Rising once a year or even more than a year is becoming a common practice in the badminton industry. On July 29, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily learned that many dealers of Yonex and several badminton clubs had made comprehensive price increases for the brand of badminton after receiving notices of price increases from the brand. The price increase ranged from 30 yuan to 40 yuan. Not only Yonex, but also brands such as Weikeduo and Double Happiness have increased the price of badminton. A reporter from Beijing Business Daily found that the reasons for price increases of these brands are relatively consistent – rising raw material prices.
When the unit price of a badminton is close to 20 yuan, "hoarding badmintons is like hoarding gold" has become a reality, and consumers can only lament that they cannot afford it while looking for replacement badmintons. In order to cope with a series of problems caused by the shortage of raw materials and rising prices, some brands have chosen to try to produce badminton made of artificial materials. However, it is difficult to completely replace them due to factors such as marketing, technical difficulties, and consumer usage habits.
The replacement method is not yet completely feasible, and the prices of branded products remain high. The badminton market is showing a polarized situation – brands with the ability to charge a premium can make some money while covering costs with price increases, while brands without room for premiums are facing a situation where costs and profits are inverted.
Price increases have become a "routine"
According to the price increase notice issued by Yonex, its badminton products will implement new prices starting from August 1 this year, with many types of badminton products increasing by 30-40 yuan. Among them, AS-05 has increased from 275 yuan/dozen to 350 yuan/dozen, and AS-9 has increased from 225 yuan/dozen to 295 yuan/dozen.
A reporter from Beijing Business Daily learned that some dealers and some badminton clubs have completed the price increase of Yonex badminton.
A Yonex badminton dealer in Beijing said: "We have completed the price increase, and the price has increased by 30 yuan per tube." When asked why the price increase, the dealer said: "It has almost become a routine for badminton prices to increase in the past two years. The brand has no choice but to increase." According to the dealer, the wholesale price of a tube of Yonex AS-05 last year was 190 yuan, and this year it rose to 235 yuan.
Similarly, TZ-one, a badminton club in Tongzhou, Beijing, also completed a price increase. A relevant person from the club said: "We raised the price immediately after receiving the price increase notice in July, and the current selling price is the newly increased price." When talking about the reason for the price increase, the person said: "There is no way, the price of raw material feathers has increased, and we can only follow the increase."
As the above-mentioned dealer said, it has become common practice for badminton prices to increase in the past two years. In April this year, the badminton industry had already experienced a wave of "price increases". Many well-known badminton brands, including Victor, announced price increases, with increases ranging from 5% to 29%. In addition, in early July 2024, many badminton brands such as Yonex, Double Happiness, Lingmei, Victor, Chaopai, Shipeng, Asia Lion, and Viking issued price adjustment announcements. The price increases for each brand and grade of badminton ranged from 40% to 60%.
Relevant personnel from Beijing Pengda Tiancheng Sports Goods Co., Ltd. revealed that "Li Ning basically adjusts its price every month, and has raised its price eight times this year, with each price increase ranging from a few yuan to ten yuan."
Some consumers have calculated that by 2025, Yonex's AS-05 badminton has risen from 95 yuan per tube at wholesalers more than two years ago to over 200 yuan per tube today, an increase of more than 100%. Some consumers also joked that hoarding gold is worse than hoarding badminton.
According to Jiang Han, a senior researcher at the Pangu Think Tank Research Institute, in a market economy, the price of badminton as a commodity is strongly affected by the relationship between supply and demand. When demand continues to increase and supply cannot keep up, rising prices are an inevitable economic phenomenon. In recent years, the increasing popularity of badminton around the world has become one of the reasons for the increase in badminton prices.
In the past two years, badminton has become very popular. According to the 2023 "National Sports Status Survey Report", the number of badminton participants in China has reached 250 million, and the number of badminton halls has increased by more than 40% in five years. Weekend venue fees in Beijing, Shanghai and other places have risen to 150 yuan/hour.
Out of stock, premium, replacement
In addition to the increase in market demand, rising raw material prices have become one of the important reasons for frequent price increases of various badminton brands.
A professional engaged in badminton production told a Beijing Business Daily reporter that the production of badminton is a relatively complex process, and high-quality badminton has extremely high requirements for the quality of feathers.
It is understood that currently there are two main materials for badminton on the market: duck feather and goose feather. The former is more suitable for casual beginners, while the latter is more suitable for higher-intensity training. Goose feathers are further divided into ordinary goose feathers, fourth grade goose feathers and special grade goose feathers. The key material for making badminton is duck and goose feathers. The industry insider told reporters: "A duck may normally provide about 20 feathers suitable for badminton, but to reach this number, the duck needs to grow for 3 to 4 months. However, in the actual poultry breeding market, many meat ducks are slaughtered in about 45 days in order to meet the rapid supply demand of the meat market. Due to the short growth time, the feathers of these meat ducks cannot meet the requirements of badminton production in terms of toughness, length, etc., which has led to a relatively insufficient supply of feather raw materials that can be used to produce high-quality badmintons."
