nyone post this EDS news??

China’s Exceed in Talks to Acquire Foreign Brands (Update2)
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By Lauren Coleman-Lochner

Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Exceed Company Ltd., a Chinese sportswear company that began U.S. stock market trading last month, is in talks about partnering with or acquiring luxury foreign brands to sell in its fast-growing consumer market.

Executives are exploring agreements with several high-end brands based in Europe and the U.S., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lin Shuipan said in an Oct. 30 interview in New York. George Lu, Lin’s special adviser, translated.

The company makes mid-priced sportswear, shoes and accessories in China under its Xidelong label. It will use the proceeds from its U.S. listing on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange to expand in the world’s most populous country, Lin said.

Plans include adding about 2,200 company owned and franchised Xidelong stores through 2011 to the 3,400 now operating. New brands would be sold through Exceed’s single- label stores.

“We have pretty grand ambitions, and this provided the platform for us,” Lin said of the NASDAQ listing.

The seven-year-old sportswear maker was acquired in October by a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, headed by Lu.

Exceed fell 22 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $9.87 at 4:29 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.

The company is looking only at globally known brands it would adapt for customers, Lu said. A company spokesman said that Chinese consumers’ sizing and design sensibilities may vary from U.S. and European tastes.

‘Other People’s Problems’

U.S. brands including The Sharper Image, Linens ‘n Things and Eddie Bauer were up for sale in the past year after those retailers filed for bankruptcy protection. Exceed won’t buy distressed brands, Lu said, adding, “We don’t want to fix other people’s problems.”

Another restriction cuts the number of potential partners, or targets, to fewer than a dozen: Brand names can’t exceed two syllables, so Chinese consumers will remember and correctly pronounce them, Lu said.

Exceed earned $24 million in 2008 and expects annual net income growth of at least 30 percent for the next three to five years, Lin said.

China’s economy expanded 8.9 percent in the third quarter, the fastest pace in a year, on stimulus spending and record lending growth.

Retail sales gained 15.5 percent in September, the fastest pace since January. China’s retail sales growth had slowed to 11.6 percent in February, the weakest in two years, after peaking at 23.3 percent in July last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lauren Coleman-Lochner in New York at llochner@bloomberg.net.