+ All Categories

Nike

Date post: 19-Aug-2014
Category:
Upload: haris-aziz
View: 629 times
Download: 3 times
Share this document with a friend
Popular Tags:
25
Introduction: Nike, is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States . The company is headquartered near Oregon , It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel [3] and a major manufacturer of sports . Nike produces a wide range of sports equipment. Their first products were track running shoes. They currently also make shoes, jerseys, shorts, baselayers etc. for a wide range of sports including track and field , baseball , ice hockey , tennis , association football (soccer), lacrosse , basketball and cricket . Nike Air Max is a line of shoes first released by Nike, Inc. in 1987. The most recent additions to their line are the Nike 6.0, Nike NYX, and Nike SB shoes, designed for skateboarding . Nike has recently introduced cricket shoes, called Air Zoom Yorker, designed to be 30% lighter than their competitors'. [16] In 2008, Nike introduced the Air Jordan XX3, a high-performance basketball shoe designed with the environment in mind. Nike sells an assortment of products, including shoes and apparel for sports activities like association football , [17] basketball , running , combat sports , tennis , American football , athletics , golf and cross training for men, women, and children. Nike also sells shoes for outdoor activities such as tennis, golf, skateboarding , association football , baseball , American football , cycling , volleyball , wrestling , cheerleading , aquatic activities, auto racing and other athletic and recreational uses.. Nike recently teamed up with Apple Inc. to produce the Nike+ product which monitors a runner's performance via a radio device in the shoe which links to the iPod nano . Some of Nike's newest shoes contain Flywire and Lunarlite Foam. These are materials used to reduce the weight of many types of shoes. [20] Nike has contracted with more than 700 shops around the world and has offices located in 45 countries outside the
Transcript
Page 1: Nike

Introduction:

Nike, is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Oregon, It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel [3] and a major manufacturer of sports.

Nike produces a wide range of sports equipment. Their first products were track running shoes. They currently also make shoes, jerseys, shorts, baselayers etc. for a wide range of sports including track and field, baseball, ice hockey, tennis, association football (soccer), lacrosse, basketball and cricket. Nike Air Max is a line of shoes first released by Nike, Inc. in 1987. The most recent additions to their line are the Nike 6.0, Nike NYX, and Nike SB shoes, designed for skateboarding. Nike has recently introduced cricket shoes, called Air Zoom Yorker, designed to be 30% lighter than their competitors'.[16] In 2008, Nike introduced the Air Jordan XX3, a high-performance basketball shoe designed with the environment in mind.

Nike sells an assortment of products, including shoes and apparel for sports activities like association football,[17] basketball, running, combat sports, tennis, American football, athletics, golf and cross training for men, women, and children. Nike also sells shoes for outdoor activities such as tennis, golf, skateboarding, association football, baseball, American football, cycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic activities, auto racing and other athletic and recreational uses.. Nike recently teamed up with Apple Inc. to produce the Nike+ product which monitors a runner's performance via a radio device in the shoe which links to the iPod nano. Some of Nike's newest shoes contain Flywire and Lunarlite Foam. These are materials used to reduce the weight of many types of shoes.[20]

Nike has contracted with more than 700 shops around the world and has offices located in 45 countries outside the United States.[23] Most of the factories are located in Asia, including Indonesia, China, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Philippines, and Malaysia.[24] Nike is hesitant to disclose information about the contract companies it works with. However, due to harsh criticism from some organizations Nike discloses information about its contract factories in its Corporate Governance Report.

Page 2: Nike

HISTORY:

Nike, originally known as "Blue Ribbon Sports", was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1962. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger .

Nike was the name of a Greek Goddess in the ancient Greek culture. She was the goddess of victory and helped the rightful to succeed. Her wings swooshed and so does the feather she kept in her hand. Her attributes were also associated with the force and speediness.

This is the story that the logo and the brand name of Nike tells us. Your famous sportswear company is named after an ancient Greek goddess of victory, and her sisters were the goddesses of force and strength and her brother was the god of rivalry. She bestowed upon fame and glory to those who achieved victory

Together, Nike and Wieden, Kennedy have created many print and television advertisements and the agency continues to be Nike's primary today. It was agency co-founder Dan Wieden who coined the now-famous slogan "Just Do It" for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was chosen by Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20th century.

Page 3: Nike

Question 1

How would you characterize Nike’s brand image and sources of brand equity in the United states?

