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Adidas
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Sportswear
Winning t h e r a c e For over fifty years, German sportswear giant Adidas has been growing its presence in finds out South Africa. more localisation, sponsorship, and the relationship between the company and its head office in Germany.
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As one of the world’s leading brands, things rarely stand still at Adidas according to Category manager..., the company’s South African division is no exception. “I’ve been here for nineteen years so obviously there’s been a lot of change in that time. Sales have grown astronomically and the staff force is probably four times as big,” he continues. “We now have more offices to accommodate all the staff, so things have defi nitely moved with the times.” Globally, Adidas is the secondbiggest sportswear brand in the world, closely behind the multinational American corporation Nike. Since De Souza has worked for Adidas, the two firms have vied for the top position in South Africa, with the title being passed back and forth. “There’s a constant battle between Adidas and Nike. It’s a
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good challenge and it obviously keeps us on our toes, from a company point of view. It keeps us innovative. It keeps us looking after ourselves.” This focus, however, extends beyond the country’s borders. “We’re not solely South Africa. We have a few other countries we look after,” De Souza continues. “The key ones in Africa are Ghana and Nigeria, and we are also in Zimbabwe, Namibia, and surrounding
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countries. Other divisions, including Dubai and France, handle other countries in Africa.” Adidas SA falls under the Emerging Markets & Territories category, meaning that while the majority of branding and target discussions happen with head office in Germany, there is also frequent communication with the regional head office in Dubai. “But generally everything we do comes from Germany. Globally, there are brand campaigns that develop ads, and these trickle down into our area and support us,” De Souza says. “We do localise a few things, a few sporting codes that Germany isn’t involved in, but a lot of what we do comes from a global point of view that we then implement and localise.”
There’s a constant battle between Adidas and Nike. It’s a good challenge and it obviously keeps us on our toes, from a company point of view. It keeps us innovative
An example of this is the Orlando Pirates, one of South Africa’s oldest and most successful teams. “With the Orlando Pirates, there will be a global campaign that is passed onto us from Germany, and we localise that so the Orlando Pirates’ artwork looks like the global artwork. So we work in tandem with head office to
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Sportswear
keep things consistent across all territories,” says De Souza. In addition to an on-going contract with the Pirates, Adidas is also associated with Ajax Cape Town. While football is not the brand’s only focus, it is one of their priorities, alongside running and training. Ambassadors and sponsorship are heavily emphasised in these areas, too. “With running, we sponsor the Two Oceans Marathon, and we have contracts with various individuals. With training, we’ve got a relationship with Virgin Active. They’re our main training partner.”
I’ve been here for nineteen years so obviously there’s been a lot of change in that time. Sales have grown astronomically and the staff force is probably four times as big.
Virgin Active’s relationship with Adidas began back in 2008, when the sports brand began supplying apparel and footwear to staff at Virgin Active health clubs across South Africa. “When you have these assets who wear the product, the exposure helps boost the sales. Having the key individual under contract is obviously key from a business point of view,” he says. On a global level, Adidas is in collaboration with singer Pharrel Williams and footballer Lionel Messi. While none of this impacts Adidas SA directly, De Souza tells us he does notice an accumulated effect, particularly where product collaborations are concerned — such as the Messi15 football boots that were worn in Barcelona’s recent
victory in the Champions League final. These are set for global release later this year, Meanwhile, with the South African Premier Division starting in August, Adidas SA is keeping busy preparing for pre-season with new product lines and contracts. “For the rest of the year we’ll be focusing on our key assets, the Orlando Pirates,” De Souza explains. “Then there are also
running contract activations and some other football activations. We’ve got a full enterprise and jersey launch in July.” Later this year, Adidas will also be launching the new Revolution footwear range and the Saga line of football clothing. “We have various projects on the go across two or three across the sporting categories, so it’s all quite exciting,” he adds.
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Adidas SA 3rd Floor Unit2c Black River Park Western Cape Tel: +27 021 442-6200 Fax: +27 086 055-9462
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www.essentialbusinessmag.com ŠEssential Business Magazine 2015