Chinese sportswear giant Li Ning is planning to launch products for its children’s wear brand Li-Ning Young and has collaborated with Disney for the venture. Li-Ning Young added 458 stores in China over the first six months of this year. The company also plans to grow its main brand’s network of 6,267 stores by 50 to 100 in the rest of the year while shutting down inefficient shops.

Li Ning posted a 42 per cent jump in first-half profit, bolstered by stronger apparel sales and e-commerce business. The firm’s net profit rose to 269 million yuan (US$39 million) for the first six months of this year from the same period last year, bolstered by stronger apparel sales and e-commerce business. Its revenue increased by 18 per cent to 4.71 billion yuan.

Apparel sale jumped by 31 per cent to 2.3 billion yuan, making up nearly half of the revenue. Meanwhile, sales on online platforms accounted for 22 per cent of the revenue, up from 19 per cent last year. International markets accounted for 1.6 per cent of the company’s revenue in the first half of the year, down from 2.3 per cent in the same period last year.