The relationship between Adidas and French consumers has deepened over...

The relationship between Adidas and French consumers has deepened over the last three years, with the Three Stripes scoring much higher than its competitors in the rankings of France’s favorite brands in a survey by LH2, a French research institute, whose findings were reported by Adidas earlier this week. In the survey, which asked consumers to name their preferred brand in any category, Adidas came out at the top with 19 percent of the votes, way ahead of Nike with 13 percent, and Danone and Renault at 12 percent each. The preference was even more striking in the younger age group of French consumers aged 15 to 49 years, who favored Adidas at 26 percent. While French men favor Adidas at 22 percent, French women placed the Three Stripes in second position with 16 percent of their votes, just 1 percentage point behind Danone. Ironically, notwithstanding Adidas’ German origins, about 80 percent of French consumers feel that the brand most adequately reflects the French identity, the second-highest score being just 8 percent for Nike.