Adidas |||

Done by:

Mohammad Zoubi, Tyler Capezzuto, Andrew Lockhart, Yvonne Geier, Solee

Cho

Context
1) Company Description
2) Industry Analysis
3) Competitor Analysis
4) Company Analysis
5) Customer Analysis
6) Market-Product Focus
7) Product Strategy
8) Pricing Strategy
9) Channel Strategy
10)
Promotion Strategy
11)
Sites

Company Description
The name Adidas comes from the name of founder Adolf Dassler. The name
"adidas" was born by putting together his nickname "Adi" and the first letters
of his surname. Adi was German so after World War I, Adi started to produce
his sports shoes in his mothers laundry to make money. Adis families are
related to shoes products; his father worked in a shoe factory and his brother
produced the handmade spikes for track shoes in the Blacksmiths shop. On
1 July 1924, his older brother Rudolf Dassler joined the business.
Tough time has passed and the company Adidas grew up bigger. Adidas AG
started to operate in Europe, North America, Asia, and Latin America. Adidas
Company offers sports apparel, footwear and accessories. Adidas products
focus on five priorities: running, training, football, basketball and originals.
The first apparel piece was the Franz Beckenbauer tracksuit. Adidas has been
involved with tennis equipment and sponsored by top tennis players: Stan
Smith and Ille Nastase.
Adidas is producing hockey equipment and numerous players supported from
hockey players in England, Netherland, Spain, Germany and Belgium; and
sponsored by numerous Hockey Clubs.They also sponsored by Reading
Hockey Club, Beeston Hockey Club and East Grin stead Hockey Club.

Industry Analysis
Adidas was first a small company created by two brothers out of Germany
pre-WW1. Business became booming and several years later, it blossomed
into what it is today: largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and second
largest in the entire world. According to Reuters, they plan to emulate fast
fashion to be able to continue being in the top bracket of competition in
sportswear. This involves creating, shipping, displaying, and selling their
products faster. The sportswear industry as a whole normally operates in a
very slow model, only outputting new seasonal items twice a year. As a part
of strategy launched in March, Adidas said it wants half of its ranges to be
produced on the fast fashion model by 2020 as it seeks to lift its operating
margin above 10%, still behind the 13% Nike recorded last year. This will
create a shift back to a growing market from a mature market, if only slightly.
Currently, Adidas makes sportswear as well as casual wear which would all
be identified as apparel; footwear, sports equipment, and also amenities. In a
BCG matrix, Adidas apparel would be considered a star item while the
footwear a cash cow. They need to be liquidating their amenities such as
gels, body wash, and perfumes. Those are considered dogs of the company
while their sports equipment is a question mark. They either need to invest
into it or sell it.
The consumer need for sports and casual wear, footwear, and equipment at
an affordable price is being met through Adidas. Adidas is looking to keep

costs low and affordable for the masses to be able to reach out to many
more people than just the select few willing to pay premium prices. The
industry as a whole intends to supply the world with any range of apparel,
footwear, and equipment at a premium to an affordable price. The products
range from high end to efficient costs, casual to intense sports. Adidas keeps
themselves relatively affordable yet with decent quality.
Regulatory environments affected every company in this industry by way of
being more environmentally friendly and having a higher work-place
standard as well as other less affecting tid-bits. Several companies in this
industry had and even still have heavy amounts of less-than-optimal
production factories that create their products which are not up to par with
several first world countries. The regulatory environments are steadily
creating better companies in every aspect of the word.

