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This article is about the company. For the song by Korn, see A.D.I.D.A.S.

Adidas
Company typeAktiengesellschaft
FWB: ADS, OTCQX: ADDYY
IndustryApparel, accessories
Founded1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik
(registered in 1949)[1]
FounderAdolf Dassler
HeadquartersHerzogenaurach, Germany
Portland, Oregon, USA
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Igor Landau (Chairman)
Herbert Hainer (CEO)
ProductsFootwear, sportswear, sports equipment, toiletries
Revenue€11.99 billion (2010)[2]
€894 million (2010)[2]
€567 million (2010)[2]
Total assets€10.62 billion (end 2010)[2]
Total equity€4.616 billion (end 2010)[2]
Number of employees
42,540 (end 2010)[2]
Websitewww.adidas-group.com

Adidas AG (German pronunciation: [ˈadiˌdas]) is a German sports clothing manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company (including Ashworth), and Rockport. Besides sports footwear, Adidas also produces other products such as bags, shirts, watches, eyewear, and other sports- and clothing-related goods. Adidas is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world.[3]

Adidas was founded in 1948 by Adolf Dassler, following the split of Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik between him and his older brother Rudolf. Rudolf later established Puma, which was the early rival of Adidas. Registered in 1949, Adidas is currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, along with Puma.

The company's clothing and shoe designs typically feature three parallel bars, and the same motif is incorporated into Adidas's current official logo. The "Three Stripes" were bought from Karhu Sports in 1951.[4][5] The company revenue for 2010 was listed at €11.99 billion.[2]

History

Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik

Christoph von Wilhelm Dassler was a worker in a shoe factory, while his wife Pauline ran a small laundry in the Bavarian town of Herzogenaurach, 20 km (12.4 mi) from the city of Nuremberg. After leaving school, their son, Rudolf "Rudi" Dassler, joined his father at the shoe factory. When he returned from fighting in World War I, Rudolf received a management position at a porcelain factory, and later in a leather wholesale business in Nuremberg.

A pair of Adidas Samba football trainers.

Adolf "Adi" Dassler started to produce his own sports shoes in his mother's wash kitchen in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria after his return from World War I. In July 1924, his brother Rudolf returned to Herzogenaurach to join his younger brother's business, which became Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) and prospered. The pair started the venture in their mother's laundry,[6]: 5  but, at the time, electricity supplies in the town were unreliable, and the brothers sometimes had to use pedal power from a stationary bicycle to run their equipment.[7]

By the 1936 Summer Olympics, Adi Dassler drove from Bavaria on one of the world's first motorways to the Olympic village with a suitcase full of spikes and persuaded U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens to use them, the first sponsorship for an African American. Following Owens's haul of four gold medals, his success cemented the good reputation of Dassler shoes among the world's most famous sportsmen. Letters from around the world landed on the brothers' desks, and the trainers of other national teams were all interested in their shoes. Business boomed and the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes each year before World War II.[8]

World War II and company split

Both brothers joined the Nazi Party, but Rudolf was slightly closer to the party than Adolf. During the war, a growing rift between the pair reached a breaking point after an Allied bomb attack in 1943, when Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were already in: "The dirty bastards are back again", Adi said, referring to the Allied war planes, but Rudolf was convinced his brother meant him and his family.[9] After Rudolf was later picked up by American soldiers and accused of being a member of the Waffen SS, he was convinced that his brother had turned him in.[7]

The Dassler factory, used for production of anti-tank weapons during the war, was nearly destroyed by US forces in April 1945, but was spared when Adi Dassler's wife, Käthe, convinced the GIs that the company and its employees were only interested in manufacturing sports shoes. American occupying forces subsequently became major buyers of the Dassler brothers' shoes.[10]

The brothers split up in 1947,[9] with Rudi forming a new firm that he called Ruda – from Rudolf Dassler, later rebranded Puma, and Adi forming a company formally registered as Adidas AG from Adi Dassler on 18 August 1949. Although it is popularly claimed that the name is an acronym for All Day I Dream About Sport, that phrase is a backronym; the name is actually a portmanteau formed from "Adi" (a nickname for Adolf) and "Das" (from "Dassler").[1]

