PGBM ASSIGNMENT ON

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A special thanks to Mr.Sanjeev chaturvedi for helping in making my project at

Adidas a memorable learning experience. For his learned guidance, constant

inspiration, keen interest and immense encouragement throughout the period of

market research. His constant supports as well as the confidence, which he

shown in me helped me, hide over the difficulties.

No work is complete without credits being given to the person who helped in

achieving the desired task.I feel privileged to thank my teacher Mr Sanjeev

chaturvedi and all those who have directly or indirectly contributed to the

completion of the project.

ARUSHI BANSAL

SEC F

A1802011187

CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that I , Arushi bansal , pursuing MBA from Amity university ,Noida have prepared this project by myself with the help of various people.

Most importantly, I would like to thank my teacher guide MS. SARGAM MAKKAR. I am grateful to her for her help and guidance throughout.

SIGNATURE

PREFACE

I have made a research on marketing of Adidas by questionnaire method. The

main aim of my research is to find out that how Adidas hold to the market and

what are the areas in which Adidas can improve upon, in the questioner itself I

have emphasis on the marketing of Adidas and also about the current position of

Adidas in market. According to the response of my questionnaire, I have found

that Adidas and Nike are main competitors but Nike is more preferred brand

then Adidas. This is mainly for two reasons first Nike has more variety and

good looks then Adidas and second there outlets are more then Adidas so the

company must work upon these two thing to be the world number one.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. COMPANY PROFILE

3. SWOT ANAYSIS

4. OBJECTIVES

5. RESERCH METHODOLOGY

6. FINDINGS & ANALYSIS

7. LIMITATION

8. CONCLUSIONS

9. RECOMMENDATION

10.QUESTIONNAIRE

11.BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

My project topic is "Adidas" which is a shoe company and I am analyzing its

Marketing Strategy. I have chosen this particular topic mainly for two reasons.

Firstly, since my childhood days I had great interest in the shoes and I like to

buy new shoes as and when it comes in the market. The Shoe Company that I

most admire is Adidas. Secondly adidas grows as one of the best leading brand

in the shoes and other accessories which is admired by all types of generation.

Hence I have decided to do my project report on this company.

The Adidas mission has changed little since founder Adi Dassler began making

sports shoes in the 1920s: to be the best sports brand in the world. The history

of Adidas is one of consistently meeting the evolving needs of the athlete.

Focusing more on function and less on fashion, Adidas strives to provide

athletes with shoes that can make a noticeable difference in their performance.

Meeting athlete needs is what makes Adidas the best. Adidas America has

continued to build on this history.

In February of 1993, Adidas acquired Sports Inc., a US-based sports marketing

company founded by former Nike executives Rob Strasser and Peter Moore.

Sports Inc. had been working in conjunction with Adidas USA on the design,

development, and marketing of the Adidas Equipment line. This line helped

rejuvenate and reposition the Adidas brand in the United States by creating an

exclusive line focused on fulfilling the functional needs of the athlete and by

utilizing the best materials and athlete input in the tradition of Adi Dassler. It

offered moisture management, thermal insulation, weather protection, ease of

movement, and safety, helping the athlete to perform more efficiently. After the

successful creation and launch of Adidas America

I have made a research on marketing of Adidas by questionnaire method. The

main aim of my research is to find out that how Adidas hold to the market and

what are the areas in which Adidas can improve upon, in the questioner itself I

have emphasis on the marketing of Adidas and also about the current position of

Adidas in market. According to the response of my questionnaire, I have found

that Adidas and Nike are main competitors but Nike is more preferred brand

then Adidas. This is mainly for two reasons first Nike has more variety and

good looks then Adidas and second there outlets are more then Adidas so the

company must work upon these two thing to be the world number one.

COMPANY PROFILE

In the small German village of Herzogenaurach the world began its love affair

with Adidas. In 1920, Adolf “Adi” Dassler brought to life those three little

stripes. With his brother, Rudolph, Dassler manufactured his first sports shoe,

made for training, after realizing the need for performance athletic shoes.

In1948, the Dassler brothers separated to form their own two separate

companies. Dassler formed Adidas and his brother formed Puma, both

headquarters in Herzogenaurach.

The Adidas mission has changed little since founder Adi Dassler began making

sports shoes in the 1920s: to be the best sports brand in the world. The history

of Adidas is one of consistently meeting the evolving needs of the athlete.

Focusing more on function and less on fashion, Adidas strives to provide

athletes with shoes that can make a noticeable difference in their performance.

Meeting athlete needs is what makes Adidas the best. Adidas America has

continued to build on this history.

In February of 1993, Adidas acquired Sports Inc., a US-based sports marketing

company founded by former Nike executives Rob Strasser and Peter Moore.

Sports Inc. had been working in conjunction with Adidas USA on the design,

development, and marketing of the Adidas Equipment line. This line helped

rejuvenate and reposition the Adidas brand in the United States by creating an

exclusive line focused on fulfilling the functional needs of the athlete and by

utilizing the best materials and athlete input in the tradition of Adi Dassler. It

offered moisture management, thermal insulation, weather protection, ease of

movement, and safety, helping the athlete to perform more efficiently. After the

successful creation and launch of Adidas America

General Information

For over 83 years Adidas has been part of the world of sports on every level,

delivering state-of-the-art sports footwear, apparel and accessories. Today, with

total net sales of 6.1 billion and net income of 208 million, Adidas - Salomon is

a global leader in the sporting goods industry and offers the broadest portfolio

of products. Adidas-Salomon products are available in virtually every country

of the world. Our strategy is simple: continuously strengthen our brands and

products to improve our competitive position and financial performance.

