Adidas History Essay

Adidas was founded in 1924 in Germany by two bothers Adi and Rudolf Dassler. The company was first named Dassler shoes and later became Adidas. By the Dassler shoes being seen in the Olympics this really helped the company get its name known. However, in 1948 Rudolf Dassler leaves to start his own company which is now known as Puma. Once Rudolf left his brother came up with the famous three stripes logo and changed the name to Adidas. The 3 stripes were created to keep the foot stable, but ended up being the logo. Throughout the years Adidas was seen in the Olympics, and it was the leading brand making their shoes highly sought after by Olympic athletes. In 1978, Adi Dassler passed at age 78 and his wife Kathe ran the company. Six years later Kathe passed and the company was left for their son Horst Dassler to run, and three years later Horst passed at age 51. After Horst’s death Adidas ran into some major financial problems, and later Bernard Tapie comes to make an attempt to save the company. Well to be honest, later down the road a hip-hop group named Run-DMC came and put Adidas on another level just like Jordan did for Nike, and the rest is history! They even made a song called â€Å"My Adidas†, and it was a hit all around the world. After Run-DMC came to Adidas they even had their own signature line. Run DMC is still making Adidas money today just like Jordan is still making Nike tons of money these guys are true legends to the â€Å"Shoe Game†. Adidas has worked with many famous people and has a signature shoe line for Stan Smith, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady aka TMAC, Missy Elliot, and many others. (The Shoe Game) Adidas America, Inc. manufactures and wholesales sports footwear, apparel, and accessories. It offers tennis, running, and basketball shoes; women’s and misses’ outerwear; men’s and boys’ clothing; and women’s and children’s clothing, as well as rubber or plastic footwear. Adidas America, Inc. was formerly known as Sports, Inc. and changed its name to Adidas America, Inc. in 1993. The company was incorporated in 1975 and is based in Portland, Oregon. Adidas America, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Adidas AG. (Inside View) Sportswear giant Adidas gets a new headquarter for its 1700 staff members in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Their new home surely matches the German reputation for quality engineering. I also love the  excess of white used for the interior design, pretty sure their cleaning company has a great time doing their job. (Nimvo) MISSION OF THE COMPANY The adidas Group strives to be the global leader in the sporting goods industry with sports brands built on a passion for sports and a sporting lifestyle. †¢ Adidas is consumer focused and therefore it continuously improve the quality, look, feel and image of its products and its organizational structures to match and exceed consumer expectations and to provide them with the highest value. †¢ Adidas is innovation and design leaders who seek to help athletes of all skill levels achieve peak performance with every product it bring to market. †¢ Adidas is a global organization that is socially and environmentally responsible, creative and financially rewarding for its employees’ and shareholders. †¢ Adidas is committed to continuously strengthening its brands and products to improve its competitive position. †¢ The Company is dedicated to consistently delivering outstanding financial results. MISSION OF THE MARKETING PLAN To devise a marketing plan and formulate strategies which would help in the achievement of the marketing objectives of the company which are, Market penetration – gaining market share across all markets in which it compete Market development – expanding into new markets and addressing new consumers Awareness – increasing awareness and visibility across all brands, providing clear and consistent messaging and supporting product initiatives at the point-of-sale. TARGET MARKETS — The target market of Adidas is the urban youth with the brand proposition competition to lifestyle. The principle consumption centers namely the metros are also a potential target market! MARKET NEEDS †¢ Comfort †¢ Durability †¢ Style †¢ Price †¢ Brand SITUATION ANALYSIS OF THE CHALLENGE COMPETITIVE SCOPES OF  ADIDAS Porter’s five forces of competition framework view the profitability of an industry as determined by the five forces of competitive pressure. It is a simple but powerful tool for understanding where power lies in a business situation. It helps a firm in understanding its current strength in the industry. It also brings into light the strengths of the competitors. With a clear understanding of where power lies, a firm can take reasonable advantage of a situation of strength, improve a situation of weakness, grab the opportunities and keep away from taking wrong steps. This makes it an important part of planning a strategy for any firm in any industry. At the same time, the tool helps in identifying whether new products, services have any future prospect and the potential to be profitable. (Scribd) Five forces analysis for Adidas: Threat of entry (Low-moderate) Threat of Substitute (LOW) Supplier Power (Low) Buyer Power (High) Rivalry (HIGH) Chapter 3 book page 60 Expectation of Suppliers Global Sourcing is a key organization of the adidas Group and its primary responsibility is the creation and implementation of sourcing strategy, supporting the diverse needs of all the brands (adidas, Reebok and Tailor-Made-adidas Golf), product divisions, categories and regions within  the Group. The Company strives to become the leading organization in the industry by establishing an adaptive supply network which excels in speed, innovation, agility and connectivity. This could not happen without the support and commitment of its product suppliers. Thus this is essential for them to share the same values and principles so as to drive the success of the supply chain as a whole. What does Adidas look for in its product suppliers? Overall Competence Regarding its product suppliers as strategic business partners, Adidas recruit them based on a number of criteria which comprise the overall competence of a supplier: 1. Vision: with a vision to become the leading organization in the industry through establishing an adaptive supply network which excels in speed, innovation, agility and connectivity, Adidas expect it suppliers to share this vision, and participate proactively in developing these core capabilities and contribute to the overall supply chain. 