As basketball’s popularity is rapidly growing in China, sports brands are also trying their utmost to draw fans’ attention and gain a competitive edge in the market.

But are Chinese brands taking over American basketball? We have already reported about the strategic agreement signed between Tsingtao and NBA and the brand endorsement signed by NBA star Baron Davis for Lining. Now, Fujian-headquartered Peak - the first Chinese sport goods brand to manufacture large-sized sports shoes - has signed a strategic contract with FIBA (Federation International Basketball Association) to be its Asia’s sports brand partner, being this the latest step undertaken by the brand to get on the international track.

Peak started implementing its brand globalization strategy through the FIBA platform in 2005 and it has been the official sponsor for the FIBA Basketball European League All Star Games since – sponsorship that has made Peak the first Chinese sports brand to enter Europe.

Two years later, Peak became NBA’s official marketing partners in China and then, in 2008, it signed seven NBA stars to be the brand endorsers, the so-called “Star Team” that includes the Jason Kidd, Shane Battier and Ron Attest.

FIBA, as the most authoritative association governing international basketball competitions, will undoubtedly contribute to increase Peak brand awareness among international audiences, which naturally can be of great significance to speed up the brand internationalization process.

“It’s our long-held philosophy that we will go international and will increase people esteem in the brand - we will become stronger and stronger. We want more and more world-class professional players showcasing our shoes.” said Xu Zhihua, Peak General Manager.

Peak thus is planning to leverage on the benefits provided by the partnership with NBA to build a stronger global reputation. Competing with international giant such as Nike and Adidas, but also with domestic brands such as Lining, Peak has a long journey ahead. We also wonder, would it be the case to try out some other channel in order to get the brand message out there? It seems basketball is a becoming a little crowded as marketing arena!