NIKE enjoys the popularity of its brand name, which is recognized all around the world. Its name carries a trademark, and thus makes it illegal for other companies to infringe upon the NIKE name. Besides the brand name, the company also has a trademark for the ‘Swoosh Design’ logo that identifies NIKE Inc. NIKE considers its name and the ‘Swoosh’ symbol to be the most valuable assets; therefore, the company registered these trademarks in over 100 countries.

Nike has been successful in building a brand image with product features as follows:

Performance From the early day, Nike has learnt the consumers’ need by listening to the need of athletes, sharing their true passion for running. In doing so, Nike has created a reputation as a provider of high quality running shoes designed especially for athlete. Also, high-tech image has always been associated with Nike products

Innovation The Nike brands always associate with innovation. For example, in 1987, Nike developed an innovative new cushioning technology that was use with running shoes. In 1988, Nike introduced “Air” technology and it fast created a big advantage over its competitors. Today, innovation always associate with Nike products and it is still strength of Nike.

Product name associates with athlete name:Air Jordan is a good example for this concept. Nike has been successful in creating relevance among product name, athlete name, the brand, and “Air” technology.

Global Brand with memorable logo 97% Awareness and recognition for Nike brand and logo contribute substantially to the brand image and brand equity.

Good effort in aerobics and fashion segment In order to compete with Reebok in the US market, Nike had adjusted its marketing strategy toward female group who have tendency of fashion-conscious in aerobic market in the 1980s.

Effective campaigns: The “Revolution in Motion” and “Just Do It”The Revolution campaign was a powerful brand statement and a massive handshake from Nike to the customers. The campaign successfully communicates to a wide range of people about product technology, Nike’s soul and a deep.

Page 4: Nike

QUESTION 02

How Nike’s efforts to become a global corporation affect its sources of brand equity and brand image in United states, Europe and Asia?

Customer logic is derived from evaluation of a company and its product based upon customer needs, customer benefits, and product features. Each of these areas is researched to determine what level of pressure logic exists. For branded athletic shoes, Nike is facing customer needs on a global level. This is because there is global demand for brand name athletic shoes and there is opportunity available for growth. However, customer benefits are on a regional level. Though there is global demand for products in Nike’s competitive industry, customers view the product differently and therefore derived benefits based on age, maturity and cultural standards or outlooks.

UNITED STATES:In USA basketball is considered as the key game.

USAIn the U.S., Nike’s Air Jordan basketball shoes are considered for their performance characteristics, their association with a popular U.S. sport, and the endorsement from the pre-eminent star of that sport (Michael Jordan).

Europe:Its European marketing team attacked a single sport at a time to develop the brand in Europe. The company contacted former athletes and partnered local athletic footwear and apparel distributors for selling their products. The control of advertisement and distribution in the European market lied with the distributors. Separate promotional campaigns were conducted in different countries in Europe.AisaNot only is Nike always evaluating and re working their marketing strategy at home as

well as internationally, they are also pendent on where their next biggest potential will be.

As most in the business world know, Brazil, Russia, India and China BRIC are the

biggest emerging countries with potential for huge growth due to their up and coming

populations and markets. Taking these geographical aspects into consideration Nike has

determined Russia, India and China to be its main focuses due to high growth rates and

the fact that they have determined China to be their future number two investor for

products.

Page 5: Nike

Question#3Are sponsorships and endorsements vital to Nike business? For instance, what effect would Nike in becoming official sponsor of Olympics have on the company’s relationship with consumers?One key tool Nike has used to drive its popularity growth is the use of celebrity endorsers

and well-placed sponsorships. Nike depends seriously on its endorsements and

sponsorships to market it-self. A Reuters report estimated Nike spent $260 million on

sponsorships in 2008.

As a brand, Nike has established a very strong brand identity and a brand personality

over the years. What Nike did was to use celebrity endorsement as one of the main

channels of communicating its brand to a highly focused set of customers. In fact one of

the most successful collaborations between a brand and a celebrity is that of Nike and

Michael Jordan. So successful was the collaboration that Nike and Jordan launched a new

brand variant called the Air Jordan line of sport shoes. Nike pulled off a very similar

coup in the sports industry when it joined forces with the ace golfer Tiger Woods to enter

the golf category with its apparel, equipment and accessories. Contrary to this, most of

the brands in Asia that have used celebrity endorsements have used it as the main brand

building tool. Before any brand signs on a celebrity, they should consider three main

aspects.

