Reebok 2007 Annual Report Download - page 59

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ANNUAL REPORT 2007 --- adidas Group
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Going forward, the golf ball division will be supported with
additional personnel and fi nancial resources to drive growth.
In addition, TaylorMade plans to further grow the number of
players on the Tour using its golf balls, thereby gaining stronger
acceptance in the marketplace.
BUILDING ON ADIDAS GOLF’S STRENGTH IN FOOTWEAR AND
APPAREL As a result of its steady commitment to developing
great-looking, great-feeling and performance-enhancing prod-
ucts, adidas Golf has been the fastest-growing footwear and
apparel brand in golf for the last three years.
With the introduction of industry-leading high-performance
golf shoes such as the TOUR360, the TOUR360 II and the
POWERBAND, adidas Golf has developed into a strong com-
petitor in the global golf footwear market. In 2007, adidas Golf
for a short period even became the top-selling footwear brand
in Japan. This was the fi rst time ever that a non-domestic
brand had taken over market leadership in a product category
in Japan, which is the world’s second largest golf market.
adidas Golf intends to extend its position in golf footwear in the
medium term by further leveraging adidas’ strength in foot-
wear technologies and by building on its successful TOUR360
and POWERBAND franchises.
In apparel, adidas Golf has positioned itself as the most
innovative performance brand in the game by utilizing adidas
ClimaCool®, ClimaCool® Motion, Clima Compression and
ClimaProof® technologies in adidas Golf apparel products.
adidas Golf was the fi rst major brand to bring these types of
technology to the golf industry, making it the front-runner in
terms of technological innovation in the golf apparel category.
Going forward, adidas Golf is committed to growing its apparel
business by continuously incorporating leading adidas apparel
technologies into golf products. In this way, the brand expects
to achieve clear global market leadership in the category in the
medium term.
MARKETING EXCELLENCE AS A KEY SUCCESS FACTOR Well-
coordinated and consumer-relevant marketing is paramount
to achieving sustainable market leadership. For this reason,
TaylorMade-adidas Golf has combined product marketing,
brand communication and retail marketing in one fully-
integrated global marketing team. Executional excellence
and a coordinated approach to bringing product to market are
key elements of the segment’s go-to-market strategy.
TaylorMade-adidas Golf utilizes a variety of strong marketing
tools. Following product launches, TaylorMade-adidas Golf
provides point-of-sale support, in-store communication and
customer fl ow management support (e. g. assistance in
reducing waiting times for consumers) to drive product sell-
through. TaylorMade’s Tour Trailers are on-site at nearly all
PGA Tour and European Tour golf tournaments to give Tour
professionals the opportunity to interact with TaylorMade
product specialists. Leadership on these Tours strengthens
TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s credibility among golfers and helps
both brands increase traction among consumers. Further,
effi cient product lifecycle management plays an important role
in helping TaylorMade-adidas Golf achieve optimal results in
the marketplace. In summary, marketing expertise and excel-
lence are critical tools to help TaylorMade-adidas Golf drive
sustainable growth going forward.
FURTHER EXTENDING AND SEGMENTING DISTRIBUTION
TaylorMade-adidas Golf works with retail partners who pos-
sess the skills to effectively showcase the performance advan-
tages of TaylorMade and adidas Golf products. Core channels
include green grass retailers, off-course golf specialty retail-
ers and sporting goods retail formats with golf-specifi c depart-
ments. By focusing on strategic and key accounts (golf
specialty and sporting goods retailers) in the distribution mix,
TaylorMade-adidas Golf has positioned TaylorMade metal-
woods and irons, and adidas Golf footwear and apparel to be
among the top-selling golf products in these retail channels.
TaylorMade-adidas Golf will continue to work closely with its
strategic accounts. The company also plans to increase its
efforts to extend its brands’ presence at smaller retailers and
on-course golf shops, where the brands are currently under-
represented. This will help TaylorMade-adidas Golf steadily
grow its business going forward. To support growth and at the
same time avoid overexposure to certain accounts or an over-
supply in the market, TaylorMade-adidas Golf pursues a selec-
tive distribution strategy based on a clear segmentation of its
product offering at retail. The company also utilizes existing
adidas infrastructure, particularly own-retail stores, to distrib-
ute adidas Golf products and drive growth in emerging markets.
PRICING STRATEGY REFLECTS BRAND POSITIONING
TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s pricing policy mirrors the positioning
of its two brands in the golf market. As a result, TaylorMade’s
pricing strategy focuses on dominating the market at premium
price points and competing aggressively in the high-volume
mid-price segment. adidas Golf supports its market perception
as the innovation leader in performance golf footwear and
apparel by selling its products primarily at premium price
points.
Market share expansion, particularly in golf equipment, is
driven mainly by the ability to deliver best-in-class lines
of products at multiple price points. Two examples of
TaylorMade- adidas Golf’s success with this strategy in golf
equipment are the Burner® (medium price) and r7®
SuperQuad (premium price) drivers: launched in 2007, both
became the best-selling driver model in their respective price
segment in the US market. The Burner® even was the best-
selling driver worldwide in 2007. Another example of a suc-
cessful implementation of this strategy is adidas Golf’s
high-priced TOUR360 golf shoe, which became the brand’s
best-selling golf shoe for two years running.