Early years and rivalry with Puma

Puma and Adidas entered a fierce and bitter rivalry after the split. The town of Herzogenaurach was divided on the issue, leading to the nickname "the town of bent necks"—people looked down to see which shoes strangers wore.[11] Even the town's two football clubs were divided: ASV Herzogenaurach club supported Adidas, while 1 FC Herzogenaurach endorsed Rudolf's footwear.[7] When handymen were called to Rudolf's home, they would deliberately wear Adidas shoes. Rudolf would tell them to go to the basement and pick out a pair of free Pumas.[7] The two brothers never reconciled, and although both are buried in the same cemetery, they are spaced apart as far as possible. [citation needed]

In 1948, the first football match after World War II, several members of the West German national football team wore Puma boots, including the scorer of West Germany's first post-war goal, Herbert Burdenski. Four years later, at the 1952 Summer Olympics, 1500 metres runner Josy Barthel of Luxembourg won Puma's first Olympic gold in Helsinki, Finland.

At the 1960 Summer Olympics Puma paid German sprinter Armin Hary to wear Pumas in the 100 metre sprint final. Hary had worn Adidas before and asked Adolf for payment, but Adidas rejected this request. The German won gold in Pumas, but then laced up Adidas for the medals ceremony, to the shock of the two Dassler brothers. Hary hoped to cash in from both, but Adi was so enraged he banned the Olympic champion.[8]

The Tapie affair

After a period of trouble following the death of Adolf Dassler's son Horst Dassler in 1987, the company was bought in 1989 by French industrialist Bernard Tapie, for ₣1.6 billion (now €243.9 million), which Tapie borrowed. Tapie was at the time a famous specialist of rescuing bankrupt companies, an expertise on which he built his fortune.

Tapie decided to move production offshore to Asia. He also hired Madonna for promotion. He sent, from Christchurch, New Zealand, a shoe sales representative to Germany and met Adolf Dassler's descendants (Amelia Randall Dassler and Bella Beck Dassler) and was sent back with a few items to promote the company there.

In 1992, unable to pay the loan interest, Tapie mandated the Crédit Lyonnais bank to sell Adidas, and the bank subsequently converted the outstanding debt owed into equity of the enterprise, which was unusual as per the prevalent French banking practice. The state-owned bank had tried to get Tapie out of dire financial straits as a personal favour to Tapie, it is reported, because Tapie was Minister of Urban Affairs (ministre de la Ville) in the French government at the time.

In February 1993, Crédit Lyonnais sold Adidas to Robert Louis-Dreyfus, a friend of Bernard Tapie for a much higher amount of money than what Tapie owed, 4.485 billion (€683.514 million) francs rather than 2.85 billion (€434.479 million). They also purposely bankrupted Tapie's company that owned Adidas, because only the company had the right to sue them.

Robert Louis-Dreyfus became the new CEO of the company. He was also the president of Olympique de Marseille, a team Tapie had owned until 1993.[citation needed]

Tapie filed for personal bankruptcy in 1994. He was the object of several lawsuits, notably related to match fixing at the football club. During 1997, he served 6 months of an 18-month prison sentence in La Santé prison in Paris.

Post—Tapie era

An Adidas casual shoe, with the company's distinctive three parallel bars

In 1994, combined with FIFA Youth Group, SOS Children's Villages became the main beneficiary.

In 1997, Adidas AG acquired the Salomon Group who specialized in ski wear, and its official corporate name was changed to Adidas-Salomon AG because with this acquisition Adidas also acquired the Taylormade Golf company and Maxfli, which allowed them to compete with Nike Golf.

In 1998, Adidas sued the NCAA over their rules limiting the size and number of commercial logos on team uniforms and clothing. Adidas withdrew the suit, and the two groups established guidelines as to what three-stripe designs would be considered uses of the Adidas trademark.

