“Adidas Struggles in America: Too Much Fussball, Not Enough Football?”
One of the biggest sportswear company, Adidas dominates the Europeanmarket, but it is struggling to secure sales in the North American market. Since 1949, Adidas has implemented a focus differentiation strategy focusing on soccer and golf. Because of this strategy, Adidas enjoyed leading sales in regions where soccer was popular, including Europe and South America. However, to North America where other sports such as basketball is more popular, products offered by Adidas seem less appealing, especially with the presence of a strong competitor – Nike. In this context, Adidas’s strengths are also its weaknesses. They appeal to a specific group of customers, soccer fans and players, but this also limits them to that particular group. Threats, meanwhile, include rival companies including Nike, New Balance, etc., decreasing interest and demand in golf, and depreciating currency (rubles) that may curb revenue.In attempt to increase sales and to compete with Nike that takes up 95% of the North American market, Adidas plans to increase expenditure on marketing , which will help make adjustments to the value proposition sector. While it may be profitable to attract North American customers, I find it unecessary to expand Adidas’s focus on soccer gear to basketball or other sports gear. On the contrary, I think it is more effective to continue to focus on soccer, as it is still the most popular sport throughout the world, and develop and offer products that will increase demand for soccer gear instead.