Reebok 2014 Annual Report Download - page 13

9
2014
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01.1
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Letter from the CEO
To Our Shareholders
adidas Group
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2014 Annual Report
A top priority for the entire senior management team in 2015 will be the North American market.
Our new leadership team there, all high-calibre experts with Mark King, an American-born industry
veteran, at the helm, will focus on increasing the relevance of our brands among US consumers. The
brand campaigns that we launched for adidas and Reebok since the start of the year, with a clear focus
on the US market, are a key step in this direction. They impressively underline our ambitions and make
it clear that adidas and Reebok know and understand athletes’ motivations better than any other sports
brand in the world – another important cornerstone is the development of the right products for the
US market. The addition of new external talent in design and the opening of our design studio in New
York will leave a clear and lasting mark on our efforts in this context. In addition, we need to make
our brands more visible on the playing fields of sports that young American athletes love: basketball,
American football and baseball, just to name a few. In this context, we will not only focus on growing
our already strong portfolio in professional sports but will also significantly increase our visibility in
college sports and at the grassroots level. At the same time, we aim to enhance our execution at the
point of sale. Here too, we will significantly improve our brand presence and the presentation of our
products.
To close, allow me to say that we have everything it takes to be successful going forward: our brands
are enjoying great momentum, our product pipeline is full, and our campaigns will make our brands
even more desirable. We know what our priorities are, we have drawn up our plan accordingly and we
will now work in a consistent, resolute and bold way to implement it. At the same time, we will remain
vigilant, in order to be able to react quickly and resolutely to any changes in the market environment.
The roadmap for the future is clear. We will significantly improve our business and grow our top
and bottom line in 2015. But that’s only just the beginning. At the end of March we will present our
long-term strategy for the period up to 2020. Of course I cannot report on the contents of this strategy
today. But I can already assure you of one thing: the adidas Group is and will remain a growth company,
founded on strong brands. And with this, we will continue to make a difference going forward.
HERBERT HAINER
adidas Group CEO