In 2003, Adidas filed a lawsuit in a British court challenging Fitness World Trading's use of a two-stripe motif similar to Adidas's three stripes. The court ruled that despite the simplicity of the mark, Fitness World 's use was infringing because the public could establish a link between that use and Adidas's mark.[12]

In September 2004, top English fashion designer Stella McCartney launched a joint-venture line with Adidas, establishing a long-term partnership with the corporation. This line is a sports performance collection for women called "Adidas by Stella McCartney",[13] and it has been critically acclaimed.[14]

Also in 2005, on 3 May, Adidas told the public that they sold their partner company Salomon Group for €485m to Amer Sports of Finland. In August 2005, Adidas declared its intention to buy British rival Reebok for $3.8 billion (US$). This takeover was completed with partnership in January 2006[1] and meant that the company would have business sales closer to those of Nike in North America. The acquisition of Reebok would also allow Adidas to compete with Nike worldwide as the number two athletic shoemaker in the world.[15]

Adidas has global corporate headquarters in Germany, and many other business locations around the world such as Portland OR, Hong Kong, Toronto, Taiwan, England, Japan, Australia, and Spain. Mainly sold in the U.S., Adidas makes lots of assets from these countries and is expanding to more oversea countries.

In 2005, Adidas introduced the Adidas 1, the first ever production shoe to use a microprocessor. Dubbed by the company "The World's First Intelligent Shoe", it features a microprocessor capable of performing 5 million calculations per second that automatically adjusts the shoe's level of cushioning to suit its environment. The shoe requires a small, user-replaceable battery that lasts for approximately 100 hours of running. On 25 November 2005, Adidas released a new version of the Adidas 1 with an increased range of cushioning, allowing the shoe to become softer or firmer, and a new motor with 153 percent more torque.[citation needed]

On 11 April 2006, Adidas announced an 11-year deal to become the official NBA clothing provider. They will make NBA, NBDL, and WNBA jerseys and products as well as team-coloured versions of the "Superstar" basketball shoe. This deal (worth over $400 million) takes the place of the previous 10-year Reebok deal that was put in place in 2001.

Products

Running

A pair of Adidas Response Cushion 18 running trainers.

Adidas currently manufactures several running shoes, including the adiStar Salvation 3, the adiStar Ride 3 (the replacement for the adiStar Cushion 6), the Supernova Sequence 4 (the replacement for the Supernova Control 10), and the Supernova Glide 3, among others. In addition, their performance clothing is widely used by runners. Adidas also uses kangaroo leather to make their more expensive shoes.[16][17]

Football

Adidas sponsors Mats Hummels and many other players in football

One of the main focuses of Adidas is football kit and associated equipment. Adidas remain a major company in the supply of team kits for international football teams.

Adidas also makes referee kits that are used in international competition and by many countries and leagues in the world. The company has been an innovator in the area of footwear for the sport, with notable examples including the 1979 release of the Copa Mundial moulded boot used for matches on firm dry pitches. It holds the accolade of the best selling boot of all time. The soft-ground equivalent was named World Cup and it too remains on the market, timeless and iconic. Some of the most famous football teams are currently sponsored by Adidas.[citation needed]

Adidas became renowned for advancing the Predator boot design developed by ex-Liverpool and Australian international player Craig Johnston. This design featured a ribbed rubber structure for the upper leather of the shoe, used to accent the movement of the ball when struck; highly skilled players claimed they were able to curve the flight of the ball more easily when wearing this new contoured design.[citation needed] The Predator also features the Craig Johnston-invented Traxion sole.

FIFA, the world governing body of football, commissioned specially designed footballs for use in its own World Cup tournaments to favour more attacking play. The balls supplied for the 2006 World Cup, the Teamgeist, were particular noteworthy for their ability to travel further than previous types when struck, leading to longer range goal strikes that were intended to increase the number of goals scored.[citation needed] Goalkeepers were believed to be less comfortable with the design, claiming it would move significantly and unpredictably in flight.[citation needed]

Adidas also introduced another new ball for the 2010 World Cup. The Jabulani ball was designed and developed by Loughborough University in conjunction with Chelsea FC. It received much criticism from players, managers and pundits for being too hard to control.[citation needed] The lighter and more aerodynamic ball led to many shots and passes being over hit. The Jabulani was widely blamed for the low numbers of long range goals or even remotely accurate attempts in the opening stage of the tournament.[citation needed] Current footballers that Adidas officially endorses includes (but is not limited to): Lionel Messi, Nani, Mats Hummels, Frank Lampard, Arjen Robben, Salomon Kalou, Kaká, Xabi Alonso, David Villa, Jermain Defoe, Steven Gerrard, Michael Ballack, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Tobias Hysén, Dimitar Berbatov, Alessandro Del Piero, Xavi, and Karim Benzema.

