Table of Contents
Background Information
The history of Adidas started in 1920 behind the founder of the company Adolf (Adi) Dassler. The company was initially launched after Adi (an avid soccer player) invented the spiked shoes for track and field athletes. Four years later Adi and his brother Rudolph (Rudi) founded a new German sports shoe company. The two brothers first called Gebrüder Dassler which would be later known as Adidas.
By 1925 the two brothers company really started to have a purpose as they started making soccer boots with nailed studs on the bottom and track running shoes with spikes on the bottom. The brand really gained recognition and a reputation when the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics saw athletes use the unique track shoes and then at the Olympics in Berlin in 1936 Jesse Owens for the U.S. won 4 gold medals wearing the brand’s shoes.
The brand was officially launched and recognized on 18 August 1949, with their headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany at the time of his death in 1978, Adi Dassler held over 700 customers related to sports shoes and other athletic equipment. Although still a strong, well-known brand today, Adidas’ share of the world sports shoe market dropped over the years, and what began as a German family business is now a corporation (Adidas-Salomon AG) combined with the French global concern Salomon.
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In 2004 Adidas bought Valley Apparel Company, a U.S. company that held licenses for outfitting more than 140 U.S. college athletic teams. In 2005 Adidas announced that it was purchasing the American shoemaker Reebok, which allowed it to compete more directly with Nike in the U.S. But the Adidas world headquarters are still located in Adi Dassler’s hometown of Herzogenaurach.
Adidas’ Market
Adidas exist in the sportswear, apparel and footwear market. Adidas is the largest market in Europe as the company’s headquarters are in Germany only bested by Nike on a global scale. Adidas is the second biggest company worldwide in terms of sportswear some of the major competitors of the business are Nike, Puma, Reebok and Under Armour.
Countries of Operation
- Africa: South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, islands of Madagascar and Mauritius, Egypt and Tunisia.
- Asia: China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Philippines Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Russia
The Middle East: Turkey, Israel and Jordan - Oceania: Australia and New Zealand
- Europe: Germany, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, France, Greece, Portugal and Switzerland.
- North and South America: USA, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru
Best Known Products
The products that the world’s second-largest sporting gear company, Adidas is best known for its sporting products, such as shoes, clothing and other related sporting gear. However, with Adidas expanding the company has still remained its focus on their shoes for athletes and everyday use.
Past Controversies Adidas Has Faced
“In January [of this year], Adidas unveiled a limited UltraBOOST Uncaged silhouette in honor of Black History Month titled Celebrating Black Culture. The glaring issue was that aside from some inconspicuous colors along with the eyelet grommets, the colorway was entirely white, leaving people to question the Three Stripes’ judgment.”
Adidas Customer Base
The desired customer base Adidas focuses on is mainly more sport-focused people. As Adidas specializes in sports gear and related items Adidas would set a customer base of athletes or sports players as they would be most likely to buy their products consistently.
Adidas Customer Base and Marketing Director
Eric Liedtke is the head of marketing thus he takes care of Adidas’ customer base and focused audience and customers to their product. Adidas has appointed Eric Liedtke as Head of Global Brand Marketing for the Adidas Brand. In this role, Eric Liedtke will be responsible for Communications, PR and Market Research, reporting directly into Erich Stamminger, President and CEO of the Adidas brand.
What External Factors have affected Adidas
The main external factors that have somewhat hurt Adida’s global growth and in general would be their main competitors, such as Nike, Puma and Under Armour to name a few. Another external factor that has affected Adidas is the major political issues that affect Adidas are changing trade policies and political unrest in many countries.
What Technology has Adidas utilized?
“Adidas has effectively saved resources and money by reducing material waste, transportation, and distribution costs by utilizing 3D virtualization technology. In 2004, the Adidas Group set out to begin using 3D digital technology to showcase their products after being influenced by how effective the automotive and aerospace industries were in using this technology to save resources. Since then, they’ve experienced amazing results.”
Source: http://www.brandid.com/Adidas%20Save%20Millions%20in%20Supply%20Chain
References
- https://www.adidas-group.com/en/group/history/
- https://econsultancy.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-an-advertising-director-of-adidias/story/
- https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/3262/what-really-went-wrong-at-adidas-group
- https://adexchanger.com/platforms/how-advertisers-should-deal-with-brand-safety-concerns/