Attractiveness of the celebrity: This principle states that an attractive endorser

will have a positive impact on the endorsement. The endorser should be attractive

to the target audience in certain aspects like physical appearance, intellectual

capabilities, athletic competence, and lifestyle. It has been proved that an endorser

that appears attractive as defined above has a grater chance of enhancing the

memory of the brand that he/she endorses.

Credibility of the celebrity: This principle states that for any brand-celebrity

collaboration to be successful, the personal credibility of the celebrity is crucial.

Credibility is defined here as the celebrities’ perceived expertise and

Page 6: Nike

trustworthiness. As celebrity endorsements act as an external cue that enable

consumers to sift through the tremendous brand clutter in the market, the

credibility factor of the celebrity greatly influences the acceptance with

consumers.

Meaning transfer between the celebrity and the brand: This principle states

that the success of the brand-celebrity collaboration heavily depends on the

compatibility between the brand and the celebrity in terms of identity, personality,

positioning in the market vis-à-vis competitors, and lifestyle. When a brand signs

on a celebrity, these are some of the compatibility factors that have to exist for the

brand to leverage the maximum from that collaboration.

Top ten endorsers for nike:

In 30+ years in business some of the biggest names in sports have worn Nike’s swoosh.  Many of those athletes are, or were, the biggest names in their sport.

1. Michael Jordan (Basketball)Jordan and Nike are as closely linked as an athlete and product in history.  His Airness is one of the few Nike uber-athletes with his own Nike product line. Jordan IS Nike, so much that his Jordan Brand is one of top divisions within Nike.  MJ was part of some of Nike’s most successful marketing campaigns, including; his “It’s gotta be the shoes” with Mars Blackmon.  Jordan’s impact on Nike has translated into over a billion in sales.2. Tiger Woods (Golf)The other megastar with his own Nike division is well on his way to making billions for Nike with his Tiger Woods golf line.  It is rare that Tiger takes a backseat to anyone, but in this case his the Prince to Michael Jordan’s role as King.  Over his lifetime Tiger’s Nike golf division will generate more revenue for Nike than the Jordan Brand, because they have a larger suite of products that span from shoes and shirts to irons and drivers.  But Tiger might be permanently stuck in second place because while he is the most prominent face of Nike today, Jordan was the only face of Nike for many years.3. Bo Jackson (American football)Tough call at #3, but Bo Jackson gets the nod because “Bo Knows” Nike and in the early 90′s Bo was Nike.  The fascination over this dual sport athlete allowed Nike to build a unique and memorable campaign that featured Bo dominating a variety of sports.  The “Bo Knows” campaign still ranks as one of the top Nike

Page 7: Nike

campaigns of all-time.  Just imagine the global impact Bo might have had on Nike had he not been injured relatively early in his career?

2. 4. Andre Agassi (Tennis)As Andre said in his commercials for Canon, “Image is everything!”  And the image of Andre became synonymous with Nike tennis, from his pseudo-denim shorts to the vibrant Nike shirts.  His long career and high Q rating made him a premier pitchman for Nike, making it almost forgivable that he dropped Nike after 17 years for a deal with rival Adidas in 2005.5. Ronaldinho (soccer)Ronaldinho brings a global appeal to Nike like few athletes have aside from Jordan and Tiger.  One of the most recognizable athletes in the World, the Brazilian soccer star is a magician with the ball.  Nike has capitalized on his star power by designing entire ad campaigns around him for the 2006 World Cup.  Over the next decade Ronaldinhowill have as big an impact on the Nike brand as anyone this side of LeBron James.6. Lance Armstrong(Road Racing Cyclist)Lance is the triple threat for Nike, not only is he known for his seven Tour de France wins, but he is also a regular fixture in the celebrity magazines and as a spokesman in the fight to cure cancer.  Nike’s Livestrong campaign for the Lance Armstrong Foundation has sold over 70 million bracelets.  Even though Lance’s professional cycling career is over, he keeps going strong as an inspirational pitchman for the Swoosh.7. Michael Vick(American football)Hindsight is 20/20, obviously this is one that Nike wishes it could Just Do Over.  But in the years before Mike Vick finally imploded Nike made him the face of their football campaign.  Vick’s ability and Nike’s promotion made him a big part of their brand growth in football, even if Nike now wishes they had never heard his name.8. Deion Sanders(American football)“Primetime” was the second coming of Bo Jackson; Neon Deion was the chance for Nike to again cash in big on a two-sport star.  Nike helped to introduce Primetime to America, and Sanders brash personality and electrifying style of play did the rest. 9. Pete Sampras (tennis)In five years you’ll probably be able to plug Roger Federer into this spot and not miss a beat, because Sampras and Federer are nearly identical Nike pitchman.  The primary difference was Nike paired Sampras up with Agassi in the classic “good versus evil” matchup.  If Nike wants to recapture lightning in a bottle they’ll remake Rafael Nadal and Federer as a modern day Sampras and Agassi. 10. LeBron James(Basketball)Blaspheme to list King James this low, I know but he’s got a lot of years in-front of him to prove he deserves to be higher.  Just wait until 2010 when he heads to New York to play for either the Nets or Knicks, then you’ll see LeBron explode up this list.