According to public data, the scale of duck and goose breeding has been significantly reduced in recent years, resulting in an increase in the price of badminton raw materials. Data show that the number of meat ducks sold nationwide in 2024 will decrease by 658 million compared with 2019. The reduction in supply directly caused the price of knife feathers to soar. At the end of 2023, the wholesale price of a pound of knife feathers was about 200 yuan, including about 600 raw wool, which converted to less than 4 cents per knife feather; by June 2024, the wholesale price of a pound of knife feathers was about 280 yuan, an increase of 40% from the previous year.
The price of raw materials continues to rise, and high-end badminton is out of stock. Many badminton dealers told reporters from Beijing Business Daily that they currently have no Yonex products. It is understood that Yonex badminton is positioned in the high-end market and supplies professional events and professionals.
During the inquiry process, several badminton clubs stated that they only had a small number of Yonex badminton balls in their hands. Relevant personnel from Zhonghe Stationery and Sports Products Co., Ltd., a distributor of Yonex, made it clear that there is basically no stock now. If you want a large amount of goods, you can only charge it at a high price. Relevant personnel from Beijing Shenhemao Sports Goods Sales Co., Ltd., another Yonex distributor, also revealed similar information. It is not completely impossible to buy badmintons unless the price is increased.
When the reporter agreed to increase the price as a consumer, a Yonex dealer said that he could sell five boxes of AS-05 badminton balls at a wholesale price of 255 yuan per tube (a box of 50 tubes), which was 20 yuan higher than the prices of 220 per tube and 230 per tube mentioned by other dealers.
When brands and dealers increase prices or sell products at a premium, some end consumers have chosen to find alternatives.
In the Yonex flagship store, the retail price of AS-05 badminton is 280 yuan per tube, and the AS-9 is 246 yuan per tube. There are 12 balls in a tube, and each ball costs about 10-20 yuan. A tip from a badminton enthusiast said that two balls are basically used in one night, and they are gone for 40 yuan, which is already a bit unaffordable. Muzi recently searched for an unlabeled badminton ball recommended by netizens on Xiaohongshu. Although the feel is not as good as Yonex, it is cheaper than the badminton ball. A tube costs 60 yuan, so you can play as much as you want.
A reporter from Beijing Business Daily browsed social platforms and found that many badminton enthusiasts posted articles stating that they could not afford badminton, lowered their standards, and bought some affordable brands and some unlabeled products as substitutes. However, there are also some "hardcore" enthusiasts who insist on using good products. Li Sheng, who has played badminton for nearly ten years, told reporters that high-end balls have better feel, flight path and stability. At the current affordable price, they will still choose to buy Yonex.
Make money while hanging upside down
Facing the shortage of natural feather supply, badminton brands are looking for ways to break the deadlock, and artificial material badminton has become one of the directions to explore. Products such as the carbon tone series and nylon balls launched by Victor are gradually gaining popularity in the training market. It is reported that the durability of this kind of badminton made of synthetic materials is increased by 50%, and the price is only 1/3 of the natural ball. However, some people in the industry said: "The promotion of alternatives takes time, not only to overcome technical difficulties, but also to change consumers' deep-rooted usage habits."
Cheng Weixiong, an independent analyst in the fashion industry and founder of Shanghai Liangqi Brand Management Co., Ltd., said that the price of badminton has increased frequently. In addition to covering costs, it is more about brands wanting to reflect brand premiums. In the current fierce competition in the entire sports market, insisting on high-end positioning and brand premiums, constantly widening the competitive gap between brands. A Beijing Business Daily reporter found that in the high-end badminton market, natural feather raw materials are still the mainstream. Some high-end events and professional consumer markets are still firmly occupied by natural badminton.
In fact, some brands do make money in the process of continuous price increases. According to financial report data, in fiscal year 2025 (April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025), Yonex’s revenue increased by 18.8% year-on-year to 138.2 billion yen; operating profit increased by 22.1% year-on-year, reaching 14.1 billion yen. From the perspective of market segments, the Asian market with the Greater China market as the core has the greatest contribution to Yonex's revenue. Its revenue share in the Asian market reached 49.2%, while the Japanese market accounted for 42%. At the same time, revenue in the Greater China market increased by 24% year-on-year to 68 billion yen, and operating profit increased by 9.3% year-on-year to 9.7 billion yen.
Yonex also mentioned in its financial report that although the raw materials for manufacturing badminton have increased significantly in price, squeezing gross profit margins, the revenue-increasing effect of badminton has boosted sales, outweighing the impact of rising costs.
But for some brands, they are facing a situation where costs and profits are inverted. According to public reports, on September 1, 2024, Asia Lion issued a notice stating that "2024 is an extremely extraordinary year in the history of badminton development. In this year, the price of raw wool and raw flakes has increased. The increase in raw wool is even greater than the increase in raw flakes. The sales price and production cost of badminton flakes and badminton are upside down…"
Wu Daiqi, CEO of Shenzhen Siqisheng Company, said that in order to fundamentally solve the problem, brands need to innovate and develop some new materials or raw materials to replace feather materials that are in short supply in future development. This is an issue that these brands need to consider. At the moment, raising prices may be the most effective and direct way.
"Faced with the current situation of continued rise in badminton prices, it seems difficult for brands to find effective mitigation measures in the short term. Considering practical problems such as long production cycles and high costs, badminton prices are expected to remain high in the future. However, in the long run, with the development of alternatives and self-regulation of the market, badminton prices are expected to return to a relatively reasonable level." Jiang Han added.