The company's share of the world market for sporting goods is estimated at

around 15%. Activities of the company and its approximately 100 subsidiaries

are directed from Adidas-Salomon AG's headquarters in Herzogenaurach,

Germany. The business unit Winter Sports is in Annecy, France. The company

also operates design studios and development departments at other locations

around the world, corresponding to the related business activity. Adidas-

Salomon AG has approximately 13,400 employees worldwide.

Turnover and Brand Image

The turnover of Adidas company has grown to 16 Million US dollar in 2004-

05. Almost 53% of the turnover is from sale of apparel and accessories with the

rest from footwear.

The Adidas brand is one of the most popular brands as determined by a within

brand survey of sportswear brands in the year 2004.

Future Plans

Football's World Cup and the takeover of US rival Reebok contributed to a

surge in profits and turnover for adidas in 2006, Europe's biggest sporting goods

manufacturer said Wednesday.

Operating profit rose 26 per cent to 483 million euros while group revenues

climbed 52 per cent to 10.08 billion euros, the German based company said.

IN 2008, adidas faced a slowdown in growth because of an absence of major

sporting events.

Adidas AG chairman and chief executive office Herbert Hainer called 2007 'a

truly exciting year' for the adidas Group.'We strengthened our brand portfolio

by acquiring Reebok and exceeded the 10 billion euro sales mark for the first

time in the group's history,' he said.

Hainer said adidas' performance at the 2006 World Cup held on home soil 'was

a stand-out in leveraging our brand strength.'

The brand with the three stripes said it also profited from a strong performance

by the TaylorMade-adidas Golf segment.

Adidas reported a final quarter surplus of 13 million euros, following a 4

million euros loss for the same period of 2007. Turnover for the quarter rose

2.25 billion euros from 1.52 billion in 2007.

MARKETING STRATEGIES : AN OVERVIEW OFMARKETING STRATEGIES : AN OVERVIEW OF ADIDASADIDAS

Some of the theory I have used in my project are as followsSome of the theory I have used in my project are as follows

Theory: what is market research and why it is important.Theory: what is market research and why it is important.

Market research is a method of collecting data which will make you (as a

business) more aware of how the people, you hope to sell to, will react to your

products or services. Market research will answer questions like:

Whether your products or services are needed

Who might want to buy your products

What age, sex, income occupation etc. are the people I want to sell to.

If there are changes taking place and how this might affect what you sell

How well your products or services might sell

How much demand there is for what you hope to sell

What price would people be prepared to pay

Conducting market research

There are number of ways in which you can carry out your research but you

need to carefully consider why you made this choice and what you hope the

evidence will suggest to you.

Questionnaires and personal interviews are one of the most common ways in

which you can conduct market research, and there are many methods of

gathering data this way: Direct Interview, Mail Survey and Telephone

interview. Depending on the type of data you hope to collect will have a impact

on what you choose to use. I have made use of two type of survey methods,

questionnaire and mail survey. I have asked some question about the

company my mail and also by direct contacts. The Question I have asked are

given in “questionnaire part” below.

Theory: marketing mix

The Marketing Mix (The 4 P's of Marketing)

Marketing decisions generally fall into the following four controllable

categories:

Product

Price

Place (distribution)

Promotion

The term "marketing mix" became popularized after Neil H. Borden published

his 1964 article, The Concept of the Marketing Mix. Borden began using the

term in his teaching in the late 1940's after James Culliton had described the

marketing manager as a "mixer of ingredients". The ingredients in Borden's

marketing mix included product planning, pricing, branding, distribution

channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions, packaging, display,

servicing, physical handling, and fact finding and analysis. E. Jerome McCarthy

later grouped these ingredients into the four categories that today are known as

the 4 P's of marketing, depicted below:

The Marketing Mix

These four P's are the parameters that the marketing manager can control,

subject to the internal and external constraints of the marketing environment.

The goal is to make decisions that center the four P's on the customers in the

target market in order to create perceived value and generate a positive

response.

Product Decisions

The term "product" refers to tangible, physical products as well as services.

Here are some examples of the product decisions to be made:

Brand name

Styling

Quality

Price Decisions

Some examples of pricing decisions to be made include:

Pricing strategy (skim, penetration, etc.)

Cash and early payment discounts

Price flexibility

Price discrimination

Distribution (Place) Decisions

Distribution is about getting the products to the customer. Some examples of

distribution decisions include:

Distribution channels

Market coverage (inclusive, selective, or exclusive distribution)

Warehousing

Distribution centers

Transportation

Promotion Decisions

In the context of the marketing mix, promotion represents the various aspects of

marketing communication, that is, the communication of information about the

product with the goal of generating a positive customer response. Marketing

communication decisions include:

Promotional strategy (push, pull, etc.)

Advertising

Personal selling & sales force

Sales promotions

Theory: SWOT analysis

This theory tells about the company strength, weakness, opportunity and

Threats. This theory is very important for the company because this theory tell

the weakness and the strong points of the company and if company knows it

weakness and it strong points then company becomes easy operative and also

the profits as well as the market share of the company get increased.