Page 8: Nike

Top female endorser for nike:Worlds two best tennis stars and the most heavily paid female athlete endorses nike

Maria Sharapova: Maria Sharapova is former World No. 1 Russian professional tennis player. Sharapova has won 22 WTA singles titles, 3 WTA doubles titles and 3 Grand Slam singles titles, consisting of the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open. She was also runner-up at the 2007 Australian Open. She has also won the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in 2004.

She is now the top paid female athlete with endorsements from Nike, She extended her Nike contract over 8 years that could be worth as much as $70 million. With that she gets own tennis line, including clothes, bags and shoes.

Serena WilliamsSerena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and currently ranked World No. 10 in singles and No. 20 in doubles with sister Venus Williams. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her World No. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She regained this ranking for the fifth time on November 2, 2009.Williams won two Grand Slams and a record $6.5 million in prize money in 2009.one of the first women signed to Nike Goddess

Risks

There is a risk while companies like Nike attach themselves to celebrities. While one of

its players creates a mistake either on the field or off, the company’s repute can take a hit

too. The issue came up in 2009 while Woods was involved in a significant personal

scandal. Other sponsors dropped the golfer but Nike chose to keep sponsor him.

official sponsor for the Olympics:

Nike becoming an official sponsor for the Olympics will have positive influence on the

consumers. Not only it will enhance Nikes brand image among the consumers, but the

brand awareness and brand equity will reach new heights. It will establish Nike as one of

the leading sportswear companies in the world.

Page 9: Nike

Question#4

Why did nike become a target for critics of globalization? Do you think Nike’s response to allegations of unfair global labor practices was appropriate? Is nike truly concerned about its issues?

Low Wages in Indonesia

Nike managers sought to ignore or deflect these criticisms, arguing that the Indonesian

factories were owned and operated by independent contractors, not by Nike. Nike’s Vice

President for Asia at the time claimed that Nike did not “know the first thing about

manufacturing. We are marketers and designers.” The company’s general manager in

Jakarta argued, “They are our subcontractors. It’s not within our scope to investigate.

But by the mid-1990s, Nike instructed its Indonesian contractors to stop applying for

exemptions to the legal minimum wage. Workers were forced to work 65 hours a week

and improperly compensated for overtime.

In April 1999, after the Indonesia government raised minimum wages to 231,000

rupiah/month (US$26), Nike announced that it would raise wages for workers employed

by its suppliers above the legal minimum wage, from between US$30-37.50 per month.

Child Labor in Pakistan

In June 1996, Life magazine published an article on child labor in Pakistan, which

included a photo of a 12 year old boy stitching a Nike soccer ball. This article and its

accompanying photo unleashed another wave of criticism against Nike and a call by

various consumer groups, trade unions, and NGOs to boycott Sialkot-produced soccer

balls. According to Maria Eitel, Vice President and Senior Advisor for Corporate

Responsibility at Nike, this represented a “critical event” for the company in terms of its

understanding of globalization, international labor standards, and corporate

responsibility.

Page 10: Nike

Today, Nike sources soccer balls only from Saga’s 12 stitching centers. Nike insists that

any of its contractors caught employing child workers must remove the child from the

factory, continue to pay the child’s wages, and pay for the child’s school fees until he/she

reaches legal working age.

Health and Safety Problems in Vietnam

The report also claimed that chemical releases in the plant had caused numerous cases of

skin and heart diseases, and those respiratory ailments, due to excess dust, were extensive

in other areas of the factory. According to the report, personal protective equipment was

not provided at the factory and working conditions and work hours at the plant were in

violation of Nike’s code of conduct. News of this report, which appeared in the New

York Times and other leading newspapers, ignited another wave of indignation over

Nike’s relations with its suppliers.

Increasingly, labor and environmental problems at Nike’s suppliers’ factories were

becoming a major problem for Nike itself. These events made Nike a target for the anti-

globalization and anti-sweatshop movements.

