Word: soccers
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...early returns are positive. In the U.S., Adidas' soccer-footwear sales are up 23% over last year. Globally, Adidas "has production problems right now, demand [for the Tunit] is so high," says Klaus Filbry, head of soccer for Adidas America. A starter kit, including one set of uppers, an insole and three sets of studs, costs $170, but the real revenue potential for Adidas, and retailers, lies in the add-ons: $80 for each extra upper and $40 for an additional insole. Adidas is about to launch 32 new uppers, with the colors and imprints of each World Cup nation...
Although the Tunit should help Adidas, some investors fear that getting a much larger shoe to fit could distract the company from pressing the advantage in soccer: its $3.8 billion purchase of Reebok, the struggling Canton, Mass., sporting-goods company. Although the merger helps Adidas gain market share and nudge closer to Nike overall, right now it's a drag on earnings: Reebok's orders declined 22% in the fourth quarter of 2005 owing to weak products and anxiety about Adidas' strategy for the brand. "Mind boggling," says John Shanley, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group...
Reebok has already scored for Adidas in soccer. In April the company signed French superstar Thierry Henry, a veteran Nike pitchman, to an endorsement deal...
Adidas has drawn the battle lines; now it's up to the consumers to decide. Not that the companies will quiet the trash talk. For example, Adidas puts the boot to Nike's worldwide youth "futsal" tournament, which features the smaller soccer ball that many great players, like Ronaldinho, grew up dribbling. "It's three on three in a cage," says Filbry. "That's not soccer." Edwards, Nike's marketing guru, guffaws. "I'm happy they would dismiss something that millions of people around the world are playing," he says. On the eve of the World Cup, jawing between...
...Share of soccer market** Adidas - 38% Nike - 31% *As of May 9 **Source: NPD Sports Tracking Europe