steph curry’s li-ning deal and the hard part of going global

steph curry signing with li-ning inverts the old endorsement script: an american star borrowing chinese research and design, rather than a chinese brand borrowing western credibility. after fourteen years with dwyane wade, li-ning knows a signature athlete can open a market but cannot build desire on his own. the harder question is whether a chinese sportswear brand with $4.42 billion in revenue can create demand abroad without adopting a western definition of what consumers should want. three decades of making the world’s products taught chinese companies everything except how to be wanted — and that, not supply chains or shelf space, is now what decides who travels well.