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What a wild ride the past two years have been for Adidas.
Two years ago, Adidas posted stagnant quarterly sales in North America. Yesterday, the German sportswear company, posted a 31 percent jump in the brand’s first-quarter sales.
Portland-based Mark King, who took over as head of the Adidas North America in mid-2014 said the company is bringing back the cool, and he isn’t referring to the Adidas Climacool either.
Mark King – President of Adidas Group North America“I don’t think there’s much question,” he said. “It’s the coolest brand in sports right now. And we’re going to use that coolness in a more effective way than we ever did before.”
When King took over the reigns, he put together a plan to emphasize innovation, product development and quicker decision-making in order to respond to fickle U.S. consumers.
King also made it his mission to sign more athletes to increase brand visibility. Adidas is a few heads shy of 90 endorsers in the NFL – up from 11 when King took over. In the MLB, the three stripes now outfits nearly 120 players up from just a handful when he started.
Adidas has also increased the brand visibility with more aggressively investing in advertising and marketing efforts.
“You put all that together and you start to see some momentum,” King said. “And that’s what we’re seeing in the first quarter.”
Recent products, including the Adidas NMD and Adidas Ultra Boost, have resonated with consumers. King said there’s more to come.
Nice Kicks x Adidas Consortium NMD“The products definitely are getting better,” he said.
Read the full report by Matthew Kish at the Portland Business Journal.
