Adidas 2005 Annual Report Download - page 41

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TaylorMade-adidas Golf
TaylorMade-adidas Golf, which changed the game of golf
by bringing the metalwood to the masses 27 years ago,
today enjoys the reputation as the number one driver
brand in golf and strives to continually extend its position
as the best performance brand in golf. Yet the organiza-
tion’s success reaches far beyond that single category.
Every brand under the TaylorMade-adidas Golf umbrella
is synonymous with authenticity, innovation and quality,
be it TaylorMade metalwoods, hybrids and irons, Rossa®
putters, Maxfl i® and Noodle® balls, or adidas Golf footwear
and apparel.
TaylorMade Expands Use of Movable Weight Technology™
to New Metalwoods
TaylorMade has expanded the use of its revolutionary Movable
Weight Technology™ (MWT™), the innovation that helped
make the r7® quad a bestseller in the marketplace and the
number one driver on the PGA Tour in both 2004 and 2005.
Products incorporating MWT™ that debuted last year include
r7® TP fairway woods, Rescue® dual hybrids and the next
generation of r7® drivers in 2005, the r7® 425 and r7® 460.
The title “r7®” applies to the precise management of launch
conditions, be it in metalwoods or irons. In December 2005,
TaylorMade unveiled two irons worthy of the r7® name, the
r7® XD and r7® CGB MAX, which we expect to be important
revenue drivers in 2006. Both work to shift the center of grav-
ity low and deep, making them exceptionally easy to launch
high and long. Both are equipped with TaylorMade’s Inverted
Cone Technology which dramatically increases the size of the
clubface zone that delivers high initial ball speed.
TaylorMade Introduces AGSI™ Putter Technology
Rossa® putters took tremendous strides in 2005, spurred
by the introduction of the Anti-Skid Groove System Insert
(AGSI™), a clubface technology employing 12 carefully engi-
neered grooves designed to reduce backspin and encourage
forward spin, promoting a smoother roll, better control and
enhanced accuracy. AGSI™ technology was quickly validated
on tour as numerous tour pros put it into play including Sergio
Garcia, Sean O’Hair and Tim Petrovic, each of whom won with
it. Rossa® became the number two putter in Japan in late
2005 and the excitement picked up where it left off at the start
of 2006, when Rossa® ranked as the number one putter brand
at the season-opening Mercedes Championships – the fi rst
time that TaylorMade has topped the putter category in a PGA
Tour event.
Golf Ball Category Set to Increase Profi tability
In 2005, we saw the introduction of the BlackMAX®, a three-
piece urethane ball that combines tour-caliber spin and
distance with a softer, more satisfying sound and feel. The
popular Noodle® franchise, synonymous with “long-and-soft”
performance, was reinvented in 2005 and now consists of the
original Noodle®, the Longest Noodle®, the Softest Noodle®
and Noodle Ice™. This year, a premium ball bearing the
TaylorMade name, called TaylorMade® Tour Preferred® (TP),
will be launched in spring 2006. In tandem with this product
initiative, premium golf ball production was brought in-house
in late 2005 and the value category is being outsourced to Asia.
As a result of this new sourcing strategy, TaylorMade-adidas
Golf plans to increase both golf ball sales and profi tability at
double-digit rates in 2006.
adidas Golf Enjoys Continuing Success
adidas Golf is the fastest-growing footwear and apparel brand
in golf, as a result of our steady commitment to developing
great-looking, great-feeling, performance-enhancing prod-
ucts that we view as “equipment for the body”. This includes
golf wear such as ClimaCool® for warm weather comfort,
Clima Compression for cool weather comfort and ClimaProof®
for all-weather comfort, and footwear such as Tour Metal,
Torsion® Euro, Driver Isabelle and the groundbreaking Tour
360. adidas Golf apparel and footwear is the choice of athletes
such as Sergio Garcia, Sean O’Hair, Kerry Perry, Peter Lonard,
Hidemichi Tanaka, Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis. It is
also favored by a growing number of dedicated amateurs as
sales of adidas Golf equipment rose signifi cantly in 2005 for
the second year, and we expect continued success in 2006.
Brand Strategies adidas
TaylorMade-adidas Golf