When Anta Sports Products Ltd. (2020.HK) opened its first store in Bangkok late last month, it was following a game plan laid out years earlier by Chairman Ding Shizhong, who declared: “We don’t want to be China’s Nike, but the world’s Anta.”

Since founding the company in 1991, Ding has grown Anta into China’s leading sportswear retailer with 2022 sales of 53.6 billion yuan ($7.4 billion), a net profit of 7.5 billion yuan and a sporty market cap of HK$262.5 billion ($33.5 billion). The company boasts an athletic price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 27, miles ahead of rival Li Ning (2331.HK) at 15 and 361 Degrees (1361.HK) at just 8. And of the 35 analysts surveyed by Yahoo Finance, 29 rate it a “buy” or “strong buy.”

Domestically, Anta is a formidable competitor, with a huge network of 11,918 outlets, including 6,941 for its core Anta brands that account for about half of its sales. President Xi Jinping was spotted wearing an Anta parka in 2017, at a venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics. And NBA star Klay Thompson signed a 10-year, $80 million endorsement deal with Anta in 2017.