2. Supplier Partnerships based on Shared Values: adidas Group seeks suppliers who have close alignments with their values and demonstrate great passion for adidas Group products and brands. Adidas suppliers should strive to become leaders in the fields of performance culture, social and environmental affairs, quality, efficiency, price/value, and innovation. 3. Technical Capability: the Company seek product suppliers with advanced technical capabilities, not only limited to product innovation and quality, but also with the ability to perform business electronically and flexibly enough to upgrade their systems to adapt to future market demands. It suppliers should continuously promote communication and information visibility throughout the supply chain. 4. Leadership: adidas Group seeks suppliers who have a clear and aligned  vision for their organization. The suppliers’ leadership teams are expected to build positive working culture and lead their workforce to achieve improvement and performance targets on a continuous basis. 5. People Management: The Company looks for suppliers who commit to talent management. Suppliers should maintain a professional organization structure which includes dedicated development / merchandizing, planning, industrial engineering, quality and information technology teams, as well as committing to deliver lean operations, competitive cost structure, and cost transparency. 6. Workplace Standards and Ethics: The Company believes better working conditions yield higher quality, efficiency and flexibility to meet customer needs. Suppliers should provide their workers with competitive wages, safe and good working and living environments as well as proper incentives for higher quality and productivity (e.g. lower average working hours in general, decent accommodation and fringe benefits, etc.). 7. Financial Stability: The Company seek suppliers who are financially stable and comply with international and local statutory regulations for the interest of maintaining a viable supply chain and protecting adidas Group shareholders and consumers in the long term. Suppliers should be willing to share selective financial information with adidas Group upon request. Risk Management To minimize risks in Adidas business operations, the adidas Group and its suppliers should actively build and take action plans to manage the following types of risks: 1. Social -They adhere to their established Code of Conduct, the â€Å"Workplace Standards† of Engagement (SOEs) 2. Political – They minimize asset and cash exposure in countries which are considered to be politically unstable. 3. Regulatory – They actively review and adjust sourcing strategies annually to minimize trade restrictions exposure 4. Legal – They utilize extensive legal procedures to combat counterfeit operations in order to minimize the risk of infringement of trademarks and patent rights related to adidas Group products 5. Natural – They maintain high safety standards and have disaster recovery plans in place to deal with such circumstances Business Culture To ensure Its business operates in an efficient and effective manner, adidas Group has established a unique business culture which comprises the following: 1. Right Product at the Right Time – Suppliers are expected to deliver the right products at the right time and in the right quality. The aim is to shorten the end-to-end supply chain lead time from raw materials sourcing to the delivery of final products. 2. Quality Excellence – Quality is one of the main focuses for adidas Group. Its suppliers should ensure all products manufactured meet the defined set of standards. 3. Continuous Improvement – Product suppliers are expected to continuously embrace and drive positive changes and make necessary investments to achieve operational improvements in their organizations. 4. End-to-End Mindset – Suppliers are expected to share equal responsibilities with adidas Group in building an optimum supply network so as to achieve maximum and sustainable total profitability for all stakeholders. 5. Performance Culture – Suppliers should instill a performance culture by continuously setting and meeting aggressive yet reasonable business targets. Customer-Focused In today’s fast-moving world with ever-changing consumer needs and demands, it is crucial for adidas Group and its supply base to keep abreast with the changes and align its development and product allocation strategies closely to market trends. The Company expects its suppliers to instill this customer-focused mindset and be fully committed to the implementation of its development and product allocation strategies. Cost Efficiency As part of a global organization, Adidas focus on the best interest of the entire supply network. It achieves this by driving Performance Culture, Quality, Reliability and Innovation which will enable its suppliers to offer leading price and value. Adidas suppliers are expected to collaborate on improvement programs that continuously increase efficiency and reduce cost. This means that suppliers should utilize productivity and efficiency gains to offset increasing cost drivers and minimize impact on customer prices (Adidas Group) References: http://theshoegame.com/Adidas-History.html http://www.insideview.com/directory/adidas-america-inc http://www.nimvo.com/adidas-head-quarters-in-germany/ http://www.scribd.com/doc/8760709/Adidas http://www.adidas-group.com/supplierrecruitment/expectationonsuppliers.aspx?loc=en