The Company

Adidas entered the Indian market in 1996 by setting up a 100% subsidiary of

Adidas AG called Adidas India Ltd. and announced its joint venture with

Magnum International Trading Company Ltd. on October 1, 1996. The new

joint venture – Adidas India Ltd. – was incorporated with an initial investment

of US $ 205 million with Adidas India Ltd. holding 80% of the equity and

Magnum holding the balance 20%. Adidas’ Range of Products in India

A month after announcing the joint venture, Adidas India Ltd. launched its

range of sports footwear, apparel and accessories in New Delhi on November 1,

1996. Subsequently, Adidas products were also launched in Mumbai,

Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Calcutta. Currently, Adidas products are

available in 30 cities in India.

The range of Adidas products available in India include sports footwear

featuring some of the most popular innovations and technologies developed by

Adidas such as Feet You Wear.The sports footwear available in India includes a

wide range of core categories such as adventure, basketball cricket, golf, indoor,

running, tennis,workout.

Adidas has introduced in India, a wide range of sports wear for both men and

women. These include apparel for athletics, basketball, cricket, golf, running,

soccer, swimming, tennis and training for Men. The women’s range includes

apparel for athletics, golf, running, swimming, tennis, training and workout.

Accessories include bag packs, campus bags, medium and large kit bags, caps,

socks, wrist and headbands.Adidas Markets its products in India through a

combination of mega exclusive stores, exclusive stores, multi-brand stores and

distributors.

At present, Adidas is available in 80 exclusive outlets out of which 34 are

company – owned with 8 new Company – owned stores planned for 2011 and in

900 multi-brand outlets in India.

MARKETING-MIX ( FOUR P’S): ADIDASMARKETING-MIX ( FOUR P’S): ADIDAS

THE PRODUCT:

Whatever your athletic preference, you can now purchase an extensive range of

Adidas footwear and apparel online. From running shoes to baseball cleats, eye

wear to lanyards, collegiate licensed jackets to good old fashioned cotton T-

shirts, all things sport are available at the Adidas store.

HOW DO ADIDAS CREATE ITS PRODUCTS

Adidas goal is to create a product that is honest – it must perform. The

rule is simple: form follows function.

Technology and functional design. A development team makes the

actual prototypes.

An Adidas product is the result of the intense thought and creative

energy of many different people. The following is a general outline of

how we create our performance-based products.

1. The marketing department evaluates athletes’ needs and develops

a basic concept of how those needs should be met. This concept is

then presented to the design department.

2. Based upon this concept from the marketing department, the

design teams sketch possible prototypes.

3. The people from design and marketing consider the prototype

sketches together, narrowing the selection to those they anticipate

will most successfully meet athletes’ needs.

4. The development department then works with the design

department to create an actual prototype from the selected

sketches.

5. Three separate groups – marketing, design and development –

meet and discuss how to improve the prototype.

6. Samples are wear-tested to ensure the product meets Adidas

standards for performance and durability and stands up to the

demands of the sport for which it was designed.

7. Preview samples are presented to key accounts and consumer

focus groups for feedback. Based upon this information, final

changes are made.

8. Samples are distributed to Adidas sales representatives for

presentation to retailers.

9. The finished product is delivered to retailers.

A. As A BRAND

At Adidas –you have got to be sporty. At Adidas the brand awarding is

been taken rather seriously at its headquarters. Adidas wants to bring

inline skates into India.

What that kind of stuff got to do with Indian market? Yes, it won’t

really be a hot seller, but it will contribute a lot to Adidas brand image.

That’s the Adidas way of doing it – image is a critical part of branding

strategy the world over.

The idea of the company is to introduce performance specific sports

shoes in the Indian market by building images around the world & at the

same time create the need for these shoes at the ground level.

Adidas already has heavy weight sportsmen such as Sachin Tendulkar,

Leander Paes & Mahesh Bhupathi endorsing the brand in India. They

had the image, apart from endorsing the performance element in the

brand. Adidas steps out of crease with a clear sports positioning. Adidas

will take on arch Nike with almost the same positioning. Its working

with promising athletes to give them a taste of its products. Adidas

nowadays is capturing an attitude that is sports related.

Adidas in fact did go through a limited fashion phase. Adidas says – that

you are tempted to make quick buck but we would like to stick to the

sports brand image because that make us fashionable.

B. Words of G. Kannan (Director – Marketing)

“Our Secret is our commitment to the sports process. We develop shoes

that take into account the needs of a particular sports & the role of this

brand is driven by this factor”.

Good news for Adidas is that even in the casual market, the trend is

towards being sporty. Going to Gym is fast graduating from a mere fad

to serious body building, strengthening & toning. This is reflected in the

clothes that people wear today. The three stripes, for instance is unique

property which can be reinvented in various forms as trends changes.

C. For Adidas the product plays an eminent role in the enhancement

of their corporate as well as sports image:

ADIDAS SAYS –

“Nothing compromised. The most innovative Adidas products created

specifically to help make you a better athlete. For Adidas, product is not just a

assortment of few items. But it involves—developing of the right product –

which can then be put to right place & sold with the right promotion & price.

