Adidas is preparing to widen its international distribution of outdoor products, as part of a multi-year plan to establish the brand in the global specialist outdoor sector. While sales formerly focused on German-speaking countries, along with Russia, China and Korea, a wider and more technical outdoor range is to be launched early next year in the United Kingdom, Italy and France.
A seven-year plan stretching until 2015 has been laid out by Rolf Reinschmidt, the seasoned manager in charge of the outdoor unit at Adidas since 2007. Its first phase, through 2011, calls for Adidas to become established as an outdoor player, by moving into specialist accounts. For the time being, the company admitted that sales of its outdoor products sold outside sports stores were insignificant.
Since the last quarter of 2008, Adidas has hired about 20 staff for its central outdoor unit in Herzogenaurach, to form a team of 50 people, and it has recruited salespeople to specifically handle specialist outdoor accounts. All employees dealing with outdoor products were moved into the same building, and more recruitments are underway.
For 2010, the company’s outdoor range has been expanded by about 15 percent, including backpacks, a wider range of women’s and children’s apparel, and a technical range called Terrex, that was recently used for an Antarctic expedition. Furthermore, the company has signed up several high-profile climbers.
Distribution is to be rolled out in other European countries toward the end of the first development phase, in 2011. Other countries, including the American and Japanese markets, should be covered from the second phase. This should also see the introduction of more leisure and travel-oriented products.
As part of the roll-out, the outdoor unit wants to open outdoor-specific areas in its mono-brand stores. They will be introduced at concept stores in Paris and Moscow in the last quarter of this year. Adidas stores entirely dedicated to outdoor products are envisaged for the longer term.
Adidas has been selling outdoor products on and off for many years. It reaffirmed its interest in the outdoor business by appearing at the OutDoor fair in 2006, but specialist retailers were not impressed.
The investments made in the last months, and carried by a 15-year Adidas executive, point to an entirely different level of commitment – at least temporarily quashing recurrent rumors that Adidas is on the look-out for an acquisition in this business. The company stated that no such projects were in the cards in the short term.