Competitor Analysis
Adidas is a universally recognized name brand and is a huge hit to many
fans. Though this particular brand name is huge, it still has several
competitors to be wary of. There are many competitors in the sportswear
market, but Adidas main competitors include Nike and Kering (previously
known as PPR, or Pinault-Printemps-Redoute). Kering is a French luxury goods
holding company that owns several different sporting and luxury brands,
including the more popularly known Puma. The rivalry between Puma and
Adidas is natural since the original Adidas company was first co-founded by
the Dassler brothers, Rudolf and Adolf. The brothers eventually split and
created Puma as the rival. All the named companies have high market
capital, according to Morningstar financials website; Nike at the top with
$106,918 million, Kering at $20,730 million, and Adidas at $15,918 million.
Adidas market competition is sectioned in monopolistic competition since
there are several sellers and buyers, sellers offer differentiated products, and
entry and exit of the market are easy.
While Nike is the top contender in this industry, there are still weaknesses in
each company. Nike faces problems with on-going allegations of poor labor
practices in Asia while Pumas weakness is the lack of financial strength
compared to Nike and Adidas, leading to tough competition. The prices for
Nike are maintained at fairly high when compared to Adidas and Puma even
though Nike has low cost manufacturing, which is rooted from their weakness
of poor labor practices. Both Puma and Nike have strong research and

development teams. Even though Puma has limited market share compared
to Nike and Adidas, Puma has a clean brand name even if less popular than
Nike and Adidas, and was the official sponsor for the FIFA World Cup.

SWOT Analysis

1) Adidas is a well known brand that

sponsors major sporting events and
Athletes, such as the Olympics and
Lionel Messi.
2) Adidas has international
recognition and worldwide presence.
Strengths

3) Has been around since 1924 and

has a lot of history.
4) Adidas has a very diversified
portfolio, ranging from sportswear to
equipment.
5) Strong and innovative marketing
has led to an increase in customers
and brand loyalty.
1) Products are often very expensive
to the average customer ($100-$300
for good cleats) due to technology
used or production costs.

Weaknesses

2) Other big name brands (Nike,

Puma, Under Armour) offer stiff
competition.
1) Adidas produces close to 60 new
footwear designs a year to increase
staying power and brand recognition
in a highly competitive market.
2) The company can produce
anything sports related and will have

Opportunities

success with a decent product

because of the branding.
3) Adidas consider themselves the
forerunner in shoe design and
technology, thus creating
opportunity for innovation with
increased funding.
4) Sponsoring major athletes and
events will only increase revenue
and brand recognition.
5) Can further expand by opening
sports academies.

1) Other brands offer similar

products, increasing competition.
2) Brands like Nike and Puma have
enormous brand recognition and
loyalty as well as player
endorsements.
Threats

3) Pirated / fake copies hurt brand

image.

Customer Analysis
Why does the consumer need the product?
Basically, shoes protect your feet from injury and correct your bad posture.
Secondly, shoes improve your gait. The higher the heel, the more the shoe
will modify your gait Other shoe features will impact your gait, as well, such
as the toe spring, arch supports, motion control, side panels, and so on.
Probably you have heard about the barefoot running debate. There is a lot of
research being done these days that indicate running barefoot is healthier
than running in shoes. Logically, the same goes for walking.
Adidas has a strong historical connection with sports and athletes. These
reasons are directly supported to connect with their customer analysis
positively.
Adidas owns a global market over 35% and the company started to receive
attention from many athletes. This brand became one of the favorites for
many athletes; Company has won the trust of many customers as a reliable
and strong brand. Customer started to follow many athletes opinions and
trues out their core products of foot-wear, accessories and clothing.
According to the following web site, I found how they can fatten their wallet
themselves. (www.slideshare.net/singhalshubham/marketing-assignment-onanalysis-of-adidas)

Adidass commitment to products innovation and rich heritages differentiate

the brand value from its competitors, Adidas Sports Performance play- to
win. This is one type of strategies they used which tell the customer that if
he or she is paying then he or she should win, and thus use Adidas products
for the best performance.
Adidas has a strong history of connection with sports, which is stronger than
all the other brands. It is present everywhere from the top of the tops like
where the world level events are happening like the FIFA or the NBA and also
locally where the people who watch and love sports use the Adidas products.
So it naturally better understands the market demand and the sports
products.
For the customer purchase decision
Most of customers want to buy their shoes in store. If the persons shoes size
is 7, he or she is not just going to try 7 but 6.5 or 7.5. And other designs too.
Additionally if you go to in-store, they have many sale sections.