As well as the aforementioned Predator boot, Adidas also manufacture the F50 and adiPure range of football boots.
Adidas also provides clothing and equipment for all teams in Major League Soccer.

Tennis

Professional tennis player Andy Murray.

Adidas has sponsored tennis players and recently introduced a new line of tennis racquets. While the Feather is made for the "regular player", and the Response for the "club player", Adidas targets the "tournament player" with the 12.2 oz Barricade tour model.[18] Adidas sponsors the following professional players with mainly clothing and footwear: Ana Ivanović, Andy Murray, Maria Kirilenko, Caroline Wozniacki, Justine Henin, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Daniela Hantuchová, Alicia Molik, Fernando Verdasco, Marcos Baghdatis, Gilles Simon, Fernando González, Flavia Pennetta, Laura Robson, Melanie Oudin, and Sorana Cîrstea. Adidas tennis clothing contains the ClimaCool technology found in other athletic jerseys and shoes.[19]

In November 2009 World Number 4 Andy Murray was confirmed as Adidas's highest paid star with a 5 year contract reported to be worth $24.5m.[20]

Players sponsored by Adidas can take advantage of the Adidas Player Improvement Program, where the company provides coaches, fitness trainers and sports psychologists to players in order to further their careers. The program includes legendary coaches such as Darren Cahill and Sven Groeneveld.

In Cincinnati, at the ATP Tennis Tournament in Mason, they have also sponsored the ball-boy and ball-girl uniforms.

Golf

Adidas Golf is part of Adidas, a German-based sports clothing manufacturer and part of the Adidas Group, which consists of Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company, and Rockport. The Adidas Group is one of the global leaders in the sporting goods industry offering a wide range of products around the three core segments of Adidas, Reebok, and TaylorMade-Adidas Golf. Adidas Golf sells and manufactures Adidas-brand golf clothing, footwear, and accessories.

Company timeline

In 1997, Adidas AG acquired the Salomon Group who specialized in alpine ski wear, and its official corporate name was changed to Adidas-Salomon AG because with this acquisition Adidas also acquired the TaylorMade Golf company and Maxfli, which allowed them to compete with Nike Golf. Salomon sold its controlling interest in TaylorMade and its other sports equipment companies to global giant Adidas AG.

In 1998, Adidas Golf USA moved its business operations from Tualatin, Oregon, to the Carlsbad, California headquarters of TaylorMade Golf, acquired by Adidas-Salomon. Adidas Golf USA had thirty employees to relocate. Carlsbad is also the headquarters of one of its primary competitors, Callaway Golf Company.

In 1999, TaylorMade and AdidasGolf USA, were merged into a new company—called TaylorMade-Adidas Golf—with world headquarters in Carlsbad. Mark King was named president of the company he had begun his career with in 1981 as a sales representative after a short stint as vice president of sales and marketing at Callaway Golf Ball Co. in 1998.

In November 2008, Ashworth (clothing) became a wholly owned subsidiary of TaylorMade-Adidas Golf, complementary to the synthetic performance fabrics of Adidas Golf.

Product

Adidas Golf sells clothing, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth. Men's equipment includes footwear, shirts, shorts, pants, outerwear, base layer and eyewear. Women's equipment includes footwear, shirts, shorts, skirts, pants, outerwear, base layers, and eyewear. Youth equipment includes both boys and girls footwear, clothing, and eyewear.

Cricket

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, batting with his personalized Adidas Bat.

In the 1990s, Adidas signed world's iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar of India and made shoes for him.[21] Tendulkar still wears Adidas shoes while playing matches. Since 2008, Adidas has sponsored the cricket bat used by Sachin Tendulkar. It created a new bat, 'Adidas MasterBlaster Elite', personalized for him.

In 2008, Adidas made their move into English cricket market by sponsoring English batting star Kevin Pietersen after the cancellation of his lifetime deal with Woodworm, when they ran into financial difficulties.[22] The following year they signed up fellow England player Ian Bell, Pakistan opening batsman Salman Butt and Indian Player Ravindra Jadeja. Having made cricket footwear for many years, the company finally entered the field of bat manufacture in 2008. Now the range includes Pellara, Incurza, Libro and M-Blaster.

Currently the sponsored cricketers include Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo.

