Reebok 2006 Annual Report Download - page 73

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Research & Development
We believe that product innovation leadership is critical
to the sustained success of our Group. As a result, we
invest considerable resources into continuously developing
technological innovations and contemporizing our design
philosophy, to best unite our brand values with the unique
needs of our consumers. The research and development
process is driven by internal teams of designers, product
developers as well as in-house experts from the fields of
biomechanics, materials technology, product and process
engineering and similar disciplines.
Brand-Specific Global R&D Activities
Research and development within the adidas Group is orga-
nized in a decentralized structure, i.e. each brand separately
runs its own research, design and development activities,
with major locations in several countries. Our brand teams
collaborate closely, sharing fundamental and biomechanical
research to utilize the full scope of our R&D organization. In
addition, our brands share existing technologies. The adidas
TORSION® technology, for example, will be applied across
a collection of Rockport men’s footwear in 2007 (see Cam-
paigns and Products, p. 117). Furthermore, our research and
development functions work with our vast network of manu-
facturing partners around the globe, to increase efficiency in
the product development and engineering processes.
Highly Skilled Technical Personnel
For all our brands, the foundation and success of our R&D
efforts depend on bringing together a diverse and highly skilled
workforce, and providing them with cutting-edge technology.
Personnel expenses represent by far the largest portion of
R&D expenses, accounting for over 67% of total R&D expen-
diture. At December 31, 2006, 1,040 people were employed
in the Group’s R&D activities compared to 636 employees in
2005 (+ 64%). This represents 4% of total Group employees
(2005: 4%). The increase in employees was mainly driven by
the first-time inclusion of Reebok R&D staff. The R&D depart-
ments for each brand comprise experienced teams from dif-
ferent areas of expertise including mechanical engineering,
materials engineering, industrial design, biomechanics, finite
element analysis, advanced CAD design and product develop-
ment. Our teams also include commercialization engineers
as well as experts in production techniques, costing, packag-
ing and IT systems.
Corporate Functions ›» Employees
» Research & Development
Holistic R&D Approach at adidas
R&D activities at adidas focus on the development of revo-
lutionary footwear, apparel and hardware technologies. To
solidify the adidas brand’s position as a leader in technology
and innovation, the adidas Innovation Team (ait) is respon-
sible for developing cutting-edge technologies and concepts
in all product categories. ait creates products that drive the
success of the adidas brand, to give consumers exciting and
relevant sports experiences. The team is divided into groups
that focus on individual product categories such as basket-
ball or football or cross-category project areas such as Intel-
ligent Products or Energy Management Systems (cushioning
technologies). These groups see the complete R&D process
through from initial sketches to final production. R&D proj-
ects follow a holistic approach that involves collaborating
with professional and recreational athletes to test and opti-
mize products according to their needs and ideas. This con-
cept of an R&D team creating market-ready products clearly
is a competitive advantage in the sporting goods industry.
adidas does not purchase any R&D expertise except funda-
mental research. To that extent, the team collaborates with
well-established global research partners such as the Sports
Technology Research Group of the University of Loughbor-
ough, England on long-term projects studying, for example,
the characteristics of footballs or motion analysis in running
and basketball. As a result of multi-faceted R&D projects, the
ait has developed major innovations for 2007 which include
adidas_1 intelligent footwear technology in running and bas-
ketball, BOUNCE™ in footwear, ForMotion™ in footwear and
apparel and TechFit™ Powerweb in functional apparel.