Adidas Marketing Strategy Analysis

This assignment delves into the comprehensive marketing strategy employed by Adidas. It utilizes a SWOT analysis to evaluate the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within the competitive landscape. The analysis further explores Adidas' target market segmentation strategies, competitor positioning, and key elements of their marketing mix, including pricing, product offerings, distribution channels, and promotional activities. A detailed examination of Adidas' brand management approach and its impact on consumer perception completes this in-depth exploration.

Introduction to marketing

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Executive summary
The report shows the marketing management of the Adidas Company. Marketing management is
the process through which the company can develop the strategies and planning for the product
or services, advertisement, sales, revenue and many others. Nowadays, managers of the company
perform the analysis of the external environmental factors that can create the impact of the
strategies formed by the company. The managers form the strategies after considering these
external factors. The report includes SWOT analysis of Adidas and after analysis; some of the
recommendations are given to the company which includes identification of the new product that
the company should introduce in the market along with its target market.

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Background of company..................................................................................................................4
Analysis of marketing environment.................................................................................................4
SWOT analysis............................................................................................................................4
Strengths..................................................................................................................................5
Weaknesses..............................................................................................................................5
Opportunities...........................................................................................................................6
Threats.....................................................................................................................................6
Recommendation.............................................................................................................................7
Segmentation...............................................................................................................................7
Demographic segmentation.....................................................................................................7
Psychographic segmentation...................................................................................................7
Target Market..............................................................................................................................7
New product/ new services description.......................................................................................8
Marketing mix relevant strategies...............................................................................................8
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
The assessment is designed to implement the knowledge and skills to evaluate the internal and
external environmental factors of a company and the determination of new offering in the market
based on the result of environmental scanning. The company that has been selected for the
analysis is Adidas. The report shows the analysis of strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats
of the company. The recommendations to the company are stated in the report which includes the
description of the target market, new product or service of the company and marketing mix
strategies of the company.

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Background of company
Adidas is a multinational corporation with the head office in Herzogenaurach, Germany. The
company is one of the world’s largest sports goods and accessories manufacturer. Adi Dassler
listed the Gebruder Dassler Schuhfabrik in the year 1924 with the objective to offer athletes with
the best possible equipment. The company is offering the best product with the affordable
product range. In the year 2006, the company acquired Reebok and since then the company
started providing the product for the premium segment customers with the brand name Adidas.
Reebok changed its segment and started offering products to the middle-income group people
(Adidas, 2017).
Analysis of marketing environment
Marketing environment refers to as the combination of the internal and the external factors that
create an impact on the company’s ability of decision making and establishing a relationship
with the customers (Keller and Kotler, 2016).
SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis refers to as the study for the organization to determine the internal strengths and
weaknesses along with the external opportunities and threats (Forte, et.al, 2017). Adidas
managers make use of the SWOT analysis to reduce the weakness, to exploit the opportunities
and avoid the potential threats (Bull, et.al, 2016). The company can grab the opportunities to
expand the business and also to enhance the growth and revenue.
 Strengths: - It shows the characteristics of the organization that provide the advantage
over others.

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 Weakness: - It shows the characteristics related to the organization at a disadvantage
relative to others.
 Opportunities: - It includes the elements that the business could exploit to its advantage.
 Threats: - It includes the elements that could cause the trouble for the organization.
Strengths
 Diversified: - Company has a diversified position in the market as the company offers a
wide range of footwear and accessories under its brand name.
 Distribution network: - Company has an effective network of distribution for its products.
Adidas sells its products through online stores, with their own retail stores, supermarket
stores, and the other departmental stores.
 Strong financial position: - Adidas has a strong financial position in the market with more
than 2400 store across the world having worth of $4.3 billion. This reflects that company
can invest the amount in the innovation of new product (Bhasin, 2017).
 Strong market reputation: - Adidas has a strong market reputation across the national and
international markets where the company has its business operations.
Weaknesses
 Outsourced manufacturing: - The company outsources approximately 93% production
from the 3rd party manufacturers (mainly from Asia) to gain the easy availability and low
labor cost. Outsourcing might create the impact on the new product or services of the
company (Hasseb, 2015).
 Premium price range: - The product offered by the company is available for limited
customers due to the high price range of products. The prices of the products are high due

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to the innovative technology and production methods which makes the products
affordable for the limited customers.
Opportunities
 Changing lifestyle: - The saturation of the developed economies reflects the rise in the
lifestyle of the peoples with the change in tastes and preferences of the consumers.
Nowadays, most of the people prefer to wear branded stuff which leads to a rise in the
demand for the products and services offered by the company.
 Tie-ups: - Company can form the tie-ups with the emerging sports teams/clubs/players
internationally that help the company in boosting the Adidas's brand presence in the
competitive market.
 Expansion in product line: - Company has an opportunity in expanding its products line
and for that, the company needs to introduce the new products or services in the market
(Mba Skool, 2017).
Threats
 Competition: - Adidas is one of the well-known leading brands in the market and has
many competitors in the market which include Nike, Puma, Converse and many others.
These competitors bring changes in their strategies which is a threat for the Adidas. One
of the strong competitors of Adidas is Nike who provides the similar products to the
customers.
 Government Regulations: - Changes in the government regulations act as a threat to the
company because they outsource products from other countries. Approximately 35% and
93% of product’s manufacturing takes place in China and Asia respectively. These
manufactured products are outsourced by Adidas for which they have to pay a huge