VALUE OF IT’S PRODUCTS FOR ADIDAS

Our goal is to create a product that is honest – it must perform. The rule is

simple: form follows function.

As studied earlier an Adidas product is the result of the intense thought

and creative energy of many different people. If a company sell an

automobile, is it selling a certain no. of nuts and bolts, some metal

sheet, an engine and four wheels?

If a company sells a delivery service, is it selling so much wear and tear

on a delivery truck and so much operator fatigue? As per Adidas what

we are really selling is the satisfaction, use or profit the customer

wants.Adidas says that all the customer wants is, that whatever product

they purchase should fulfill all their needs and preferences. They don’t

care how they were made.they want that when they order something.

They just want their package. That means for them only the final service

matters.

As per Adidas the idea of product potential customer’s satisfactions or

benefits is very important. Adidas says that the total product is not just a

physical product with its related features, but it includes accessories,

installation, instruction on use, the package, perhaps the brand name

which fulfills some psychological needs a warranty and confidence that

service will be available after the purchase.

PLACE AND PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION:

A: Place

Adidas is very much concerned about its second “p”. as per Adidas

place and physical distribution of the product is something on which

almost every company spends a handsome amount of money.

Hence Adidas takes a good care of its place and physical distribution

process. Adidas has appointed marketing specialists who are taking care

of the supply of the product and their distribution channels and process.

Process used – assorting progress

Entire range, which is available is put together to give a target market what it

wants. Marketing specialists put together an assortment to satisfy some target

market. His is usually done by those who are close to the retailers only.

B: Physical distribution

As per Adidas nearly half of the costs of marketing is spend upon the physical

distribution.

To take care of this problem Adidas has appointed marketing managers who

decides how the transporting and storing functions should be divided within a

channel.

TRUCKS

In Adidas, except the export products, trucks are considered to be best medium

for transport. The flexibility of trucks makes them really good for moving small

loads for short distances.

PROMOTION:

Adidas is one of the India’s biggest company of sports that spends nearly $10

million on its sales promotion and advertising in Indian Market.

Adidas believe that it just cannot be taken lightly. It is a very important aspect

of products life cycle. It is the process which is responsible for the growth or

decline in the sale of the product.

Adidas thinks that promotion is communicating information about the product

between the seller and the buyer to change attitudes and behavior.

To handle the company’s promotional activities Adidas has employed

marketing managers. These marketing managers look after process of the

promotion of the products of their company.

As per Adidas the marketing managers promotion job is to tell the target

customers that the right product is available at the right place and at the right

time and especially at the right price.

Adidas thinks that only taking the product to the customers is not a task

of the company. But company takes a very important look about how the

product works and this message is communicated to their consumers.

Sales Promotion:

Adidas is the most popular amongst its rival for its excellent sales

promotional activities.

As per Adidas they say that they themselves are responsible for the

encouragement of the customer to by their products. Adidas believes

sales promotion tries to compliment the company’s selling efforts.

STEPS THAT ADIDAS TAKE TO PROMOTE SALES

In the last years the Adidas has almost given sale to its products 6 to 7

times i.e. almost twice in a year Adidas goes for discount on sales. They

arrange contest.

In order to motivate the employees of the company Adidas also prepares

training material for the company’s own sales force. They even design

the sales materials for the company’s own sales force to use during the

sales calls.

As per Adidas, people see same message in different ways. They may

interpret the same words differently. So Adidas always tries to deliver

the message which everyone can easily understand.

ADVERTISING

As per Adidas advertising can get results in a promotion blend. Good results are

obtained at a cost of course. The amount spent in the Unites States for

advertising is growing. Continuously, from World War II to 1980 it went from

$1 billion to $50 billion.

The heavy weight players like Sachin Tendulkar, Leander Paes ,Sania

Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi are already attached with their ad-

campaigns.

PRICING:

Adidas is clear, it wants to become the no. one sports brand in India, a

choice brand for all brands. So far so good, but how will it tackle a price

conscious market like India?

Adidas feels that being a high energy business Adidas introduces 600-

700 articles every six months – enables the brand to remain fresh and

bring on an international and Indians the brand from the price stand

point.

Price, that’s the most critical factor in the Indian context. Adidas

believes it has to deliver a functional at an affordable price. It’s a tough

job – to maintain the integrity of the performance and still come out

with a product a right price point. Globally shoes start at $50. But in

India as the perceived need is lower, you have to make the product more

affordable.

To tackle this, Adidas came out with speed 2000, a product priced at

Rs.995 with the help of local and Hong Kong source people. Adidas

however feels that its just the matter of time before India coverage’s the

world on this front. It is very difficult to operate on a lower price point

and maintain integrity of product, but its been barely 3 years since the

sports market has taken off. Adidas will try and work out price points as

people graduate with better understanding of quality and price

perception.. Adidas started at the time when India had no strength out in

the sports products market in 1989. it took the next best step when the

licensing agreement ended to take a bigger share in business.

To conclude we can say that Adidas is putting all efforts to bring down

the price consciousness in the Indian market. Company is trying to make

products, which are easy to afford and still maintain the integrity of

their performance.

MARKETING STRATEGY – ADIDAS OTHER

STRATEGY

Adidas, the brand with three stripes, seems to use the elements of high-

tension in its ads. Remember the SachinTendulkar commercial? How

everything is near-frozen, and the shattering glass signifies release.