Market Product Focus

Adidas marketing and product

objectives have been the same since
they became a company: to
Marketing and Product
Objectives

innovate new, high quality, durable

sports apparel for athletes. They
market primarily to tennis and
soccer athletes as that is their main
demographic. Adidas recently
starting distributing a new product
to the MLS (Major League Soccer)
called the Adidas miCoach. The
product is a small chip that is
inserted in the cleats of the entire
team to track data such as speed,
distance, heart rate, field position,
and acceleration.
Adidas caters to tennis and soccer
players, primarily. Nike, on the other
hand, is targeted towards runners
and basketball players. This has led

Target Markets

to Adidas becoming more of a

household name with the rise of
soccer in the American market in the
last decade. Lionel Messi, the
biggest soccer star, is sponsored by
Adidas.
Adidas is a German company
founded in 1948, outdating their
closest competitor, Nike, by 16

Points of Difference

years. They are known for their 3

striped logo on the side of their
shoes. While Nike is a more
American brand, Adidas has a larger
global market and a stronger
presence in Europe.
Adidas positions itself as a premier
sports brand around the world.
Seeing the 3 stripes on the side of a

Positioning

shoe makes the consumer instantly

recognize the brand and associate a
high quality product with those
stripes.

Product Strategy
The Adidas soccer cleat lineup includes four separate product silos (or lines)
at the moment. These are the X, the Ace, the Messi and the Copa. Within
these lines various products are available. These are normally split into a
high end model, mid-range model and an entry-level model with the prices
ranging from $220 down to $70 (barring the Copa) respectively. Recently
because of the introduction of more wide spread production of knitted soccer
cleats into the product line by Nike, we at adidas have also introduced a
knitted line of soccer cleats available in the Ace and X lines. However,
increased customer dissatisfaction with the durability of knitted products as
well as a general trend to tune-up their cleats offer us at adidas the
opportunity to launch the next generation of the X series, the X 16+ Tunit.
The X 16+ Tunit will be released for sale in stores in June 2016 and will
release at various price points. The professional model worn by the Adidassponsored athletes will be priced at $250 and will only be available at a
select number of stores known as adiElite dealers. This price point will
allow consumers to tune their shoe to their liking. This will be accomplished
by offering different insoles (one cushioned and one lightweight), two
different firm ground cleat patterns (one with arrow-shaped studs and one
with round studs), an extra set of laces, a branded bag with the name of the
shoe on it and an upper that features a high abrasion-resistant synthetic. The
models at this price point will be made at the same factory used for Adidassponsored players located in Herzogenaurach, Germany because why would

a customer spend this much money on a shoe made in China like they would
with other brands? The next price point down will be priced at $200 and will
be available to all soccer specialty stores regardless of status with Adidas.
This level will be also be offered in a kangaroo leather and a synthetic variant
in order to satisfy different customer bases. In keeping with the Tunit idea
different insoles will be offered but there will only be one type of firm ground
soleplate offered. The mid-range level will retail at $120 and will be available
to all companies that carry Adidas product, regardless of whether they sell a
decent amount of Adidas soccer or not and will be made with a synthetic
upper with an extra pair of different colored laces offered. The entry-level
model which will be priced at $75 and will also be offered at every store that
carries any Adidas product. Brick and mortar general sporting goods stores
will have no access to the $250 and $200 product.
Since the $250 model will only be offered to the highest level of soccer
specialty dealers this limits the need for overly large-scale production and
limits the costs involved in bringing the product into market, while at the
same time keep the demand high because of the manufactured scarcity of
the product. It also creates brand loyalty with the dealers because they will
be continually offered product that will only be sold through dealers of their
sales level, therefore making them destinations for consumers.
In order to build up hype for the new product, adidas headline players will
wear the shoe (as well as the new color of the Ace 16+ PureControl) in an allblack colourway in the weeks leading up to the end of the regular league

