Reebok 2015 Annual Report Download - page 17

TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS
Letter from the CEO
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North America is another area where the adidas brand made major progress last year by moving
closer to the consumer. One of our main priorities in 2015 was to gain credibility in those categories
that are important to authenticate our brand towards the US athlete. And indeed, through grassroots
events at the high school and college level, much higher visibility in all of the major US sports and
highly engaging marketing campaigns, we have become much more relevant for the US consumer in
only a short period of time. In American football, for example, our partnership with Denver Broncos’
Von Miller, the most valuable player in Super Bowl 50, put the 3-Stripes right into the spotlight
during the world’s biggest single sports event. In baseball, the number of players wearing our
products has more than doubled within less than twelve months and now includes standouts such
as the 2015 Rookies of the Year Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa. And in basketball, we have teamed
up with James Harden, one of the most iconic players in the game, who has already created a lot
of buzz for us as he took centre stage in the last episode of our Sport 15 campaign in December.
And let’s of course not forget our unrivalled presence in the lifestyle area, where the Yeezy Boost
in collaboration with Kanye West is enjoying unparalleled popularity. The sneaker’s iterations, of
which seven have been released so far, have not only sold out instantly but also played a major role
in propelling adidas to the most popular sneaker brand on Instagram in 2015.
The major progress hasn’t gone unnoticed by the country’s most important retailers. They have
become much more supportive of our products over the past twelve months, which is reflected in
a significant increase in shelf space in their stores. In combination with the continued roll-out of
our own-retail stores, this has also elevated the brand experience at the point of sale remarkably.
So without a doubt, we have delivered on our US promise across all the different dimensions.
18 months ago, we declared the US as the most important priority for us as a management team.
And it makes me proud to see the momentum the adidas brand has gained in this all-important
market.
Turning to Reebok’s performance in more detail, the brand now looks back on eleven consecutive
quarters of growth, which is proof positive of the successful repositioning of the brand and its
rededication towards fitness. To celebrate this achievement and to illustrate Reebok’s mission to
change how people perceive and experience fitness, the brand launched its new, fully integrated
marketing campaign, ‘Be More Human’, at the beginning of 2015. The campaign underlines that,
through a strong focus on innovation, Reebok is today leading the way in new fitness movements
and further strengthening its overall fitness positioning across the globe, underlined by double-
digit growth in nearly all markets in 2015. At the same time, the brand continues to face challenges
in its home market. To reset the brand in North America and deliver sustainable and profitable
business growth going forward, we have started to streamline Reebok’s distribution footprint in
this all-important market by reducing the number of factory outlets. We will continue to pursue
that path in 2016. At the same time, we will introduce new concepts to better identify and connect
with our target consumer.