Only now, the setting is not the playground or the track or the court, it is

the urban landscape – with its omnipresent traffic jams, crowded streets

and so forth. You don’t have to be the high-voltage performer to be a

part of the Adidas family. And it goes beyond that – Adidas becomes

something that makes you better. Not just as an athlete, but as a sports

person, a better human being.

One of the advertisement: The spot featuring Boldon, shows him

chasing a thief (who’d stolen a TV set when its owner was in the bath)

through the dark streets. To help a man (the owner, in a towel) in

distress. And he uses all the power that he can, to do what he has to do

and what he needs to do. And Adidas helps him perform better, than he

would otherwise have been able to. This is perhaps shown in an oblique

way when the spot ends at the feet of Boldon and the bather.

One is wearing a pair of Adidas shoes while the other is barefoot.

Adidas makes you better, goes the base. In short, the other man could

have done as well as Boldon. The bather reads any man. Any man who

wears Adidas. And Adidas goes beyond athletic performance – it

becomes everyday life.

MARKETING: ADIDAS

In 1997, Adidas became Adidas-Salomon with its US $1.4 billion purchase of

Salomon, a French manufacturer of skis and other sporting goods. The deal put

Adidas one step closer to competitor and world market leader Nike, and one

step ahead of Reebok.

Salomon, aside from its winter sport equipment, also owns golf club brand

Taylor Made and cycle brand Mavic. The merger makes Adidas/Salomon the

second largest sport marketer in the world, and number one in Europe. Salomon

is currently very strong in North America and Japan, and Adidas has the largest

market share in Europe.

Adidas is, like Nike, very active insuring sponsorships advertising deals with

celebrities. Some of the most famous are Martina Hingis (tennis), Kobe Bryant

(basketball), Peyton Manning, Paul Palmer (swimmer), jan Ullrich (racing

cyclist) and the New York yankees. David Beckham, Patrick Kluivert and

Zidane all wear Adidas boots, the Predator Accelerator.

Adidas: Marketing a $250 Running   Shoe

No one knows if even serious runners are ready to pay $250 for a shoe — more

than 50% above the next most expensive sneaker on the market.

Nike Air   Jordans , at $150 to $175 a pair, only staged a comeback last year, after

two years of sinking sales. 1. analysts say production is complicated and that the

new sneakers will cost four or five times as much to make as a normal shoe.

Because of that, production will be less than 10,000 this year to drive

exclusivity and hedge Stamminger's bet.

I run a lot, and I spend a lot of money on running   shoes . I bet the Adidas shoe

works really well. But let me tell you - for $100 I can get a very good running

shoe. Is this computerized Adidas more than twice as good? I doubt it. My

guess is, rather than sell a lot of these shoes, they hope to instill Adidas as the

"king of running shoes" in the mind of the public and hope that the existence of

the computerized shoe drives sales of other models.

LEVERAGING ON SACHIN: ONE MAJOR PART OF

MARKETING STRATEGY IN INDIA

Continuing its association with trump card Sachin, the local four-ad print

campaign tries to connect Adidas’ product attributes with Sachin’s magic.

“Instead of presenting just one dimensions :

The first ad connects Sachin’s choice of a heavy bat with Adidas’ Falcon Dorf

light weight shoes. Says the headline: ‘Sachin likes his bat heavy, not his shoe.

The second new shoe range to be introduced for the first time in India. Sub-

branded ‘Aksu’ and priced at Rs 2,299, these are athletic sandals primarily

meant for water-based adventure sports. Finally, The next ad will convey that

Adidas covers various price points by promoting its existing Portland range

priced at Rs 1,499 and 1,799

The importance of celebrity sponsorship and events to Adidas is illustrated by

Robert Dreyfus’ letter in the company’s 1998 annual report:

“When it comes to showcasing our brands, 1998 was truly exceptional. Early in

the year, the Winter Olympics focused the attention of sports enthusiasts on

Nagano. In summer, the Soccer World Cup in France attracted more spectators

than any single sports event before. When the French team, promoting the three

stripes, won the World Cup, we could not have wished for more. These were

great times for our brand.’

But the golden question is that will the campaign make Adidas run?

The company expects the campaign to strengthen the image of the brand since

research had indicated that neither of the three multinational sports shoe brands

present in India had a clear image: most were perceived as diffused brands and

personality-led. Says Kanan: “Sachin has and will play a major role in pushing

the brand. He is important, as there are certain values a consumer needs to know

about Adidas.

Interestingly, Adidas claims that it did not want to be caught up in the clutter

of the World Cup promotions-and deliberately chose not to associated with

the World Cup. Instead, according to Kanan, the campaign has been broken

now to coincide with the peak season (April-June). “The World Cup is

incidental. However, the company is maintain a steady and dominant presence

in the media during the Cup: strewn over select channels like Star, Discovery,

and ESPN are the Sachin ads promoting Adidas. “Star News is delivering good

value while through Discovery, we can catch the elite customer”,

ADDIDAS IS ALSO SPONSERING THE INDIAN PREMIER

LEAGUE,which draw thousands and millions of fans towards it.So it promotes

the brand image and make it popular.It was one of the major sponsers of IPL

season 1 & 2.Many limited edition merchandises were launched during the IPL

season to promote the brand.

Kanan says.

