Research & Development
We believe that product innovation leadership is critical to the sustained success of our Group. As a result, we invest considerable resources into continuously developing technological innovations and contemporizing our design philosophy, to best unite our brand values with the unique needs of our consumers. The research and development process is driven by internal teams of designers, product developers as well as in-house experts from the fields of biomechanics, materials technology, product and process engineering and similar disciplines.
Brand-Specific Global R&D Activities
Research and development within the adidas Group is organized in a
decentralized structure, i.e. each brand separately runs its own
research, design and development activities, with major locations in
several countries. Our brand teams collaborate closely, sharing
fundamental and biomechanical research to utilize the full scope of our
R&D organization. In addition, our brands share existing
technologies. The adidas Torsion® technology, for example, will be
applied across a collection of Rockport men’s footwear in 2007 (see Campaigns and Products).
Furthermore, our research and development functions work with our vast
network of manufacturing partners around the globe, to increase
efficiency in the product development and engineering processes.
Highly Skilled Technical Personnel
For all our brands, the foundation and success of our R&D efforts
depend on bringing together a diverse and highly skilled workforce, and
providing them with cutting-edge technology. Personnel expenses
represent by far the largest portion of R&D expenses, accounting
for over 67% of total R&D expenditure. At December 31, 2006, 1,040
people were employed in the Group’s R&D activities compared to 636
employees in 2005 (+ 64%). This represents 4% of total Group employees
(2005: 4%). The increase in employees was mainly driven by the
first-time inclusion of Reebok R&D staff. The R&D departments
for each brand comprise experienced teams from different areas of
expertise including mechanical engineering, materials engineering,
industrial design, biomechanics, finite element analysis, advanced CAD
design and product development. Our teams also include
commercialization engineers as well as experts in production
techniques, costing, packaging and IT systems.
Holistic R&D Approach at adidas
R&D activities at adidas focus on the development of revolutionary
footwear, apparel and hardware technologies. To solidify the adidas
brand’s position as a leader in technology and innovation, the adidas
Innovation Team (ait) is responsible for developing cutting-edge
technologies and concepts in all product categories. ait creates
products that drive the success of the adidas brand, to give consumers
exciting and relevant sports experiences. The team is divided into
groups that focus on individual product categories such as basketball
or football or cross-category project areas such as Intelligent
Products or Energy Management Systems (cushioning technologies). These
groups see the complete R&D process through from initial sketches
to final production. R&D projects follow a holistic approach that
involves collaborating with professional and recreational athletes to
test and optimize products according to their needs and ideas. This
concept of an R&D team creating market-ready products clearly is a
competitive advantage in the sporting goods industry. adidas does not
purchase any R&D expertise except fundamental research. To that
extent, the team collaborates with well-established global research
partners such as the Sports Technology Research Group of the University
of Loughborough, England on long-term projects studying, for example,
the characteristics of footballs or motion analysis in running and
basketball. As a result of multi-faceted R&D projects, the ait has
developed major innovations for 2007 which include adidas_1 intelligent
footwear technology in running and basketball, BOUNCE™ in footwear,
ForMotion™ in footwear and apparel and TechFit™ Powerweb in functional
apparel.
