After reading Arvind Vigs blog on the continuous feud between Nike and Adidas I felt very intrigued to pursue the topic. I have always had a keen interest in the sporting industry as well as the fashion industry which is why I wanted to investigate these two major players.
For years Nike has dominated the sporting industry with every popular sports star dreaming to have a sponsorship deal with them. The swoosh, Nikes trademark logo, is globally recognized with the company. Similarly, Adidas’s is recognized with the 3 stripes.
When compared to Nike, Adidas has been known as a second tier brand, however this has not been the case in recent times due to a number of reasons. A major reason that Adidas has put its foot in the door is with the help of Kanye West. Kanye West has assisted Adidas with their brand image as he’s been pushing a new style of products that links designer fashion with sports products. His product line designs have been very popular which is why the collaboration with Adidas has been so successful. The Yeezy shoe line, introduced by Kanye West, has produced a spectacular demand that has customers camping outside of stores days in advance in hopes of receiving the shoe. After market prices for Yeezys are absurd, with the prices ranging from 4-6 times as much as the retail price.
Kanye West had originally been a part of Nikes team as they created the original 2 Yeezys, however, Kanye West made his departure as Nike was not willing to satisfy all of Mr. Wests wants. He demanded a royalty per product on his Yeezy shoe line, but Nike believed only Athletes were suitable to receive royalties and not rappers. This decision has affected Nike in a big way as Kanye West is very popular among the millennial generation and has the ability to sway the market.
Personally, I feel that Nike is the superior brand as they are continuously producing innovative technology while adding fashion and comfort. Nike has been my favorite brand for the majority of my life and I believe this is going to continue in the future.
I disagree with Arvind and do not believe Adidas will be able to pass Nike and become the industry leader. Nike has a such a strong brand recognition and a number of solid relationships with key athletes so they will not be taken over any time soon. They also have many different branches for example Air Jordan, Nike soccer, Nike basketball and so on, which shows how versatile their company really is and how many different sectors they effect. For these reasons I believe Nike will stay prominent over Adidas.
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http://ca.complex.com/sneakers/2016/07/adidas-is-trying-to-take-over-the-sneaker-world-through-social-media
https://www.quora.com/Product-and-Services-Comparisons-What-brand-is-better-Nike-or-Adidas
http://www.gq.com/story/nike-adidas-sneaker-wars
https://thehundreds.com/blog/nike-vs-adidas-saga/
