adidas – the performance brand and multi-sport specialist ...

adidas – the performance brand and multi-sport specialist  
 
adidas’ mission is to be the leading sports brand in the world. One major lever to achieve this is the brand’s broad and unique product portfolio spanning from apparel and footwear for professional athletes to premium fashion. It allows adidas to address multiple consumer needs, exploit market opportunities from various angles as well as be less affected by one-dimensional market risks. adidas’ commitment to product innovation and its rich heritage differentiates the brand from competitors and provides a solid platform for future growth.

No other brand has a more distinguished history or stronger connection with sport than adidas. ...

No other brand has a more distinguished history or stronger connection with sport than adidas. adidas is everywhere where the best meet the best, like the FIFA World Cup or the NBA All-Star Game, but also everywhere else around the globe where sports are simply played, watched, enjoyed and celebrated.

Everything at adidas Sport Performance reflects the spirit of our founder Adi Dassler. The main objective is simple: make athletes better. Therefore, innovation is at the core of all adidas Sport Performance products.

The target consumers of the sub-brand are clearly those consumers who call themselves athletes, are active in sport, or simply are inspired by and love sport.
While we have a pivotal strength with the 20- to 29-year-olds, going forward a clear focus will be the high school athlete and the 14- to 19-year-olds.
adidas Sport Performance offers products in most sports categories. The key focus categories are: 

• Football


• Basketball


• Running


• Training


• Outdoor

Furthermore, adidas Sport Performance is focusing on interactive and customisation as key growth drivers across categories. A perfect example of this is adidas miCoach, which is the world’s first web-based personalised training service. It combines state-of-the-art training with a personalised web service and real-time audio coaching.
It is compatible with all MP3 players and is available as an application on various smart phones such as iPhone and Blackberry. miCoach is a clear highlight of our focus on innovation to help make athletes better and “fit for performance”.

To be relevant to our target consumer as the performance brand, we have identified five consumer benefits which will form the basis of our innovation pipeline for the next five years. ...

To be relevant to our target consumer as the performance brand, we have identified five consumer benefits which will form the basis of our innovation pipeline for the next five years. We believe that serving these benefits will keep us at the forefront of the industry, building brand image and allowing us to leverage our technologies and positioning seamlessly across categories.

• Faster: To help athletes be faster, we will focus on reducing product weight, making the lightest products on the market. The franchise will be built with the adiZero platform. Already prominent in 2010, this will be a key initiative for 2011 where we will introduce even lighter products in football, basketball and American football.


• Stronger: With adiPower, we intend to create a franchise to own power enhancement in sport. This platform will include products such as Predator in football, Barricade in tennis and Techfit apparel.


• Smarter: Through interactive products, we will help athletes and consumers of all fitness levels to be, train and perform smarter. We work with the best athletes and coaches around the world. Through platforms such as miCoach, we will make this knowledge available to every consumer, helping them to define and work towards their individual goals.


• Cooler: These products will be geared to help the athlete to always have the right temperature (cooler, warmer, wind protection, etc.). This will be served through the Clima franchise, which is already one of our best-known franchises around the world.


• Natural: Natural motion is a major trend in our industry. Drawing on our long history, experience and understanding of the shape of the foot and movement of the body, we will create a new platform of products around natural motion over the next five years.
  

Being the most popular sport worldwide, football is clearly one of adidas’ key strategic priorities....

Being the most popular sport worldwide, football is clearly one of adidas’ key strategic priorities. For over 50 years, adidas has led all major developments in boot, ball and apparel technologies. Building on its success around major sporting events such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the brand strives to increase its strong market position by continuously creating the industry’s top products and fully leveraging its outstanding portfolio of sports marketing partners.

Partners include leading football associations (e.g. FIFA, UEFA), events (FIFA World Cup, UEFA EURO Championship, UEFA Champions League), national federations (e.g. defending FIFA and UEFA Champion Spain, Germany, China, Russia, Greece, Argentina, Mexico, Japan), leagues (e.g. Major League Soccer in the USA), clubs (e.g. Real Madrid, AC Milan, Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC, FC Bayern Munich, River Plate Buenos Aires) and individual players (e.g. the adidas Golden Ball and Boot winners of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Diego Forlán and Thomas Müller, and also Lionel Messi, Kaká, Steven Gerard, David Beckham and Michael Ballack).

2010 was the most successful year in adidas Football history with all-time record sales exceeding € 1.5 billion.

The undisputable highlight was the 2010 FIFA World Cup where adidas sponsored the winning team Spain, and the adiZero F50 was the top-scoring boot of the event.
And, last but not least, adidas Football saw its group on Facebook explode from 100,000 members to well over 3 million by the end of 2010.

The UEFA Champions League, the Copa América, the Women’s FIFA World Cup 2011 and UEFA EURO 2012 will serve as focal points for showcasing the brand’s key initiatives in 2011.