Although Kanan admits that the sports shoe and apparel market is at a nascent

stage, he claims that Adidas has grown by over 250 per cent from last year. As a

company that takes pride in not joining the price brawl, Adidas does not intend

to bring down the prices of its productsFor Adidas, the real breakthrough, says

Kanan, has come through a combination of strategies: signing on Sachin,

Leander and Bhupathi; expanding its reach (it opened 45 stores last year); a

revamped range which covers a band of price points; and support to the brand.

"“e built-in value pricing in our products, and supported them through sports

icons who are looked up to. We have realized that to have just one good guy

endorsing your brand is more important than having several unknown faces”,

says Kanan .

The company is enlarging the scope of its business by concentrating on apparel.

“Apparel is driving the business. Most consumers start experimenting with the

brand through apparel”, admits Kanan. Essentially perceived as a male brand,

Adidas however defends its range by pointing out that currently it has 50 items

out of a total of 250, for women.

Further, Adidas is planning to add 30 new stores this year. “We’re looking at

driving the market through exclusive stores”. Says Kanan. The logic is clear:

use Forever Sport to ensure sales forever…

Never achieved profitability and collapsed under the weight of its own

unrealized ambitions.

Adidas’s objective with the new line of footwear is to generate sales leads

through its Web site, either through direct purchase or a retailer finder. Villota

says that every style of footwear has a story, particularly those endorsed by star

athletes, and it’s these stories that sell the shoes to buyers.The newest version of

Bryant’s footwear hits the street Nov. 1, coinciding with the start of the 2003-2004

NBA season. While Adidas won’t comment on the new site’s features, citing

competitive pressure, Villota says it is Adidas America’s most ambitious integration

of Web content and electronic marketing.

The Adidas - Salomon Executive Board will propose paying a dividend of CC

0.92 per share to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on May 10, the

same amount as in the previous year. This decision to maintain a stable dividend

level, despite the EPS decline in 2004, underlines Management’s confidence in

its ability to achieve its 2005 targets. Management views 2004 as a year of

consolidation and restructuring and has increased the pay out percentage to

reward long-term shareholders.

THE ADIDAS LOGO

The “Trefoil” was adopted as the corporate logo in 1972. It represents the

heritage and history of the brand. In 1996, it was decided that the Trefoil would

only be used on heritage products. Examples of product featuring the Trefoil

logo include the Stan Smith, Road Laver, A-15 warm-up, and Classic T-shirt.

Equipment

The Adidas Equipment line was launched in 1991. This line of footwear and

apparel represents the most unique and functional of Adidas products.

Equipment is the ultimate expression of what is uniquely possible by design

when form follows function.

In January 1996, the Three-Stripes brand mark became the worldwide Adidas

corporate logo. This logo represents performance and the future of the Adidas

brand. This logo is used in all advertising, printed collateral and corporate

signage.

Since 1949, the Three-Stripes have been an integral part of our brand and

product designs. This trademark has become synonymous with Adidas and its

dedication to producing high-quality athletic products to help athletes perform

better.

ADIDAS: OVERVIEW/COMPANY’S

FINANCIAL FACTS

For over 83 years Adidas has been part of the world of sports on every level,

delivering state-of-the-art sports footwear, apparel and accessories. Today, with

total net sales of £182 million, Our strategy is simple: continuously strengthen

our brands and products to improve our competitive position and financial

performance. The company’s share of the world market for sporting goods is

estimated at around 19 percent.

SWOT ANAYSIS

Strengths:

The main strength of Adidas is his Product Quality. The quality and the material

uses in Adidas is very good. The company has a good brand image in the

market, the publicity and the advertisement is also very good and lastly

company hold a heathly market share in the market.

Weakness:

The major weakness in the Adidas is the manufacturing of the products of

Adidas is not done in India itself it is being import hence the cost become high

and the margin of profit becomes low that’s why company must give a deep

thought on manufacturing their products in India.

Another major weakness in the company is that it is not catering to all the

segments.,If these two weakness in the company can be eradicated then the

company may earn high profit and better market status.

Opportunities:

Adidas does have many products for the urban segment or poor people, but

there are hardly any product or we can say that there are no products for this

segment. India is more a rural country, in the total population of India major

part of population lives in rural area and these people can not afford the costly

products of the company like Adidas hence company must target this particular

segment they must introduce the shoes and other product according to their

demands.In my opinion the company must introduce more rage or more variety

in the market to compete with their competitors

Threats:

Adidas does not have strong distribution network as compare to Nike and

Reebok in India. Nike has more number of retail outlet then Adidas and Reebok

has a unique distribution network, the company Reebok not only use its outlet

for the sale of their product but also use some other shoes company outlet like

“Bata”. In a Bata showroom u can find Reebok shoes and other products. But

this is not a case with Adidas hence Reebok has a extra advantage over Adidas.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To study the marketing of Adidas and also about the current position of

Adidas in market

To find out Adidas and Nike are main competitors but Nike is more

preferred brand then others.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGYRESEARCH METHODOLOGY

STAGE ONE

The project study started with collection of Secondary Data. The sources for the

secondary data are as follows:

Data Sources

News Papers

Magazines

Internet

Press articles on Adidas.

Stage Two

I visited the Adidas India Ltd., which is located In GK-1 (new Delhi). I Also

Met Some Of The Marketing Executives Who Helped Me Getting The Required

Information.

