Promoter Sonny Vaccaro, credited with once helping Nike
corner the market on basketball stars, is now working to help
Adidas boost its basketball marketability. He is profiled in the
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER under the headline, "Promoter's shift opens
new front in sneaker wars."
HISTORY: Vaccaro worked for Nike in promoting their line to
players, coaches, and schools until he was fired because he
started "a sideline as a marketing representative for a number of
ballplayers." Now he "wants the sports future stars to start
thinking about Adidas." Vaccaro is responsible for paying top
dollars to college coaches who outfit their teams in Adidas,
providing gear to high school teams with big basketball programs,
offering cash for traveling expenses to amateur programs not
affiliated with schools, and sponsoring "some of the most
competitive youth teams" in New York, Chicago and Memphis.
ADIDAS ON THE RISE? Faye Landes, an analyst for Smith
Barney, said that Adidas' product development "has been strong,"
and that their grass-roots approach "has been successful." Mike
Jensen of the INQUIRER writes at the high school and amateur
level, the "hot competition right now is between Nike and Adidas.
... Insiders say that for all its resources, Nike is at a
disadvantage now, that nobody comes close to Vaccaro's network."
For the first time, the companies have held their basketball
camps simultaneously to "showcase" their talents, which Vaccaro
said was done purposely to force players to choose between
companies. Adidas currently has John Starks, Dikembe Mutombo and
Detlef Schrempf as their main endorsers, but "the future looks
brighter." St. John's sophomore Felipe Lopez is close to
Vaccaro, and while Vaccaro said there was no certainty that Lopez
would join Adidas, he speaks of the "great marketing potential
the native of the Dominican Republic has in Latin America."
Vaccaro is also looked as a key component in Adidas' push to sign
Rasheed Wallace, as he has expressed interest in Adidas. With a
deal, Wallace is looking for "a pile of money," as well as stock
options and personal input in the product (Mike Jensen,
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 7/21).
NIKE STILL IN MIX TO MOVE AAU: Charlotte officials, in
their bid to lure the AAU national HQs away from Indianapolis,
have "turned to Coca-Cola Bottling Co. to secure more financial
backing," according to the CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL. Their
move follows Nike's decision to scale back its investment in
Charlotte's bid for the AAU. Nike's support will mostly be in-
kind contributions, such as shoes and equipment, but a capital
investment is not yet out of the question. NationsBank Exec VP
Bill Covington: "We're still talking to them -- they haven't
said, 'Hell, no.' But we need some cash from somewhere" (Spanberg
& Gott, CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/24).