Nike’s Response: Learning to Become a Global Corporate Citizen

Nike managers refused to accept any responsibility for the various labor and

environmental/health problems found at their suppliers’ plants. Workers at these factories

were not Nike employees, and thus Nike had no responsibility towards them. By 1992,

this hands-off approach changed as Nike formulated a Code of Conduct for its suppliers

that required them to observe some basic labor and environmental/health standards.

Potential suppliers for Nike were obligated to sign this Code of Conduct and post it

within their factories. Critics have charged that Nike’s Code of Conduct is minimalist and

not fully enforced, claiming that posting the Code in factories where most employees are

functionally illiterate and/or do not possess the power to insist on its implementation is

simply window dressing. Nonetheless, the evolution of this document indicates that Nike

is seeking to address several of the most serious problems found in its suppliers’ plants.

Nike has increased the minimum age of footwear factory workers to 18 and all other

workers (in apparel, equipment) to 16. It has also insisted that all footwear suppliers

adopt US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards for indoor

Page 11: Nike

air quality. In fact, a quick review of some of Nike’s recent efforts in the area of labor

and environmental/health standards shows that the company is serious about doing the

right thing.

New Staff and Training

In response to the growing criticisms, Nike created several new departments (e.g., Labor

Practices (1996), Nike Environmental Action Team (NEAT) (1993)) which, by June

2000, were organized under the Corporate Responsibility and Compliance Department.

Last year, in an effort to strengthen the links between production and compliance

decisions, the compliance department was moved into the apparel division. Today, Nike

has 85 people specifically dedicated to labor and environmental compliance, all located

in countries where Nike products are manufactured. These employees visit suppliers’

footwear factories on a daily basis. In apparel, given the much larger numbers of

suppliers, Nike managers conduct on-site inspections on a weekly or monthly basis,

depending upon the size of the firm. In addition to its corporate responsibility and

compliance managers, Nike has about 1000 production specialists working at/with its

various global suppliers. All Nike personnel responsible for either production or

compliance receive training in Nike’s Code of Conduct, Labor Practices, Cross Cultural

Awareness, and in the company’s Safety, Health, Attitudes of Management, People

Investment and Environment (SHAPE) program. The company is also developing a new

incentive system to evaluate and reward its managers for improvements in labor and

environmental standards among its supplier base.

Increased Monitoring of Its Suppliers

Nike has pushed its suppliers to obey standards through increased monitoring and

inspection efforts. The company is currently developing a grading system for all of its

suppliers, which it will use to determine future orders and thus create a strong incentive

among its suppliers to improve working conditions.

Page 12: Nike

Relations with International and Non-Profit Organizations

Nike has been active in founding and/or supporting an array of different international and

non-profit organizations, all aimed at improving standards for workers in various

developing countries. For example, Nike is actively involved in the United Nations

Global Compact.

Nike’s goal to be a responsible citizen of the corporate world, Nike has committed to

goals to better the problems as part of the aforementioned labor initiative:

o Increasing the minimum age of footwear factory workers to 18, and

minimum age for all other light-manufacturing workers (apparel,

accessories, equipment) to 16;

o Expanding education programs, including junior and high school

equivalency courses, for workers in all Nike footwear factories;

o Increasing support of its current micro-enterprise loan program to 1,000

families each in Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Thailand.

o Comprehensive changes in its corporate labor policy.

o New ventilation systems have been installed

o 60-hour work week has been enforced.

o Has assured an average salary well above national salary average.

o Announced the implementation of new global labor standers.

o Created a corporate responsibility division.

o Become a charter member of the fair labor association.

While establishing these policies is a step in the right direction for Nike, the difficult task

at hand will be the implementation of the aforementioned goals of the new labor initiative

to ensure the success of the program.

Page 13: Nike

Q5Evaluate Nikes acquisitions and the brands now under its control. Do these acquisitions make sense for nike? What if any brands should nike acquire next?

Nike’s acquisition

• Cole Haan , based in Maine, sells dress and casual footwear and accessories for men and women under the brand names of Cole Haan, g Series, and Bragano.

• Nike Bauer Hockey , based in New Hampshire, manufactures and distributes hockey ice skates, apparel and equipment, as well as equipment for in-line skating, and street and roller hockey.

• Hurley International , based in California, designs and distributes a line of action sports apparel for surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding, and youth lifestyle apparel and footwear.

• Converse , based in Massachusetts, designs and distributes athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories.

These acquisitions make sense for Nike because it had many goals behind these

acquisitions.

