Reebok 2007 Annual Report Download - page 48

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ANNUAL REPORT 2007 --- adidas Group GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT – OUR GROUP -- Structure and Strategy - Group Strategy
GROUP STRATEGY
Our goal as a Group is to
Y
l
ead the sportin
g
g
oods industry with brands
built on a passion for sports and a sportin
g
l
i
f
estyle. We continuously strive to generate
consumer excitement and enhance brand
profi tability by executing a clear strategy. In
everythin
g
we do, we are focused on stren
g
th-
en
i
n
g
and develop
i
n
g
our brands to max
i
m
i
ze
the
G
rou
p
’s o
p
erational and fi nancial
p
erfor-
mance and create shareholder value.
PERFORMANCE AS CORE GROUP VALUE Our Group’s mission
and strategy are rooted in our desire to provide athletes
with the best possible equipment to optimize their perfor-
mance. This philosophy originated with our brands’ founders
Adi Dassler, J. W. Foster and Gary Adams whose passion for
sport inspired them to develop innovative sports products
and create new sports categories. We aim to consistently
perform at a level where we not only meet but exceed the
expectations of our stakeholders.
We strive to be closer to consumers than any of our competi-
tors, and our unique understanding of consumers enables
us to enhance their athletic experience. In support of these
efforts, we continuously optimize our sales and distribution
processes and improve our customer service efforts for our
retail partners. We make every effort to align our employees’
personal objectives with our Group and brand targets and
reward our staff for high achievement.  see Employees, p. 068
Further, we are particularly focused on ensuring best-practice
social and environmental standards.  see Sustainability, p. 065
A commitment to constantly increase value for our shareholders
is at the core of our activities. This commitment to top perfor-
mance differentiates us from other competitors and is a unify-
ing principle across our multi-brand organization.
LEVERAGING OPPORTUNITIES ACROSS OUR BRAND PORT-
FOLIO The strength of our brands is a key factor in our Group’s
success. Within our brand portfolio, we primarily pursue two
strategic options:
- Market penetration – gaining market share across all
markets in which we compete, and
- Market development – expanding into new markets and
addressing new consumer segments.
Our multi-brand approach allows us to tackle opportunities
from several perspectives, as both a mass and niche player,
providing distinct and relevant products to a broad spectrum
of consumers. In this way, each brand is able to concentrate
on its core competencies and excel. Across all brands, we focus
on increasing awareness and visibility, providing clear and
consistent messaging and supporting product initiatives at
the point-of-sale. In addition, our commercial success also
depends on leveraging the scale of our organization and
sharing best practice across our Group.
LEADING POSITION IN MARKETS WORLDWIDE As a global
organization, we target leading market positions in all regions
where we compete. In Europe, where our Group is the market
leader in terms of sales, our strategy is two-fold. First, we
continue to strengthen our position in the major Western
European markets by growing our brands through well-
coordinated efforts with key account partners. Secondly, we
are capitalizing on the strong growth opportunities in the
region’s emerging markets (i.e. Eastern Europe, the Middle
East and Africa).
In North America, we see signifi cant upside potential. As a
Group, we are number two in terms of sales, but we believe
we are currently underrepresented in the North American
sporting goods market. Therefore, we target market share
expansion via a strong, consumer-driven product offering,
a diversifi ed distribution strategy, and visible and engaging
communication initiatives.
In Asia, where our Group is the market leader in terms of sales
with number one positions in Japan, Korea, India, Thailand,
Indonesia and New Zealand, our goal is to strengthen and
extend our market leadership position. Our key priority in the
medium term is expanding our business in the region’s two
most important markets Japan and China. In tandem, we will
also continue to capitalize on opportunities in the other emerg-
ing markets of Asia.
Finally, in Latin America, our Group’s fastest-growing region
for the last several years, we are focused on rapidly expanding
our business in the four most important markets: Brazil,
Argentina, Mexico and Chile. Our target is to take over market
leadership in terms of sales by 2010.