I Also Got Some Of The Information From The Other Resources Of The

Corporate Office Like :

Company Journals

Company Catalogs

Questionnaire (Structured & Non Disguised)

And Other Related Sources.

Primary data:

I have prepared a questionnaire for the general public asking about the

marketing strategy of Adidas, in that particular questionnaire I have asked

some question give in finding and analysis section: (the questioner is filled

by 20 people).

FINDINGS

Company research report

(A) Company Description

Adidas-Salomon AG(ADIDAS). Production and marketing of sports equipment,

footwear and apparel under the brand names of Adidas, Salomon, Taylor Made

and Mavic. Sales of Footwear accounted for 45% of 2004 revenues; Sales of

Apparel, 35% and Sales of Hardware, 20%.

(B) Competitor Analysis

Adidas-Salomon AG operates in the Men’s & boys’ clothing sector. This

analysis compares Adidas with three other sport shoe and apparel

manufacturers: Nike Inc. of the United States (2008 sales of $14 billion of

which 69% was Footwear), Reebok International Ltd. of the United States

(2007 sales: $5.87 billion of which 73% was Footwear), and Amer Group PLC

which is based in Finland (2007 sales of 9.46 billion Finnish Markka [US$

1.57billon] of which 24% was Racquet Sports). Note: not all of these companies

have the same fiscal year: the most recent data for each company are being

used.

(C) Sales Analysis

During the first quarter of 2006, sales at Adidas totalled 2.56 billion euro. This

is an increase of 2.7% from the 2.49 billion Euro in sales at the company during

the first quarter of 2005. During the previous 17 quarters, sales at Adidas have

increased compared with the same quarter in the previous year.

Sales at Adidas appear to have some seasonally: during each of the previous 5

years, sales have been highest during the third quarter, which has accounted for

between 28.0% and 32.0% of the annual sales.

Adidas reported sales of 7.86 billion Euro for the year ending December of

2007. This represents an increase as of in 2006, when the company’s sales were

7.23 billion Euro. Sales at Adidas have increased during each of the previous

five years , since 2003.

D. Recent Sales at Adidas

(Figures in Billions of Euro)

In 2010, sales in Latin America were up at a rate that was much higher than the

company as a whole: in this region, sales increased 36.0% to 571.00 million

euro. Adidas also experienced significant increases in sales in Asia-Pacific.

GROWTH

Adidas is a constantly growing company. It is global in scope with the majority

of its sales coming from Europe, followed by the United states, with the

smallest percent of Adidas’ sales coming from Asia. Adidas sales have grown

significantly each year from 1994 to the present. Adidas is the leading

producer of sporting goods in Europe and it is second in the overall world

market, just behind Nike. Nearly 55% of Adidas revenues come from Europe,

while 37% come from the Americas, and only 9% of revenues come from a

growing Asian market.

For anyone not familiar with the structure of this company (since it is not based

out of the USA), it is much like US based competitor Nike. Adidas has stock

traded on exchanges in Frankfurt and Pairs, and its ticker symbol is ADDDY.

The pie chart below shows exactly how the ownership of the company is spread

out across the world. Most of the ownership comes from Europe, while a

substantial 30% comes from the United States, and the rest from Asia.

Adidas is a growing company, but how much and how fast? As you can see

from the graph of net sales over the past five years, sales have grown rather

exponentially, although growth slowed in 1999. This growth in sales comes

from not only an improving world economy, but from Adidas’ marketing efforts

to make it most popular sporting goods brands.

This shows that Adidas does not have a large market share in Asia as compare

us and Europe and my questionnaire (given below) also suggest that company

can improve a lot the certain areas are marketing distribution and competing

with the competitors. The company has to become innovator not follower they

must do something differently to come with the flying colors.

DATA ANALYSIS

1. How do u rate the company marketing strategy as compare to the other

competitors company like Nike, Reebok etc.?

* Out of 20 people 9 had said Adidas have a good marketing strategy and

should continue like this only, 6 had said Nike is more better then Adidas, 4

said Reebok is good and 1 said others.

Do u think that the company Adidas is giving its customer what they want in

terms of quality and prices or value for money?

* Out of 20 people 17 person are satisfy with the quality and the price of the

product and other says that they are not satisfy.

happy

not happy

happy 85%

not happy15%

happy

not happy

Do u think that the advertisements and the brand ambassador of the company is

good enough?

* Out of 20 people 16 person said yes they like the advertisement

very much and rest said no they don’t like them.

2. What things you keep in mind while purchasing shoes will it be quality,

advertisement, price or design?

* Out of 20 people 17 person had said that the product must have good

quality and good design and other said they purchase these shoe for status

symbol only.

3. If u have to purchase shoe except Adidas which shoe it will be and why?

* Out of 20 people 10 have said Nike, 6 said Reebok and 4 others, which

shows that the main competitor of Adidas is Nike. They have given

different reason for that some said Nike and Adidas are have same range

of products and there quality and prices is also same, so different people

have different opinion.

LIMITATIONSLIMITATIONS

The research project has been completed with ease and

comfortably. No particular limitation or shortcoming was

realized during the analysis.

Also, due to time constraints, enough justice could not be done

to the project.

CONCLUSIONS

ADIDAS in INDIA has always been driven by its Value-for-money strategy.