Adidas manufactures uniforms for the England cricket team. Adidas signed with Cricket South Africa in 2011 and the uniforms worn by South African Cricket Team during and after the Cricket World Cup 2011 will be manufactured by the German giant.[23] The Australia cricket team were previously sponsored by Adidas till late 2011. Now they also sponsor the South Korea national cricket team.

In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adidas are the official apparel sponsor for the teams Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils and Pune Warriors India.[24][25]

Basketball

Adidas has been a longtime basketball shoe manufacturer and is one of the leading basketball brands in the world. They are most famous for their late 1960s iconic Superstar and Pro Model shoes, affectionately known as "shelltoes" for their stylized hard rubber toe box.[citation needed] These were made very popular in the 1980s hip hop streetwear scene alongside Adidas's stripe-sided polyester suits.[citation needed]

Adidas is also the current outfitter of all 30 franchises in the National Basketball Association (replacing the Reebok brand after the merger) and sponsors numerous players past and present like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tracy McGrady, as well as Dwight Howard, Chauncey Billups, Derrick Rose, Quincy Pondexter, Brandon Knight, Eric Gordon, Michael Beasley, Josh Smith and Tim Duncan. Adidas endorsed Kobe Bryant with the Adidas Equipment KB8 as his first signature shoe until July 2002.[26] The company also endorsed Kevin Garnett until he opted out of his contract in 2010.[27] Gilbert Arenas was an Adidas endorser until 2010.[28]

Lacrosse

In 2007, Adidas announced the future production of lacrosse equipment, and will sponsor the Adidas National Lacrosse Classic in July 2008 for the top 600 high school underclassmen lacrosse players in the United States.[29]

Rugby

All Blacks rugby jersey

Adidas makes rugby balls and other rugby gear. They are the current kit and ball supplier to the New Zealand All Blacks, Irish Munster Rugby, the French National Team Les Bleus, and the South African Stormers and Western Province rugby union teams among others. Adidas are also the official match ball supplier to the Heineken Cup.

Gymnastics

Since 2000, Adidas has provided men's and women's gymnastics wear for Team USA, through USA Gymnastics. In 2006, Adidas gymnastics leotards for women and Adidas men's comp shirts, gymnastics pants and gymnastics shorts have been available in the USA, with seasonal leotards offered for Spring, Summer, Fall and Holidays. Starting in 2009, Adidas gymnastics wear has been available worldwide through GK Elite Sportswear.[30]

Skateboarding

Adidas SB (Skateboarding) are shoes made specifically for skateboarding. Many of the shoes Adidas previously made were redesigned for skateboarding.

Adidas Skateboarding also has a skateboarding team. The team consists of: Mark Gonzales, Dennis Busenitz, Tim O'Connor, Silas Baxter-Neal, Pete Eldridge, Benny Fairfax, Lucas Puig, Nester Judkins, Lem Villemin,Vince Del Valle and Jake Brown.

Baseball

Adidas has also provided baseball equipments and sponsors numerous players of Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.

From 1997 to 2008, Adidas sponsored New York Yankees.[31]

In Japan, Adidas is the official apparel sponsor for the teams Yomiuri Giants[32] and Waseda University.

Field Hockey

Adidas has provided Hockey equipment's and sponsors numerous players of Germany, England, Netherlands, Australia and Spain. They also sponsor Reading Hockey Club,[33] Beeston Hockey Club [34] and East Grinstead Hockey Club.[35] and Hattemse Mixed Hockey Club

Accessories

Adidas also designs and makes sandals, watches, eyewear, bags, baseball caps, and socks.

Adidas Fresh Impact – Limited Edition

As well, Adidas has a branded range of male and female deodorants, perfumes, aftershave and lotions.

Marketing

Adidas, like other sports brands, is believed to engender high consumer brand loyalty. Brand loyalty towards Adidas, Nike, Inc., Puma AG and several other sportswear brands was examined in a recent study.[36] The study found consumers did not exhibit unduly high loyalty towards such brands.

During the mid to late 1990s, Adidas divided the brand into three main groups with each a separate focus: Adidas Performance was designed to maintain their devotion to the athlete; Adidas Originals was designed to focus on fashion and life-style; and Style Essentials, with the main group within this one being Y-3.