These include major updates to all three primary football footwear product lines (adiPower Predator, adiZero F50 and adiPure), the introduction of new federation jerseys and the official match ball for UEFA EURO 2012.

adidas is committed to strengthening its position in basketball by expanding its footprint in the critical North American market and capitalising on the growing popularity of the sport in the emerging markets. ...

adidas is committed to strengthening its position in basketball by expanding its footprint in the critical North American market and capitalising on the growing popularity of the sport in the emerging markets. To achieve this, adidas Basketball strives to build brand equity by leveraging its status as the official NBA outfitter, capitalising on relationships with some of the most promising stars of the NBA such as Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard, and building the best product in the game.

In the current season, adidas Basketball is focusing in particular on the “faster” franchise. With the introduction of the NBA Revolution 30 Uniforms, the lightest we have ever made, and the adiZero Rose shoe, adidas has positioned itself as the basketball brand that makes the lightest products in the game.

In 2011, the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles will be a key platform to showcase the latest innovative technology stories.

Running continues to be high on adidas’ agenda and is crucial to the brand’s success moving forward. adidas’ philosophy is to inspire and enable runners on all levels, with the aim to be the most trusted and desired runners’ brand in the world. ...

Running continues to be high on adidas’ agenda and is crucial to the brand’s success moving forward. adidas’ philosophy is to inspire and enable runners on all levels, with the aim to be the most trusted and desired runners’ brand in the world. In recent years, the brand’s focus has been on building credibility with the high-performance athlete and high-frequency fitness runner. This credibility now provides a strong foundation to leverage broader opportunities in running communities worldwide.
 
adidas sees significant market share opportunities among casual runners and young multi-sport runners in the future. To achieve growth and market share increases in this category in 2011, adidas Running will promote younger multi-sport running products allowing runners to be faster and cooler through the adiZero and Climacool ranges.

adiStar and Supernova offerings remain the lead franchises for core runners while miCoach is an integral part of all things running as part of the “smarter” franchise.
 
In addition, advances to the miCoach platform through the miCoach app and new online training programmes such as Finish Faster and Coaching Circles will ensure all runners have the ultimate in personalised free training.

At adidas, training is the biggest category for both men and women. Training supports the preparation needs of serious athletes across all sports disciplines and is the industry’s largest apparel category....

At adidas, training is the biggest category for both men and women. Training supports the preparation needs of serious athletes across all sports disciplines and is the industry’s largest apparel category. Its positioning is driven by adidas’ desire to support athletes to be “fit to win”. To achieve this goal, adidas Training develops proprietary technologies and commercialises innovations for sport-specific categories to meet the needs of the everyday athlete.
 
For example, in 2010, adidas Training continued to expand athlete usage of its industry-leading Techfit PowerWeb concept, expanding the offering into other sports categories (e.g. Women’s).
A key strategic priority for future growth in the training category is adidas’ dedication to complement its best-in-class product offering with revolutionary new consumer experiences that bring to life the adidas vision to be the leading personalised brand in the world. Throughout 2010, adidas Training intensified its activity with athletes and the world’s leading authorities on athlete performance, subsequently launching its first true 360° concept – adidas Core Performance. This is a total training range designed to help athletes make the most of their workouts. Through a digital training website, adidas Core Performance interacts with consumers, providing exercise guidelines and advice on four key training pillars: mindset, nutrition, movement and recovery.
 
In 2011, adidas Training will continue to put focus on its performance essentials range through fully integrated business models such as Never-out-of-stock and other managed space initiatives. Further focus will also be put on improving quality, increasing colour offerings and strengthening in-store marketing support for the range. Spearheaded by the “adidas by Stella McCartney” concept, which fuses performance and style for the active women’s market, Women’s Training will remain a strategic priority.

adidas has a long history in outdoor, going back as far as 1978, when adidas and Reinhold Messner developed a new generation of boots which he used to reach base camp on his way to becoming the first man to climb Mount Everest without the help of oxygen equipment. ...

adidas has a long history in outdoor, going back as far as 1978, when adidas and Reinhold Messner developed a new generation of boots which he used to reach base camp on his way to becoming the first man to climb Mount Everest without the help of oxygen equipment. With this heritage and the growth in the outdoor sports sector, adidas has invested in building an authentic and performance-orientated outdoor market position, through product collections such as Terrex and Super Trekking.

As well as footwear, adidas also offers a holistic product range from head to toe comprising apparel, backpacks and eyewear including the latest adidas technologies and renowned partner technologies such as Gore-Tex, Windstopper and Nano-Tex.
 
As in other categories, creating mind share, credibility and visibility through partnerships and icons is an important tool to drive market share growth.
adidas Outdoor ambassadors and athletes include Thomas and Alexander Huber (also known as the Huber Brothers), two of the world’s best climbers, and other top athletes from various outdoor sports such as kayaking, slacklining, hang gliding and speed flying.
 
