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adidas Group
2011 Annual Report
GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT – OUR GROUP
75
2011
02.3 Global Brands Strategy adidas Strategy
Training: creating new consumer experiences
At adidas, training is the biggest category for both men and women.
Training supports the preparation and recovery needs of serious
athletes across all sports disciplines and is the industry’s largest
apparel category. Its positioning is driven by the philosophy “you train,
you win”, and by adidas’ desire to support athletes, no matter what
the sport. To achieve this goal, adidas Training develops concepts and
products for sport-specific categories to support athletes in becoming
the best in their sports.
A key strategic priority for future growth in the training category is
adidas’ dedication to complement its best-in-class product offering
with revolutionary new consumer experiences that bring to life the
adidas vision to be the leading personalised brand in the world.
Insights from adidas Training’s intense activity with athletes and the
world’s leading authorities on athlete performance have led to some
significant updates to our miCoach and adidas Core Performance
digital initiatives. Our aim is to continue to refresh our digital content
to interact with consumers, providing exercise guidelines and best-in-
class services.
08 adidas Sport Performance
adipure Trainer
Linked to this, adidas launched several new technologies and product
updates in 2011. In footwear, the brand successfully pre-launched
its new natural adipure Trainer in the USA and Japan PICTURE 08 . In
apparel, Clima365 was relaunched, forming the key part of the “cooler”
performance pillar. And under the “faster” pillar, a holistic adizero
training range was introduced. All of these products are designed to
help athletes make the most of their workouts, whatever their level is.
In 2012, adidas Training will launch several new training concepts
and products, such as Studio Power, a new apparel range for top
female athletes, featuring new bra and pant collections. The adipure
Trainer 360 training shoe for men and women will also be introduced,
which offers unrestricted foot movement and flexibility, to aggres-
sively go after the natural segment. Further focus will also be put
on improving quality, increasing colour offerings and strengthening
in-store marketing. For example, a new and commercially relevant
Performance Essentials collection will be launched and executed
through a fully integrated never-out-of-stock business model SEE
GLOBAL SALES STRATEGY, P. 62
.
Outdoor: the athletic brand in the outdoors
adidas has a long history in outdoor, going back as far as 1978, when
adidas and climbing legend Reinhold Messner developed a new
generation of boots which he used to reach base camp on his way
to becoming the first man to climb Mount Everest without artificial
oxygen. With this heritage and the projected growth in the outdoor
sports sector, adidas has invested in building an authentic and
performance- orientated outdoor market position. Today, adidas offers
a holistic product range for mountaineers, climbers, hikers and other
outdoor athletes. The collection features technical footwear, apparel,
backpacks and eyewear including the latest adidas developments and
renowned technologies of partners such as Gore-Tex, Windstopper,
Primaloft and Continental.
A strong cooperation with active mountaineers, climbers and other
outdoor enthusiasts is an important factor in creating relevant
products for the outdoor athlete’s needs. Therefore, adidas puts
significant effort into building close industry relationships, which
include the mountain guides from the traditional Alpine Centre in
Zermatt as well as athletes like Alexander and Thomas Huber (known
as the Huber Brothers), Reinhold Messner and Sasha DiGiulian, who is
currently one of the strongest female climbers in the world.