Reebok Looking To Rebuild Image, Brand Name Over Next Few Years
Reebok is aiming to overtake Puma as the world's "third largest sporting goods brand in the next five years but it is facing a tough battle to rebuild its former high-quality image," according to Daniel Schafer of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Reebok President & CEO Uli Becker "believes Reebok will become Adidas's main growth engine," but he "bows to critics who say that it has taken adidas far too long to reorganise Reebok after it bought it in early 2006 as a weapon in its fight against main rival Nike." Becker: "We underestimated the amount of time needed for the restructuring. Reebok was light years away from being ... a global brand." Becker said that the "next step must be 'to heighten the consumer profile of the brand.'" Schafer noted steps toward this have "already been taken in women's products: Reebok has launched a partnership with ... Cirque du Soleil and a new fitness shoe." Similar initiatives "will be launched for men's products next year as well as a large-scale marketing campaign for the brand." The company's restructuring has "become an uphill struggle after a sharp fall in demand as a result of the global financial crisis," as Reebok in Q1 reported an operating loss of $135M. However, overall sales are "forecast to remain flat this year, after falling by a fifth each year since adidas bought the company" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 6/16).
JUST DO IT: BUSINESSWEEK's Reena Jana reports Nike is "trying to make its supply chain and products greener." However, the company is choosing to "play down sustainability initiatives," as Nike customers "buy shoes to make them feel fast, slick and hip; they don't care much about being eco-chic." After critics called Nike's $110 environmentally-friendly "Considered" boot that was launched in '05 "Air Hobbits," Nike went to "task for a design that detracted from its high-tech image." But they "didn't sell well, and within a year were taken off the shelves." The lesson for Nike was that its green innovations "should continue, but its customers shouldn't be able to tell." Nike "Considered" Design GM Lorrie Vogel: "We want to do more and say less" (BUSINESSWEEK, 6/22 issue).
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