In 2011, adidas will continue to build on its growing momentum in particular with the Terrex product range, which will include highlight products such as the Terrex Feather jacket as well as the Terrex Fast X FM outdoor boots.
 
These products, as well as the brand’s authenticity will be promoted by a fully integrated marketing campaign featuring expedition images of the Huber Brothers, as well as cooperation activities with key retailers in the sporting goods and specialty outdoor channels. In addition, adidas Outdoor will expand into the US market in fall/winter 2011.

The market for streetwear and lifestyle fashion represents a unique opportunity for sporting goods companies as it is more fragmented and larger in size than the market for products used in sports activity. ...

The market for streetwear and lifestyle fashion represents a unique opportunity for sporting goods companies as it is more fragmented and larger in size than the market for products used in sports activity. In addition, profitability in the sports lifestyle market is typically higher as a result of lower product complexity. adidas was the first brand to credibly leverage its sports assets in the lifestyle arena and as a result is regarded as a legitimate sports lifestyle brand. adidas Originals with its Trefoil logo has become a relevant part of many people’s lives, whether they are skaters, rockers, artists, musicians, sneakerheads, sports fans, etc.
 
With a holistic offering in products and communications, adidas Originals is focusing on 16- to 24-year-old high school and college kids.
To address the needs of its diverse consumer groups and maximise business opportunities, adidas Originals takes a three-tier strategy to brand and product marketing:

• First, the brand invests and innovates in new concepts, whether it’s street fashion collections, such as those designed by Jeremy Scott, or entering new market segments such as the snowboard community in alliance with one of the leading brands in this segment, Burton.


• Second, this permanent creation of newness and creating buzz around the Originals brand then allows us to broaden our messages and expand into wider business segments such as denim, skate or our women’s offensive Sleek.


• Third, we commercialise the sub-brand to the widest audience with concepts such as adicolor, where the consumers can find their most-loved footwear and apparel silhouettes in a variety of colours and materials, and appealing seasonal themes such as Star Wars and Mega.

To stay connected to its core teenage consumers, adidas Originals uses a constant stream of digital content to keep them interested 365 days a year. On digital media such as Facebook, adidas Originals meanwhile has over 7 million fans. This is an area where adidas Originals is currently a leader in the digital marketplace.

What once started as a niche business has developed into a significant contributor to the Group’s top-line development....

What once started as a niche business has developed into a significant contributor to the Group’s top-line development. To best tap the potential of the sports fashion market, adidas Sport Style is targeting that market with a clear multi-label strategy.
 
Y-3: pioneering
The “Y” stands for Yohji Yamamoto, the “3” represents adidas’ three signature stripes and the “-“signifies the link between the two. Y-3 targets a sophisticated, forward-thinking fashion consumer and has enabled adidas to enter the premium sports fashion market segment. Celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2011, it will remain the pioneering sportswear label that fuses sport and avant-garde design. Yohji Yamamoto’s signature design aesthetic is combined with traditional Japanese tailoring in each collection.
Growing demand from consumers has led Y-3 to open its own mono-branded stores, and today it has stores in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas, Paris, Milan, Dubai, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. 2011 will see the opening of additional Y-3 stores in other influential cities in the USA, Asia and Europe and it will expand its business by launching the global e-commerce site Y-3store.com.
 
adidas SLVR: smart design
In February 2009, adidas introduced the adidas SLVR label to expand its presence among mid-price-point consumers. adidas SLVR is the smart fashion sportswear label within adidas Sport Style. At adidas, we believe that there is a need in the market for sophisticated, classic, yet fresh and confident sportswear that lasts longer than one season. The adidas SLVR label fulfils this need.
 
Since launching adidas SLVR, adidas has opened mono-brand stores in New York and Bangkok. adidas SLVR is also carried in all major adidas brand centres in Berlin, Paris, Moscow and Beijing as well as in adidas online stores in the USA and Europe. In terms of third-party distribution, we have taken a conservative approach, working on a pilot phase with some leading department stores such as Harrods, Selfridges and Bloomingdales over the past 12 months. From the second half of 2011, we will broaden distribution including the addition of franchise stores in China.
 
adidas NEO label: fast and fresh
The adidas NEO label is targeted to appeal to the fashionable teen (12- to 16-year-old) who is fully engaged in life, be it through social networking, family, friends, outdoor or sporting activities. The NEO label brings stylish products for the more price-conscious consumer who is looking for seasonal fashion items with a sports-casual flavour, constant newness, expressing their personality and reflecting their lifestyle and values.
Incorporating footwear, apparel and accessories, adidas NEO label focuses more on accessible price points, however maintaining a premium to competitors. From a gender split, we are targeting primarily the girls, which should account for two-thirds of the business over time. In further expanding the label, a vertical business model is considered the most effective way to approach the target group, taking into account the competitive environment and future demands of successful fashion brands and retailers. Therefore, we have to focus on creating retail solutions consisting of both own retail and controlled space with wholesale distribution partners.