"Adidas is all in" is the current global marketing strategy for Adidas. The slogan aims to tie all brands and labels together, presenting a unified image to consumers interested in sports, fashion, street, music and pop culture.

"Impossible is Nothing" was the previous mainstream marketing slogan for Adidas. This campaign was developed by 180/TBWA based in Amsterdam but also with significant work being done by TBWA/Chiat/Day in San Francisco – particularly for its basketball campaign "Believe In Five".TBWA\Chiat\Day commissioned Zane Peach[37] to produce images for 2007 international ad campaign.

Game advertisement

The brand is featured in several games. Amiga|Commodore Amiga: Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge Sony Playstation: Adidas power soccer Commodore 64, ZX spectrum, Amstrad CPC: Adidas Championship Football

Sponsorship

Main article: List of Adidas sponsorships

Adidas is a major domestic (within Germany) and international sports and events sponsor. During the last number of years, the Group has increased its marketing and sponsorship budget.[38] Adidas is a key sponsor and supplier to the National Basketball Association (NBA). The company recently unveiled a new NBA game jersey to be worn by all NBA players in games beginning in the 2010–2011 season.

Adidas is the longstanding kit provider to the Germany national football team, a sponsorship that began in 1954 and is contracted to continue until at least 2018. Adidas also sponsors the Argentine, Japanese, Mexican, Scottish, Spanish and Colombian national football teams, among others.[39]

Adidas is very active at sponsoring top football clubs in Germany such as Bayern Munich, Schalke, Hamburg, Bayer Leverkusen, and VfL Wolfsburg and top football clubs worldwide such as Middlesbrough, Real Madrid, Adidas are the main sponsor and kit supplier of the highly successful New Zealand national rugby team, the All Blacks. Adidas also are the kit supplier to the Los Pumas, the Eagles, the Irish professional rugby union team, Munster Rugby and the French professional rugby union club, Stade Français.

Adidas also sponsors and produces clothing for the rugby league club Gold Coast Titans in the Australian National Rugby League (NRL) competition.

In cricket, the company are the main and kit sponsors sponsors of the successful England Cricket Team and the South African Cricket Team . They are also the main sponsors of the Indian cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag and English cricketer Kevin Pietersen. They are sponsors of the Indian Premier League teams Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians.

Adidas is the apparel partner of the Collingwood Football Club and the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League.

Adidas and Major League Soccer (MLS) announced a 8-year sponsorship agreement in August 2010 that will continue to make Adidas the official athletic sponsor and licensed product supplier for the league, and to work together to expand the developmental league for MLS through 2018.[40]

Adidas also sponsors events such as the London Marathon and Adidas Sundown Marathon in Singapore.[41]

In the 1980s, Adidas sponsored rap group Run-D.M.C., a breakthrough idea.

For the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Adidas spent €70 million sponsoring the event, amid criticisms.[42]

Adidas has also been marketing in NASCAR, sponsoring big name drivers such as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart.

On 25 April, Adidas announced that it had signed a four-year, all-sports apparel deal with NC State University.

Corporate information

Current executive board

  • CEO Adidas-group: Herbert Hainer
  • Finance Adidas-group: Robin J. Stalker
  • CEO Adidas brand: Erich Stamminger
  • Global Operations Adidas-group: Glenn S. Bennett

Former management

Financial information

Financial data in millions of euros[2]
Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Sales 10,084 10,299 10,799 10,381 11,990
EBITDA 1,078 1,165 1,280 780 1,159
Net income 483 551 642 245 567
Net debt 2,231 1,766 2,189 917 221

Criticism

Adidas's business practises/ethics and commitment to worker welfare have been scrutinised and often criticised.[43][44]

2011 All Blacks replica rugby jersey pricing controversy

Unhappy with the local price of the Adidas replica All Blacks jersey, New Zealand-based All Blacks fans have asked for price cuts and begun purchasing the jersey from overseas vendors after it was revealed that the local price of $NZ220 was more than twice the price offered on some websites.[45]

Adidas has responded by enforcing cross-border agreements to stop overseas retailers from selling to New Zealand residents. It has been labelled a public relations disaster by leading New Zealand PR firms and Consumer advocate groups. The largest New Zealand sportswear retailer Rebel Sport has stated it is angry and is considering selling the All Blacks Jerseys to the general public below cost. As of 9 August 2011, Rebel Sport has decided not to stock the Adidas Rugby Union Jumper.[46]

