adidas is hitting a "sweet spot at the crossroads of sports and pop culture," as the brand is "posting sustained double-digit sales gains, particularly in the key North American market where it was dead in the water just two years ago," according to Jeff Manning of the Portland OREGONIAN. Nike is "still growing," and its "dominant position atop the athletic footwear and apparel business remains secure." However, adidas and Under Armour are "growing faster," and for the first time in recent memory are "grabbing market share from The Swoosh." Possibly more troubling for Nike is the "sentiment that its pipeline of hot new products has run dry." Whether Nike's issues represent a "temporary hiccup or a more dire matter, they pose one of the toughest management challenges" for Chair & CEO Mark Parker since he became CEO a decade ago. Nike's stock has "declined roughly" 17.5% since the beginning of the year, which is more than $19B in "lost market value." Meanwhile, adidas' Originals sales "jumped nearly" 50% in Q3 over '15. adidas also has "jumped unapologetically into fashion and celebrity." The Yeezy line, developed with Kanye West, has "proved a big success." The established marketing model of "aligning a shoe with a superstar athlete took its lumps inside Nike." Analysts said that the lackluster response to some "recent editions of the LeBron James and Kevin Durant shoes came because consumers didn't like their looks nor the hefty price tags." Consumers' new emphasis on fashion "doesn't mean that the traditional athlete endorsement no longer works." UA Founder, Chair & CEO Kevin Plank recently said that Warriors G Stephen Curry's shoe line has "propelled the company's footwear sales" from $239M in '12 to nearly $1B this year (Portland OREGONIAN, 11/26).
FASTER, BIGGER, STRONGER? CBS' Anna Werner noted consumers are "faced with seemingly countless choices" of sneaker designs and brands, but asked if "any of those innovations (are) really helping you run longer or jump higher and are the expensive shoes any better?" adidas is using the same technology NASA utilizes to "analyze the stress on the outer hull of space shuttles" to examine "how materials stretch on the foot while it’s in motion." adidas Global Category Dir Andy Barr: "We’re using it to map the body, from head to toe. We’ve used it in the latest running products to show the way the skin stretches and moves. By knowing more about the body, you can make better products" ("CBS This Morning," 11/24).
