Fashion & Brand Promotion
Ashleigh Willer
ADIDAS
ADIDAS HISTORY
S.W.O.T ANALYSIS
BRAND PROMOTION
Adidas for instance has capitalised on its design archive with the Adidas Originals range of retro clothing and footwear. Adidas embraces caring tone in their recent campaigns. Adidas and Nike are also the two biggest advertisers and their strong performance is indicative of the importance of image in this sector. Adidas was spending notably less than it did between 2003 and 2005 on advertising and promotion compared to some of their competitors like Nike and K-Swiss. Adidas uses just as much social media advertising as its competitors. Adidas have regular activity on social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well as Blogs. Adidas has 22million likes on Facebook and 588,309 followers on Twitter. Adidas uses a lot of outdoor promotion and in store promotion when launching a new campaign. The brand gained maximum promotional activity during the London 2012 Olympics as they were the sportswear partners for the duration of the event.
>Strengths - Adidas has a long heritage and high brand value since 1924. The company sponsors major sporting events including Olympics and major sportsmen and teams. The company has worldwide presence and is internationally recognized. The company has a much diversified product portfolio ranging from sports shoes, equipment’s to clothing and accessories. Strong and innovative marketing since years have created a strong brand retention in the minds of customers. Has a workforce of over 45,000 employees.
>Weaknesses - The products can sometimes be costly due to innovative technology or production method. Stiff competition and similar big brands means customers have high brand switching. To keep up with the competition, Adidas generates close to 60 new foot-friendly designs each year.
>Opportunity - Adidas can venture into making more stylish designs and cuts. Tie-up with emerging sports teams/clubs/players internationally. Brand building by setting up sports academies
>Threats - Other brands offer more styles and varieties, thus more competition. Threats from other competitive brands that may produce sports equipment and accessories at a cheaper cost. Pirated/fake imitations affect brand image.
Adidas is a German multinational corporation that designs and manufactures sports clothing and accessories based in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. Adidas is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Germany and Europe and the second biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world, with their products selling in almost 200 countries. Adidas was founded in 1948 by Adolf ‘Adi’ Dassler, following the divid of Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik between him and his older brother Rudolf. Rudolf later established Puma in 1948, which was the early rival of Adidas. Adi created adidas after realizing the need for performance athletic shoes. Adidas began small, producing soccer and running shoes, which ironically enough are still the main products that Adidas is known for. Adidas has continued to gain momentum through the years; many attribute this to Adidas quality, styling and reputation. In 1994 alone, adidas sales totaled 3 billion dollars. In late 1995, adidas went public with its stock. It was a tremendous success and continues to trade internationally. Adidas posted an amazing 40% increase in net sales in the first half of 1997. The Dassler family has a rich heritage in shoes.
WHAT DO THEY DO?
Adidas also produces other products such as bags, shirts, watches, eyewear, and other sports- and clothing-related goods. The USP for Adidas is ‘World renowned company for sports equipment, clothing and other accessories’, with their target market urban upper-middle and upper class, aged 16-24yrs.
There prices range from as low as £45 to £255 in terms of lifestyle footwear. In terms of footwear Adidas caters to both male and female with wide range of products. Since 2006, Adidas has gone from third to the number-one position in terms of ads spends on sports clothing. This ensues from the brand being named in 2007 as the Official Sportswear Partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Adidas also took over as Chelsea FC’s Kit supplier. More other latest activities which have been happening under Adidas Originals include a Muhammad Ali-inspired range and, for women, the Respect M.E. range, endorsed by rapper Missy Elliott and underlining the company’s target audience of a hip, urban audience.
