At an investor day last week, Chinese sportswear group Anta unveiled its plan for the next five years and its “Lead to Win” strategy for the next 24 months of rapid growth, as it looks to overtake Adidas as the world’s second largest sportswear company by market cap.

Chairman and CEO, Ding Shizhong, said that China’s third to fifth tier cities will be the main battleground for competition among sportswear players, and Anta’s sights will remain set on the mass market, where Ding sees the greatest potential for growth.

Ding also announced his intention for Anta to achieve compound annual revenue growth of 18 to 25 percent over the next five years. The company plans to invest over 4 billion yuan ($618 million) in R&D, focussed on two core categories, running and basketball, and will also double-down on the women’s sportswear category in order to achieve revenues of 20 billion yuan ($3.09 billion) in that category alone by 2025.

The company will also accelerate its shift to core channels and direct to consumer (DTC) upgrades, as well as an ongoing digital transformation. Over the next 24 months, Anta plans to invest more than 400 million yuan ($61.8 million) in its digital business to achieve a compound annual growth of more than 30 percent online and a target of over 40 percent of its total business conducted online by 2025, while increasing its DTC business to a 70 percent share.

Following the presentation, Credit Suisse raised its 2023 earnings forecast for Anta by 6 percent.