Adidas as the Largest Manufacturer of Sportswear and Athletic Footwear - Research Paper Example

Since the soccer world cup in Japan and South Korea, Adidas embarked on advertising campaigns with popular sports representatives and celebrities. The brand strengthens its image through different brand evaluations that focus on customer expectations (Berger, 2008).

            Adidas claims its employees are essential to the company’s success since achieving the goal of being a global leader in the sporting industry relies on the engagement and talents of its employees. As an employer, Adidas is liable for the health and safety of its employees; besides, revenue for the corporation in 2009 was about €10.38 billion compared to the 2008 figure of €10.80 billion. The company targets leading positions in markets it competes in and has 180 subsidiaries worldwide that are investment prioritized in accordance with the markets based on the best medium to long-term growth and profitable opportunities (Vicki, 2010).

            The Adidas group has been part of the sporting world by providing sportswear, apparel as well as accessories; thus, becoming a global leader in the sporting industry offering broad categories of products like bags, eyewear, watches, and other assorted sporting and clothing goods. The company seeks to reinforce its position of innovation and technologically strong market across the world through the orientation of its top managers. Hence, the company aims to continuously strengthen its brands and products to increase competitiveness and improve its financial performance and become the global leader in the industry.

Creating ground-breaking products that meet the unique needs of athletes and consumers is essential in motivating a positive perception of the brand. Therefore, research and development are integral to the success of Adidas thus the company invests a considerable amount of resources in developing and commercializing fresh technologies in designing to meet the unique needs of consumers (Adidas Group, 2010).

HR in Adidas creates and maintains tight relations with internal customers to make sure that business needs are considered in the development of HR initiatives and standards that ensure measures are understood and implemented.   Moreover, HR in the company challenges the prevailing processes like structure and status quo to be creative in their solutions and proactively contacts global teams for advice and solutions aligned to respective teams across the various regions. Adidas is a large company with some departments cooperating in and sharing tasks; however, the SAP system meets the company requirements. The information system used by Adidas is one of the most powerful tools available in the market and is capable of handling further requirements (Bazan, 2010).

            Adidas orientates the American market with new product launches and communication channels to increase its profitability in North America. Thus, the company shifted its focus from distinct distribution channels and a few innovative products to several distribution channels as well as growth in all categories of its products; moreover, the company is dedicated to technology, which is crucial to the company's operations. The company seeks to launch new products that embrace new technologies every year and the company’s product innovation and design capabilities are founded on strategic partnerships like those of Stella McCartney or Porsche Design. Adidas orientates on being the global leader in the sporting industry and its acquisition of Reebok in 2006 gives evidence of the brand’s strategic expansion.  Sales figures for Adidas products in emerging markets like Asia and Latina America illustrate the company’s growth potential since Latin America and Asia have high populations, therefore, indicating large possibilities (Berger, 2008). The company’s internal strength arises from innovative products, expansion of distribution lines, and acquisitions or mergers. In addition, the company's strength comes from its establishment of a strong brand to avoid cutthroat competition, expansion in response to the customer increase, and meeting competition with technology.

            The company faces various weaknesses; for instance, there is a challenge in Adidas’s market growth because the focused segments in European competitions like Football and Tennis or athletics are limited. Moreover, the North American sporting industry is competitive through Adidas’s fierce competitor Nike which is the market leader in North America in the sports industry. Moreover, developing products that have different price levels and building strong services online are key internal weaknesses of the company. In addition, the company can minimize the competition by coming up with a flexible line of products; furthermore, fluctuation in prices and hiring prices are other weaknesses in the company (Berger, 2008).