Adidas has built strong relationships with influencers, musicians and celebrities in order to broaden its customer base beyond sports fans. Their iconic trefoil logo has become widely recognized around the globe by people who appreciate its blend of style and athleticism in Adidas shoes.
Adidas also produces special-edition sneaker models designed specifically for cities like London or Paris to stock stores across Western Europe and North America without incurring excessive inventory costs.
Innovation
Adidas is at the forefront of innovation. Over its history, Adidas has pioneered several technologies designed to enhance athletic shoe performance – notably Predator Precision SG designed specifically for world-class soccer players and Adizero Adios Neftenga shoe used by Haile Gebrselassie to break marathon world record, plus Supernova Cushion M that improved comfort and durability of running shoes.
More recently, Adidas has leveraged their technological prowess to expand into new areas of product offerings and engage with consumers more meaningfully. They recently collaborated with high-fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto on Y-3 and Stella McCartney to produce high-end sportswear lines; such partnerships helped raise Adidas’ profile among non-sportswear fans.
Additionally, the brand is investing in digitalization of core processes across its value chain, including 3D design with digital prototyping to reduce time required to test and produce new products. By streamlining production with shorter supply chains allowing greater flexibility and responsiveness to consumer demand and lessening inventory losses or surplus production leading to clearance sales that might damage brand reputation.
Short-term goals of the brand include increasing consumer-centricity through direct-to-consumer channels (including its retail stores and e-commerce). By 2025, these should account for half of total net sales.
Design
Adidas has developed a strategy called “Own the Game” in response to an ever-evolving industry, designed to spur growth. Consumers will remain at the core of everything done within this strategy which involves open source partnerships, rapid design and manufacturing processes, as well as digitalization of operations.
The strategy will also focus on increasing sales through its own channels, such as retail stores, e-commerce platforms, and independent showrooms. Furthermore, investments will be increased in these channels. Furthermore, this plan will emphasize brand credibility while elevating consumer experience as well as developing products specifically targeted towards meeting young consumer needs.
One key tenet of Adidas’ strategy will be using data-analytics. This will reduce time to market products while increasing accuracy; an example being its recent launch of AM4 shoes based on athlete and user data. Furthermore, Adidas plans on improving its sourcing and supplier management processes to ensure suppliers possess appropriate skills and are capable of meeting delivery commitments on time.
The company will continue investing in its people and creating an inclusive workplace environment, while supporting athletes and teams such as Real Madrid, England cricket teams and South African cricket teams as well as professional athletes. Furthermore, Adidas plans on creating an environmentally sustainable supply chain while engaging peer pressure to push its suppliers towards improvement of services provided. Lastly, Adidas plans on opening up a Speedfactory by 2021 which will allow it to produce shoes at a much faster rate.
Performance
Adidas has earned the trust of world-class athletes over decades by producing innovative products to support their performance. To do this, Adidas regularly meets with athletes to understand their needs and observe how they perform, then develops new products designed to help them become even better athletes.
adidas introduced the Micropacer shoe computer during the 1980s; an innovation which helped track an athlete’s speed and distance for optimal training. Although such innovation may seem routine today, its implementation at that time was revolutionary.
In the 2000s, adidas continued its legacy of innovative product creation for athletes: from Predator Precision SG shoes for soccer stars such as David Beckham to the Supernova Cushion M shoe worn by Haile Gebrselassie during marathon runs. Furthermore, collaborations were undertaken with designers like Yohji Yamamoto and Stella McCartney for high fashion sportswear collections that appealed to a broader range of audiences than just sports fans.
As 2020 began, Adidas unveiled a five-year strategic plan titled Own The Game. The primary objective is a transition towards a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business model which puts consumers first when shaping trends; additionally, Adidas aims to enhance its sustainability credentials through measures such as reducing waste, increasing recycled content production, and supporting underrepresented communities.
To achieve its goal, the company has been investing heavily in digitalization. They plan on employing 3D design capabilities, IT integration with suppliers and retailers, real-time planning capabilities and automation of manufacturing facilities – changes which should bring their supply chain closer to end consumers compared with its current model; consequently they anticipate increasing sales by an expected 8-10% on a currency-neutral basis by 2025.
Sustainability
Adidas is constantly challenging itself to do more, to rethink what has come before and find ways to make its products better. Their commitment to sustainability extends from raw materials through manufacturing. One example is their Chinese factories embedding RFID tags in products so Adidas can track defects more easily – something no other industry company offers; plus workers training on recognizing and reporting issues.
The company’s new strategy, ‘Own the Game,’ places consumers at the heart of everything it does and acknowledges they drive industry trends. Sales growth will come through its own e-commerce channels as well as stores fully integrated with digital platforms; the aim is to enhance credibility, enhance the consumer experience, and expand sustainability boundaries.
Adidas embraces its history while simultaneously understanding what consumers want now to create innovative products. Run-DMC was an integral partner in pioneering the sneaker culture that now is integral to hip hop, while Kanye West, with his unique aesthetic combined with Boost technology in his signature Yeezy sneakers, serves as evidence that Nike continues to find new partners to collaborate with. This strategy forms part of its plan to double sales in key cities like London and Paris within five years, by shifting their production focus toward speedy production and direct-to-consumer distribution; this allows them to offer low time-to-market products they weren’t capable of before.
Distribution
Adidas is an iconic global fashion brand with a powerful presence in the industry. Unfortunately, however, their strength can also be undermined by some weaknesses, including outsourced manufacturing, limited product offerings and no celebrity endorsements. Yet regardless of these shortcomings, Adidas remains ahead of competitors thanks to their branding strategy and innovative products.
Adidas has always taken great strides to understand customer needs and preferences, which has allowed it to develop products with superior value for customers. Furthermore, its strategic sourcing strategies help reduce production costs while still offering quality and competitive prices.
Furthermore, the company utilizes multiple channels to promote its brand and engage consumers – traditional advertising, eye-catching billboards, social media etc – in order to reach its target audience and build brand loyalty.
Adidas is a multi-brand sportswear company known for offering shoes, apparel and accessories to an extensive variety of athletes from every discipline. Additionally, the company sponsors major international sporting events like FIFA World CupTM, Boston & Berlin MarathonsTM and UEFA Champions LeagueTM to increase brand recognition.
Adidas also utilizes its global retail network to sell its products directly to consumers worldwide, with stores in major cities like Paris, London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Los Angeles that set fashion trends. Furthermore, their e-commerce capabilities allow for quick online sales that reduce inventory management expenses and quickly restock styles and sizes in weeks or days rather than months.
