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Skechers Suing Adidas Over Unfair Advantage In College Market

Skechers is asking for a share of Adidas' profits, as well as compensatory damages for lost sales getty images

Skechers is suing Adidas, claiming it was at an "unfair disadvantage as a result of the alleged schemes" involving several colleges that have been "revealed during the FBI's investigation into college basketball," according to a front-page piece by Gentry Estes of the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL. Skechers claimed it "has been harmed due to increased advertising and marketing costs and lost sales, market share and goodwill" as a result of Adidas' actions. In its lawsuit, Skechers is asking for "'an award of the profits ... unlawfully derived as a result of wrongful conduct (by Adidas),' compensatory damages for lost sales and increased advertising costs and an injunction prohibiting Adidas from making any payments to high school or college athletes that are not disclosed publicly." While Skechers' brand is "not commonly associated with the NBA, the lawsuit stated that Skechers signed Jamal Crawford and Josh Smith to endorsement deals as NBA players." The lawsuit also lists Basketball HOFers Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Larry Bird as "endorsing Skechers" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 5/11).

WHAT'S GOING ON? In Portland, Jeff Manning notes Skechers makes the case that by '15 it had "surpassed Adidas as the second largest-selling sneaker brand in the U.S., trailing only Nike." Since then, Adidas has "enjoyed a surge of popularity that has allowed it to take considerable market share from Nike and retake the No. 2 spot in the U.S. market." But those gains "coincided with the company's secret payments to collegiate basketball players, Skechers alleged in the lawsuit, which 'unfairly bolstered consumer perceptions of Adidas' overall brand quality and image well beyond the basketball footwear market'" (Portland OREGONIAN, 5/11). YAHOO SPORTS' Jeff Eisenberg noted when word of Skechers’ lawsuit "spread on social media on Thursday, it was the first time many realized that the shoe company even dabbled in the basketball footwear market." Fans "don’t see Skechers sponsoring AAU basketball teams like Nike, Adidas and Under [Armour] do, nor do you see Skechers vying for endorsement deals with NBA players or sponsorship agreements with marquee universities either." Skechers would probably have to "pay most prospects even more than Adidas shelled out for Brian Bowen or Dennis Smith Jr. to get them to play basketball wearing" its sneakers. The whole lawsuit seems "more like a continuation of the public feud between Adidas and Skechers than a serious attempt to seek money" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/10).

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