The Indian sports business is evolving at such a pace that Adidas has decided to turn India into its 18th major market reporting directly to its chief sales officer, Roland Auschel, with immediate effect. So far, the Adidas Group had integrated India into its Southeast Asia unit.
Andreas Gellner, managing director of Adidas India, will report directly to Auschel, and so will Subhinder Singh, his counterpart at Reebok India. Unlike the situation in most other countries, the Adidas Group has decided not to apply its joint operating model for Adidas and Reebok in India, as it remains a somewhat untypical market. Reebok is the country’s undisputed market leader, followed at some distance by Adidas.
Adidas explained that India’s market potential is shaping up faster than expected, partly due to the upcoming Commonwealth Games, to be held in the country. This increased focus on India comes after news of substantial investments by several other sports companies in India, particularly Callaway Golf and Asics (see previous issue of SGI Europe).
The Adidas group provides products for many sports in India, with a focus on cricket and tennis. Adidas is the partner of the Indian Premier League for Twenty20 cricket and is endorsed by Sachin Tendulkar, the country’s legendary batsman. Furthermore, it supports Sania Mirza, the highest-ranked Indian female tennis player ever.
Separately, Adidas has opened its own sales office in Vietnam at the beginning of this year, as its distribution agreement with Sports Vision came to an end. Employing about 15 people, the office is headed by Ryan Hart, who has been with the company for many years around Asia and spent the last year in Vietnam preparing for the opening of Adidas Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City. The Adidas brand already has a network of 25 stores run by franchisees in the country. The Reebok brand has not been integrated into the operation so far and continues to be distributed by Phoenix. On the other hand, the office will also handle the distribution of golf products by TaylorMade-Adidas Golf. Adidas has long had a liaison office to supervise sourcing in Vietnam, which has become a major source of supply for the company in the last years.