seasons around Europe so customers will start thinking what are those?
The launch colourway will be worn by key athletes during the Champions
League Final, which takes place in Milan, Italy on the 28th of May 2016. In
order to make the shoe stand out in the television broadcast, the shoe will
coloured black with reflective yellow tree stripes. We must also attempt to
bring an up close view right before kick off. This can probably be
accomplished by having a star player re-tie his cleats right before the start of
the game and get a camera to focus on him while he is doing so. Since the
UEFA Champions League is also sponsored by adidas it is possible to make
sure that this is accomplished.
At the end of a game the first advertisement for shoe should be aired
simultaneously on TV and on social media outlets. The name of the shoe and
a short tech run down should be announced at this time. In the day after
sites such as SoccerBible and Unisport store, as well as popular Youtubers
such as Freekickerz and Vujojosh will release written and video features
detailing the product. Adidas own social media sites (Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Snapchat and Youtube) will breakdown the tech features of the
shoe as well as releasing several making of features such as interviews
with the chief designer and the head artist. These will also be accompanied
by a film of the shoe being tested and made.
Finally, in order to keep continued interest in the product, we will launch a
campaign called #Iamthedifference to follow-up the #Bethedifference
campaign. This campaign will aimed towards the younger, tech-savvy crowd

(think ages 15-25) with players uploading to a website that adidas creates to
host the best highlights from games they participate in around the world. In
order to encourage participation every week two grand prize winners as well
as two runners up will be given prizes based on who submits the best
highlights. This will not be voted on by people working for Adidas however.
Instead, one grand prize winner will be chosen by everyone who has used
the Iamthedifference and Adidas hashtags with the second grand prize
winner being voted on by Adidas sponsored players. This second grand prize
winner will use the hashtag IamtheXfactor. The winner of the first grand prize
will receive the new X 16+ Tunit in his or her size, with the sponsored
athletes chosen winner winning not only the new cleats but also an
autographed jersey from their favorite Adidas-sponsored player. The two
runners-up will receive an Adidas-sponsored national team jersey of their
choice.
This soon-to-be introduced product line up will be in the market for twelve
months. To keep consumer interest, new colors will be introduced at a rate of
one every two months with a special edition color to be released on the eve
of the European Championships taking place in France in June and July 2016.
Following the European Championships the first new color of the X16+ Tunit
will be released right at the beginning of the new European league seasons,
with players wearing the new color in international friendlies as well as the
opening five matches of the season. This will ensure continued interest in the
product line and thus help convert interest into sales.

The hardest part about this launch will obviously be the competition from
Nike which is due to introduce its next generation of its extremely popular
Mercurial series, as well as increased competition from Puma with its new
product lines and expected hype to be building for new Under Armor cleats
as well. Nike will be the biggest competition and have always made excellent
inroads with their advertising campaigns but the activation of consumers in
our campaign should garner more attention as most young adults crave their
fifteen seconds of fame. Thus giving us a one up against the competition.

Pricing Strategy
Our product (Soccer shoes line) is a very high quality comfortable shoes that
has a great look for soccer players with a good reasonable price comparing
to our competitors. Its one price for every customer in the market unless, if
a buyer wants to buy a good amount of shoes then the price goes down
depending on the quantity and that is the only adjustment that will be
applied to the products quoted price. Our companys price objective is sales
oriented and also competition oriented. We have 4 different shoes that we
want to sell, the first one is the 16+ Tunit at $250 which is priced below to
market price, the second one is the 16.1 at $200 with is at the market price,
the third one is the16.2 at $120 which is also at the market price and lastly
the 16.3 at $75 which is also at the market price. The higher the price the
better and more professional shoes will be so the 16+ is the going to be for
professional soccer players. We want to maximize revenue as much as
possible and to try to minimize the cost but also we priced the 16+ under the
market price to attract the customers to our product since we are
competiting with Nike and other brands. The season is one of the factors that
can affect price because the demand will go down during winter and will go
up during the summer, another reason is if its featured by a famous player
or not as that can help the demand on the product to go up lastly, the
amount of advertisements used that can be used for the whole line of
products.

