Adidas Announces Five Year Plan; Compete With Li Ning Nike For Market Cake

A series of target numbers, the world's second largest sporting goods manufacturer Adidas Suddenly, he seemed very "forceful". Adidas headquarters announced that it will open 500 new stores in China next year. By 2015, the number of product distribution cities will double, which means that more tertiary and tertiary city markets will be opened.

In addition, adidas also said that its new stores focusing on high-end clothing series will be opened in first tier cities, because consumers in these places prefer Nike It is the largest competitor in China and even in the world.

If the high-end strategy is directed at Nike, the purpose of expanding the sales scope is obviously to surpass the domestic sporting goods standing on top of oneself brand Li Ning. In 2009, Adidas has been replaced by Li Ning as the second largest player in the market. In China, only when we surpass Li Ning can we reach Nike. It is time to choose both high and low levels to attack at the same time and test Adidas' cash flow.

　　 Adidas Announces 5-Year Plan

"We are making a plan to win the first place." Herbert Hainer, Adidas CEO, told the media that China is a very important market for us, and consumers want to access our products. Haina did not explain which Chinese consumers she had communicated with and learned about their "hopes". On the contrary, adidas' intention of actively hoping to communicate with more Chinese consumers is very obvious, and the most important one is the layout of small and medium-sized markets.

It is understood that according to the latest plan of Adidas, as of 2015, it is planned to open more than 2500 stores and provide products with reasonable prices for the market segments to meet different consumption patterns in different cities. At the same time, the number of cities covered by Adidas stores will also increase from 550 to more than 1400.

Haina calls this "Route 2015" plan, which also includes some brand actions. He said that with the strong rebound of performance in the second half of this year and the appointment of a strong management team, Adidas Group is entering a new stage of development in China.

Not long ago, Adidas released its performance report for the third quarter of this year, in which the group's global sales increased by about 10% (calculated based on the constant exchange rate). Among them, Greater China increased by 9% (calculated based on the constant exchange rate), and the sales revenue of wholesale channels achieved the first positive growth since 2008. In 2008, due to the overly optimistic market forecast for the Beijing Olympic Games, Adidas' product sales fell into a low point and the inventory surged. It was not until the second half of this year that the inventory was slowly adjusted to a normal level and recovered.

"I am very pleased to confirm that adidas Group has returned to the road of victory in Greater China." Du Berui, the managing director of adidas Greater China, said that he expected the greater China region to achieve a double-digit annual growth rate. However, from January 1, 2011, Colin Currie, the current senior vice president of marketing and sales in Greater China, will take over from Du Bairui as the managing director of Greater China. Du Berui will still serve on the board of directors of adidas Group in Greater China and continue to serve as the global chief e-commerce officer of the Group. However, according to the official statement of Adidas, both executives report directly to Haina, and the "2015" plan for Greater China will also be jointly implemented by the two. {page_break}

　　 A hard battle to open up small and medium-sized cities is imminent

"I firmly believe that Greater China will become the main driving force for the future development of our group," Hainer said confidently. But at this moment, his two main competitors in China, Li Ning and Nike, are also full of confidence. In the first two years of Adidas' relative downturn, these two rivals did not show any mercy, but were stronger than before. For several consecutive quarters, Li Ning, the largest domestic sporting goods supplier in China, has surpassed Adidas and become the second largest sporting goods supplier in China in terms of sales.

Adidas has never mentioned Li Ning, an "old competitor" in the Chinese market that has risen rapidly in recent two years, on any occasion, but the above series of store opening plans for small and medium-sized cities can hardly bypass Li Ning.

"For a long time, the first tier cities represented by Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen tend to have a preference for global activities and international brands, while the consumers in the third to fifth tier cities are different." Liao Jierong, an analyst in the clothing industry, said that they pay more attention to such strong events in China as badminton, table tennis and gymnastics. "This makes it easier for them to feel proud. It is also because of the national team that has sponsored such projects for a long time, the brand of Li Ning is superior to Adidas in terms of sales and brand depth in third to fifth tier cities."

This is not only a "topic" for Adidas, but also a common topic for all foreign sports brands such as Nike. In recent years, with the continuous sports competitions and the growing sports trend in China, most of the domestic brands that break through the relatively difficult front-line market have taken root in small and medium-sized cities and become the "defenders" facing Adidas.

Therefore, in addition to the large-scale acceleration of store opening and other measures to open the market through capital strength, it is reported that adidas will further launch the leisure brand NEO for teenagers, and the price of the brand goods will be half of that of other adidas brand goods. For NEO, adidas aims to make it a bridge leading consumers to higher end products.

This will obviously be a tough battle, because small and medium-sized cities are also Nike's goal, and domestic sports brands represented by Li Ning will not wait to be killed. According to the information released by Li Ning, during the National Day holiday this year, the same store sales growth of Li Ning increased by 3.2% over the same period last year, and the same store sales growth in the third quarter increased by 4% over the same period last year.

　　 Enduring battle with old enemy Nike

According to the statistics of Frost&Sullivan, a market research company, Nike accounted for 16.7%, Adidas 15.6% and Li Ning 10.5% of China's sporting goods market in 2006. In 2008, their shares were 18.8%, 14.9% and 11.1% respectively. By 2009, the ranking had changed, with Nike and Li Ning in the first and second places accounting for 10.2% and 10% respectively, and Adidas 9.6%. It seems that the share shared by the three brands has declined, but the growth figure of the total market volume has risen from 3.8 billion dollars in 2006 to 14 billion dollars in 2009. The three brands can be said to go hand in hand.

In addition, from the perspective of market share in 2009, it seems that Adidas, ranked third, only needs to take one step to surpass Li Ning. If this step is larger, it seems not a problem to surpass Nike. Because of this, in addition to the "development" for small and medium-sized cities, the "consolidation" of first tier cities has also been placed in the same important position, and the biggest competitor in this part of the market is Nike.

According to the plan, in the first tier cities with strong coverage, adidas also hopes to gain or maintain the leading position of the brand in the business fields of basketball, football, training and running series. Especially in the basketball field, Adidas has not invested as much as its competitors for a long time. This time, the executives said that they would integrate basketball into marketing activities and product design. Some people think that this is obviously a challenge to Nike. All along, through a large number of celebrity endorsements, Nike's position in the basketball field is unmatched.

In addition to the deep cultivation in the subdivided fields, adidas will also rapidly expand the OriginaLS series for the relatively high-end sports fashion series to enhance the brand's influence and market share. "The Group will expand its sales network nationwide, especially in the first tier cities, to promote sales growth."

Not only China, but also Adidas has always regarded surpassing Nike as its first goal in the world. However, according to the global plan of Adidas Group, the goal is to increase sales to 17 billion euros (24 billion dollars) in 2015, up more than 60% year on year. Also in 2015, Nike's global sales target is $27 billion. In other words, if these two companies can achieve their goals, Nike will still lead Adidas.

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According to the statistics of Frost&Sullivan, a market research company, Nike accounted for 16.7%, Adidas 15.6% and Li Ning 10.5% of China's sporting goods market in 2006. In 2008, their share figures were 18.8%, 14.9% and 11.1% respectively. By 2009, the ranking had changed, with Nike and Li Ning in the first and second places accounting for 10.2% and 10% respectively, and Adidas 9.6%. The background of share change is that the total market volume rose from 3.8 billion US dollars in 2006 to 14 billion US dollars in 2009.