The company needs to identify critical success factory and work assiduously

towards achieving it.

As the world grows to become one, many problems will arise that cannot be

solved. One of the primary challenges associated with globalization is

balancing conflicting and competing objectives. In the case of Adidas, it has

faced such problems already and how they have dealt with them is with

flexibility and calmness. Despite what could be higher costs, Adidas has chosen

to stick with their human right codes and Standards of Engagement rather than

continue to be associated with subcontractors who treat works in inhumane

ways. As Adidas has grown worldwide, it has had to deal with problems of

heterogeneity vs. homogeneity. In other words, in an increasingly

heterogeneous and global world, diversity in the workplace has appeared to

emerge as an issue. Companies, including Adidas are no longer homogenous in

the sense that their companies have grown worldwide. And as a result, Adidas

has had to make worldwide headquarters and produce information and products

in several different languages. Having to spread its workforce, Adidas has

come to depend on intangibles.

The knowledge, worldwide experience and diversity that an Adidas employee

can bring to the table are valuable. Recently, how successful companies are in

the global world is increasingly derived from intangibles, such as these, that

organizations cannot own. Adidas is greatly affected by these external

influences since indeed it is a global company. For some it is not common

knowledge that Adidas is a German company. This is a result of good global

business. Adidas has created a product that is global and with that diversity and

knowledge greatly affect the company. Adidas must be able to easily adapt to

different cultures and must be culturally aware when conducting business. The

long list of Adidas subsidiaries where it conducts business proves that Adidas is

constantly adapting to cultural changes and must be extremely diverse. Because

of this necessity, knowledge is greatly valued. Great changes occur in this

industry and as a result, new ideas, intuition and inspiration are an asset that is a

necessity in this industry and to remain a global company. Who leads this

knowledge and maintains diversity are the managers, yet they too are facing

new changes.

RECOMMENDATION

For 2011 the Adidas brand’s new divisional structure will be in place to start

delivering positive results for the Group. Adidas America will remain a

challenge but nevertheless will deliver qualitative sales improvements in the

second half of 2010. Top-line growth is expected in all other regions. Double-

digit growth from Salomon is projected as a result of the continued innovative

strength and the increasing profile of their products. The integration of Mavic

with Salomon, which began in 2002, have continue in 2005, with further

synergies between the two brands. At Taylor Made-Adidas Golf, increased

marketing and sales support will target ambitious golfers, and solid growth in

all the major golf markets is expected to continue.

In addition to these positive top-line developments, gross margins are expected

to remain within a range of 41% to 43%, operating expenses will decline as a

percentage of sales, and as a result net income is projected to increase by 15%.

Adidas is currently ranked third in almost every category in the global athletic

shoe industry. However, they rank second only to Nike in terms of sales. The

main competitors of Adidas include Nike and Reebok However, other smaller

competitors include Fila, Puma and Easy Spirit. Adidas commands only 5% of

the athletic shoe business in the U.S., compared with the 40% for the fearsome

Nike, but the rejuvenated Adidas has climbed to within easy reach of Reebok,

which has been struggling in the past couple of years. Adidas is steadily

regaining market share lost to other brands such as L.A. Gear. Since acquiring

their current president, Louis-Dreyfus, Adidas, a wholly owned subsidiary, has

competed with a whole new strategy. Aside from cutting the whole line of

German senior management, Louis-Dreyfus also fired management in Asia,

who failed to match competitors’ low costs in subcontracting shoemaking to

local companies. But the battle has only started, and the foreign sports

companies are here for the long term. They can sustain losses for years to come

in order to gain market share. What they are doing at present, is building up

distribution networks to cover every nook and corner of the country .Only those

Indian manufactures which have a strong focus on manufacturing and

technological upgradation will survive in the long run, although with a much

smaller market share than they have at present. Small companies will be

sidelined totally and will exit from the sports market altogether. ADIDAS in

INDIA has always been driven by its Value – for-money strategy. The company

needs to identify critical success factory and work assiduously towards

achieving it.

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. How do you rate the company marketing strategy as compare to the other

competitors company like Nike, Reebok etc.?

Adidas Nike

Reebok Others

2. Do you think that the company Adidas is giving its customer what they want

in terms of quality and prices or value for money?

Happy Not Happy

4. What things u keep in mind while purchasing shoes will it be quality,

advertisement, price or design?

Quality Other factor

5. If u have to purchase shoe except Adidas which shoe it will be and why?

Nike Reebok

Others

6. What do u think that the company Adidas must do to improve its marketing

strategy?

______________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books:

PHILIP KOTLER, MARKETING MANAGEMENT, EDITION 2005.

V.S RAMASWAMY AND S. NAMAKUMARI MARKETING MANAGEMENT, SECOND EDITION.

WILLIAM STANTON.J, MICHALL J.ETJEC, BRUCE J.WALKER FUNDAMENTAL OF MANAGEMENT.

RAVICHANDRAH.N COMPETITION IN INDIAN INDUSTRY.

Web Siteswww.adidas.com

www.indiainfoline.com

www.webcrawler.com

www.google.com

www.indiatimes.com

MagazinesA&M

Business India

India Today

Business Today

NewspapersThe Times of India

The Hindustan Times

The Economic Times

From Company

Company Journals

Company Catalogs