2012 "shackle" sneakers

On 14 June 2012 Adidas posted on their Facebook page a picture of a pair of shoes containing shackles. The picture was of a planned shoe line that Adidas intended to release in August. The photo quickly caused controversy including that of Jessie Jackson who was quoted as saying "The attempt to commercialize and make popular more than 200 years of human degradation, where blacks were considered three-fifths human by our Constitution is offensive, appalling and insensitive".[47] Jackson threatened a boycott, and NBA commissioner David Stern was at one point reportedly contacted in hopes that he would intervene.[47] Shortly after the outcry the company canceled the product.[47]

Sweatshops and labor rights violations

Adidas has been criticized for operating sweatshops, particularly in Indonesia. Between 2006 and 2007, Adidas rejected many of its suppliers that supported unions for subcontractors with less reputable labor rights records.[48] By subcontracting work to different suppliers, it is more difficult for Adidas to ensure company labor standards are enforced. Workplace standards that Adidas' policy upholds include the freedom for workers to take part in collective bargaining and a non-retaliation policy towards workers who express concerns.[49] In practice, however, many of Adidas' suppliers have not upheld these standards. At the Panarub factory in Java, 33 workers were fired after striking for better pay in 2005.[50] PT Kizone is another Indonesian factory where Adidas has received criticism over treatment of workers. They produced products for Adidas as well as Nike and the Dallas Cowboys until they closed recently in January 2011. Laid off were 2,686 workers, who are owed $3 million in severance pay and benefits. Nike has contributed $1.5 million but Adidas has not acted. A campaign has been initiated by United Students Against Sweatshops calling for universities to cut contracts with Adidas.[51]

On 16 July 2012, activists in London replaced Adidas price tags in sports stores with 34p ones, a reference to the low hourly wage rate paid to the Indonesian workers who make Adidas goods.[52] The campaign group Labour Behind the Label claimed that the basic pay of Indonesian Adidas workers was only £10 a week. William Anderson, head of social and environmental affairs for the Asia Pacific region, posted an entry on the company blog in which he sought to justify the 34p an hour pay rate.[53]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c "Adidas Group History". Adidas-group.com. Retrieved 26 September 2010. Cite error: The named reference "history" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Annual Report 2010" (PDF). Adidas. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  3. ^ "Adidas, Deutsche Telekom, Infineon: German Equity Preview". Bloomberg L.P. 16 January 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  4. ^ Smit, Barbara (2007). Pitch Invasion, Adidas, Puma and the making of modern sport. Penguin. p. 44. ISBN 0-14-102368-6.
  5. ^ Chadwick, Simon; Arthur, Dave (2007). International cases in the business of sport. Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 438. ISBN 0-7506-8543-3.
  6. ^ Smit, Barbara (2009). Sneaker Wars. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0-06-124658-6.
  7. ^ a b c d James, Kyle. "The Town that Sibling Rivalry Built, and Divided | Business | Deutsche Welle | 03.07.2006". Dw-world.de. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  8. ^ a b "How Adidas and PUMA were born". in.rediff.com. 8 November 2005. Retrieved 26 September 2010. [dead link]
  9. ^ a b Esterl, Mike (21 March 2008). Review of "Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and PUMA and the Family Feud That Forever Changed the Business of Sport", Barbara Smit, March 2008, ISBN 978-0-06-124657-9. Retrieved 26 September 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  10. ^ "Shoes and Nazi Bazookas: The Prehistory of Adidas and Puma". Der Spiegel. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  11. ^ Ramachandran, Arjun (18 September 2009). "Town divided by tale of two shoes". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  12. ^ Adidas told its three stripes don't constitute a trademark at The Guardian
  13. ^ "Stella McCartney collection". Adidas.com. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  14. ^ Stella McCartney Biography at Internet Movie Database
  15. ^ "AOL.com". Aolsvc.news.aol.com. Retrieved 26 September 2010.[dead link]
  16. ^ "SaveTheKangaroo.com" (PDF). Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  17. ^ "Kangaroos on Track to extinction?". YouTube. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  18. ^ Tennis-warehouse.com
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References

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