DNA unwrapping/rewrapping occurred more often than for normal (canonical) nucleosomes. This suggests that without tails, the histone–DNA interaction is weakened, leading to a situation in which DNA can more easily detach from the histones.
To better understand the roles of specific histone tails, Shibata and colleagues prepared nucleosomes where one type of histone was tailless. There are four different types of histones, called H2A, H2B, H3 and H4. HS-AFM experiments on the nucleosomes revealed that H2B and H3 tail-less nucleosomes showed an increased frequency of dynamics. Conversely, this means that canonical H2B and H3 histones are essential for nucleosome stability.
The scientists point out that they could not observe any actual motion of histone tails — most likely the temporal resolution of the study, 0.3 seconds, was much slower than the rate of the wrapping/unwrapping dynamics of the tails. Despite this limitation, the work of Shibata and colleagues clearly proves that the tails of H2B and H3 histones are the main contributors to nucleosome dynamics. Regarding future work, quoting the researchers, “a technique for tagging histone tail tips might enable HS-AFM to capture the movements of the histone tails themselves.”
Background
High-speed atomic force microscopy
The general principle of atomic force microscopy (AFM) is to make a very small tip scan the surface of a sample. During this horizontal (xy) scan, the tip, which is attached to a small cantilever, follows the sample’s vertical (z) profile, inducing a force on the cantilever that can be measured. The magnitude of the force at the xy position can be related to the z value; the xyz data generated during a scan then result in a height map providing structural information about the investigated sample. In high-speed-AFM (HS-AFM), the working principle is slightly more involved: the cantilever is made to oscillate near its resonance frequency. When the tip is moved around a surface, the variations in the amplitude (or the frequency) of the cantilever’s oscillation — resulting from the tip’s interaction with the sample’s surface — are recorded, as these provide a measure for the local z value. AFM does not involve lenses, so its resolution is not restricted by the so-called diffraction limit as in X-ray diffraction, for example.
HS-AFM results in a video, where the time interval between frames depends on the speed with which a single image can be generated (by xy-scanning the sample). Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University have in recent years developed HS-AFM further, so that it can be applied to study biochemical molecules and biomolecular processes in real-time. Mikihiro Shibata and colleagues have now applied the method to study nucleosome dynamics in detail, and in particular the role of the molecular endings of histones — proteins that play a crucial role in DNA accessibility.
Reference
Shin Morioka, Takumi Oishi, Suguru Hatazawa, Takahiro Kakuta, Tomoki Ogoshi, Kenichi Umeda, Noriyuki Kodera, Hitoshi Kurumizaka, and Mikihiro Shibata. High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals the Nucleosome Sliding and DNA Unwrapping/Wrapping Dynamics of Tail-less Nucleosomes, Nano Letters ,2024.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00801https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00801 
https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/Figure-1-12.png Figure 1.
High-speed atomic force microscopy visualization of nucleosome dynamics with canonical (top) and tail-less (bottom) histones.© 2024 American Chemical Society
ContactHiroe YonedaSenior Specialist in Project Planning and OutreachNanoLSI Administration Office, Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)Kanazawa UniversityKakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, JapanEmail: [email protected]: +81 (76) 234-4555
About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University
Understanding nanoscale mechanisms of life phenomena by exploring “uncharted nano-realms”
Cells are the basic units of almost all life forms. We are developing nanoprobe technologies that allow direct imaging, analysis, and manipulation of the behavior and dynamics of important macromolecules in living organisms, such as proteins and nucleic acids, at the surface and interior of cells. We aim at acquiring a fundamental understanding of the various life phenomena at the nanoscale.https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/
About the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI)
The WPI program was launched in 2007 by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to foster globally visible research centers boasting the highest standards and outstanding research environments. Numbering more than a dozen and operating at institutions throughout the country, these centers are given a high degree of autonomy, allowing them to engage in innovative modes of management and research. The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
See the latest research news from the centers at the WPI News Portal: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsportal/WPI
Main WPI program site: www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-toplevel
About Kanazawa University
As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities.
The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa – a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas.http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/
 
 
 

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Geek+ and System Teknik deploy first PopPick solution in the Nordics for the pharmacy group Med24.dk

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DUSSELDORF, Germany, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Geekplus, the global leader in mobile robot and smart logistics solutions, has deployed the first Shelf-to-Person PopPick project in the Nordics for one of the biggest online pharmacy wholesalers in the region, Med24.dk. System Teknik partnered on the Denmark project, which includes three PopPick stations and 30 Shelf-to-Person robots, bringing a flexible solution to a region where fixed automation still dominates.  

“With the rise of e-commerce, Med24.dk had been struggling with huge sales growth coupled with fast delivery demands from customers in Denmark, Norway, Sweden searching for pharmacy, health and beauty products. Peak season events had also caused considerable strain to their operations,” said Blond Shkodrani, channel partner manager for the Nordics at Geekplus. “Due to their overwhelming success, Med24.dk needed a modular, automated order fulfillment solution for fast, efficient order fulfillment.”
The Geekplus modular Shelf-to-Person solution optimizes warehouse operations using mobile robots to transport shelves. In a region where fixed and cubic solutions have been the trend during recent years, Shelf-to-Person handles goods of all sizes while removing the need for infrastructure investment, making it the most flexible response to order fulfillment challenges.
PopPick workstations use two retrieval arms and four presentation locations to present pickers with multiple, moveable 78-tote racks at one time, resulting in an industry-leading throughput of 450 totes per hour. PopPick can store goods of all types and sizes; the solution is not limited to small pieces and improves ergonomics for workers while picking. It also takes up less space than traditional systems, so customers can use more stations without adding facility space.
“We are very pleased to invest in flooring robots from Geekplus,” said Med24.dk CEO Nils Træholt. “We believe that this new and innovative technology can help us realize our growth ambitions, while maintaining good delivery times for the benefit of our customers.”
Morten Kirch, System Teknik’s CSO, added: “Due to Med24.dk’s growth, we are thrilled to be able to deliver a tailor-made, automated solution that matches their needs.”
Geekplus offers a suite of Goods-to-Person mobile order fulfillment solutions — the only comprehensive robotic offering controlled by a single software platform.
“Through trusted partners like System Teknik, we’re showing customers all over Europe that Geekplus truly is a one-stop shop for modular warehouse automation,” Shkodrani said.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2395198/Med24_Geekplus_PopPick.jpg Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2373458/Geekplus_logo.jpg
 
 

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