They were searching for –

Brand diversity

Ways providing additional avenues for growth

Segmenting this business by customer

Page 14: Nike

Opportunity to address the low end through distribution at retailers.

Q#6

How important is “Fashion” to nike? Are they a performance apparel company, or a fashion company? What is more important for nike when they entered new Market like China? Fashion or performance!

FUNCTION AND FASHIONWith added exposure, nike is challenged to respond to a market demand for fashionable

athletic footwear and apparel. In this quest, it will succeed if we keep quality and

performance at the core of their business. One of the largest and best-known sellers of

sportswear in the world, Nike began as a maker of athletic shoes, and then branched out

into shoes and clothes for athletes and those who wanted to dress like athletes. However,

since the late 1970s fitness has been in fashion, and it is almost as fashionable to dress

like an athlete as it is to be one.

Nike took advantage of this trend with a series of clever, innovative ads for their

products. Nike advertisements did not focus on their products; in many ads the products

were not pictured. Instead, they showed the attitude and lifestyle of the athlete,

overcoming obstacles, trying hard to win. Slogans like "Just Do It" drew in customers

who might not be athletic but wanted to be strong, attractive, and successful like the Nike

athletes. Nike spokespeople have often been energetic athletes with big personalities,

such as basketball's Michael Jordan, tennis's John McEnroe, and figure skating's Tonya

Harding. In 1979 Nike began to market athletic clothing as well as shoes. Along with

outfitting hundreds of teams worldwide, the Nike swoosh was now seen on the street

clothes of millions of individuals. Nike continued to work with fashion designers and

bought innovative shoe design companies such as Cole-Haan Shoes, in order to keep its

clothing and shoes on the cutting edge of style. In 2001 the company opened the first

Nike Goddess store to sell fashionable sportswear for women only.

Fashion is more important for Nike along with performance when they enter a new

market like China because some analyst believe that the new middle class in China has

began to follow western culture and has brought several aspects of American culture to

its marketing efforts in china.

Page 15: Nike

Q#7

Should Nike do anything different to defend its position now that Adidas and Reebok have joined forces?

Reebok

Reebok, in terms of their products, is not entirely different from Nike. Reebok is involved

in the design and marketing of both athletic and non-athletic footwear and apparel, as

well as other various fitness projects. Reebok’s market share is a distant third in the

footwear industry at 11.2% (compared to 30.4% and 15.5% for Nike and Adidas

respectively). Reebok’s financial position has been gradually slipping for a number of

years. This is evident in their declining stock price, which has fallen by over 80 percent in

the last four years. Reebok’s financial woes are illustrated in their declining net sales.

Reebok’s net sales declined 9% during the first three-quarters of fiscal year 1999. During

that same period, net income declined 17%. Taking these and other factors into account

leaves Reebok’s current financial position, as a whole, looking bleak.

Adidas

Besides the difficulties with its marketing intermediaries, Nike faced formidable

competition in Europe. Adidas, the German shoe company, dominated the European

sports market. Together with Puma, a spin-off of Adidas, the two companies controlled

over 75% of Europe’s athletic shoe and apparel market. For decades, the two companies

had developed the grassroots allegiance of local sports teams; in particular, soccer, track

and field, tennis, and rugby. They both had endorsements contracts with top European

athletes in each of these sports and sponsored many local teams in cities and towns across

Europe. Adidas, in particular, was respected for the quality of its shoes and had earned

the reputation as the European performance brand

Page 16: Nike

Adidas and Reebok joined hands to give competetion to the world's No.1 brand Nike in branded sports wear market but Reebok is likely to retain its brand. In Indian and south Asian market, Reebok and Adidas would be available as separate brands. After this deal between German brand Adidas and Reebok, a new company is likely to be formed which will have a combined annual sale of some $11.1 billion where Nike's annual sales are $ 14 billion worldwide. In the market Adidas is popular among soccer, track and field fans and Reebok appeals to fans of sneakers, athletic football, base ball and basketball. Adidas and Reebok deal is done to face Nike's competition in world market.

Even though after the merger of adidas and reebok have given tough time to nike but still

nike is above them in the competition, Nike’s strength above competition lies in its

ability to differentiate and its popular brand image.

So in order to defend its position Nike should preserve and maintain its brand equity both domestically and abroad.

Gain a more positive global image, especially regarding labor laws Better management of their fashion shoe sector.

Gain a stronger presence in China.

Think about latest trends and style and introduce fashionable shoe to attract new

generation.

Devote vast resources on R&D of its product.

Act as innovator.


Recommended