Distribution Strategy
Our company is distributed over the map strategically with an advantage
because when we (Adidas) advertise our advertisements go to help our retail
stores, our online stores, and lastly our outlet stores. But also our
advertisements helps other retail stores that are not under the brand name
Adidas but they sell Adidas products so we dont to be over distributed
everywhere because there are other store that sell our products and we can
still get the profit. We have major locations are in Europe, Asia, and North
America. Our channel structure is going to be direct channels and we do sell
our through our retail stores and indirect from our online stores but there are
also retail stores that sell our products. There are consumers factors that
affect our company for example target age, and our customers who love to
play soccer. Also where do they live and where can we place our stores that
make them notice that it is available in their area. Another factor is the
product factors, our products are not expensive because they are placed at
the market price and they are unsophisticated standardized products. To add
up there are environmental factors which can be related to families lifestyle.
Our channel conflict is Selective and we have a dual distribution because we
do have outlets stores that will later on sell our product. We are integrated
backward because we advertise the products and the stores get the products
from us. Lastly we are a soccer specialty stores and Adidas online. All four
Styles would be available in both online and in-store.

Promotion Strategy
Adidas promotion strategy consists of active involvement through social
media, short tv advertisements and professional athlete endorsements.
Adidas also tends to use Pull Strategy marketing where they advertise a
product for a consumer to purchase through an intermediary. In most cases
these tend to be in sporting goods stores and in our particular case, in soccer
specialty retailers. Adidas is a massive promoter of its products through
social media. Its twitter account in particular is extremely active and is
consistently churning out info about its products, events going on and
information on its sponsored athletes. Adidas also has a YouTube series
called Game day Plus in which they interview players, going over product
information and preview upcoming events in the world of soccer. Adidas also
sponsors massive sports events like the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions
League and Major League Sponsor. Adidas uses many of these events to
promote new product. The company tends to use the message of overcoming
the odds. Impossible is Nothing has been a company stable for years,
hitting on the human desire (or in this case athletes desire) to accomplish
even the most difficult of goals. The #BeTheDifference campaign has been in
widespread use for the past year as well, which focuses on the individual
soccer players ability to make an impact on the field. Adidas does sell
product through its online webstore and has outlet stores, as well brick-andmortar stores in several major cities around the world. However, Adidas
prefers for retailers to sell its product for them as selling product wholesale

to retailers is where Adidas makes majority of its money. It should be noted

that in a time of some companies trying to sell more directly (ahem, Nike),
Adidas is trying to maintain and expand its relationship with retailers. This is
sometimes done by offering more quantity of a limited release product to its
retail partners than it even keeps for its own webstore. In the past couple of
years Adidas has also launched a massive internal campaign to make more
use of its sponsored athletes and teams. This includes having its athletes use
social media to promote the product they use as well as holding more media
days involving players. Adidas has also had launch parties with the release of
new products to create a feeling of excitement around a new product. The
company also occasionally has product testing events for product reviewers
to attend and sends out free product samples to those who cannot attend. In
this very inexpensive way, Adidas uses product reviewers to speak about
their product for the company and all it cost the company was a few pairs of
shoes and in turn can create a large amount of sales. From all of this it can
be seen that Adidas has a very diverse strategy when it comes to promotion
and the company continues to find new ways to promote and exc

Sites
http://barefootprof.blogspot.com/2012/07/top-10-reasons-why-you-mustwear-shoes.html