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amount of tariffs, duties and import regulations. Apart from it, for the expansion of the
product line, Adidas relies on its manufacturing units that are situated in China and Asia.
Recommendation
Considering the business environment of the company below given are some of the
recommendations to the Adidas.
Segmentation
Market segmentation is the process that divides the broader customers into sub-groups of
customers based on different types of shared characteristics (Boone, and Kurtz, 2013). Market
segmentation of Adidas is discussed below: -
Demographic segmentation
It refers to dividing the market based on gender, age group, and income. Adidas offers its
products mainly to men, women, and kids considering their age and life cycle of segmentation
and gender segmentation (Needle, 2010). The company offers the variety of men and women
clothing, shoes, body-care, and eyewear.
Psychographic segmentation
This segment divides the group on the basis of social class, lifestyle or the personality
characteristics (Harrison, and Kjellberg, 2010). Adidas emphasis on the people belongs to the
high social class and tends to have the similar buying traits. People having a high standard of
living are mostly targeted by the company. A high standard person likes to purchase the product
provided by the brand like Adidas (Bhasin, 2017).

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Target Market
Target market refers to as the group of customers at which the company is aiming to provide
products and services. To identify the particular group to whom the company should target there
is need of the segmentation. It is recommended to the company to target demographic segment as
primary target market as the company offers athletic footwear and apparel for the sports person
being it male or female. The strongest customer market for Adidas is a youth with the age group
of 20-29 years (IAC, 2018). It is recommended to the company to add the age group of 14-19
years as this age group reflects the next generation of athletes. The company already target the
people who like to wear the sports shoes.
It is recommended to the company to extend the product target market which is possible with the
expansion of the product line in the market. With the introduction of a new product, the company
will be able to target new segment.
New product/ new services description
The company is well-known for its sports shoes for the athletics who likes feel conformable after
wearing it. Considering, the external analysis the company has an opportunity to expand its
product line in the market. It is recommended to the company to introduce formal shoes for the
people who like to wear brand like Adidas. With the introduction of the product in the market,
the target market range of the company will increase and the Adidas will be able to add
businessman and are professionals in their target market. The demand for the formal shoes is
increasing in the competitive world. The businessmen are involved in the corporate society are
restricted to wear the formal shoes at the office working hours. These people have to wear shoes
for approximately 8 hours due to this the demand for comfortable shoes is increasing in the
market.

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Marketing mix relevant strategies
The marketing mix is defined as the set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its
marketing objectives in the target. In other words, marketing mix defines as a set of tactics or
actions that are used by the company to promote its brand or product in the market. The
marketing mix consists of product, price, place, promotion, and people (Lovelock, 2011). The
marketing mix strategies of Adidas considering the new product are discussed below: -
 Product: - Company is leading sportswear but with the proper investment the company
can bring new products, ‘Formal shoes’ in the market. With the help of the research and
development team, the company can understand the needs of the customers. The
company can bring the innovation in the formal shoes (Wright, and Watkins, 2010). The
Marketing Mix
Product
Price
Place
Promotio
n
People

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product strategy of the Adidas should cover the entire product line including different
types and styles of formal shoes.
 Price: - Products of the company are available at premium prices and due to this the
company targets the people belongs to the high-income group. The company should
implement the high-low pricing strategy in which the company can keep the high or low
price than the competitor for the same product (Bolton, Shankar, and Montoya, 2010). At
the initial step, it is recommended to the company to keep the low price for the product as
it is beginning and to grab the attention of the customers it is a must. Later on, after
setting the customer market and loyal customers the company can increase the price of
the product (Mba Skool, 2017).
 Place: - Company can provide the product across the world with the use of the effective
distribution channel which includes franchises, online retailers, mass merchandise, and
on their outlets. The company should offer its product through multi-brand e-commerce
websites (Baker, 2014). If the company will be able to make the product (Formal Shoes)
available at a maximum number of stores than a maximum number of people will get
aware of the product.
 Promotion: - Promotion of the new product in the market is essential for the company
because effective promotion strategy will help the company in generating awareness.
Adidas should make use of the endorsed strategy in which they can get the product
promoted by the celebrity. The company can also make use of the print media,
commercial campaigns on online platforms, TV, billboards (Shank, and Lyberger, 2014).
At the stores of the company, the personal selling can be conducted by the employees of

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the company in which the staff members generate the awareness about the product in the
market.
 People: - Company needs the staff for their existing business operations and for the new
business operations. The introduction of the new product needs more people within the
organization. The company hires the people depending on the skills and knowledge that
they have related to the industry. Moreover, the company provides the training to new
employees if they have lack of knowledge about the industry. Adidas need employees
who can help the company in research and development, manufacturing and promotion of
the product (Keller, Parameswaran, and Jacob, 2011). The company provides the
numerous benefits to the employees that include provident fund, health and travel
reimbursement and many others.

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Conclusion
It is concluded from the report that the SWOT analysis is an essential tool for the company to
evaluate the internal and the external factors that can impact the decision making and the
working of the company. SWOT analysis helps the company in identifying the new product and
services after scanning the result of the environmental analysis. Furthermore, the report includes
the recommendations related to the target market of the company and the new products. The
company should introduce a new product in the market and consider the new product the
relevant marketing mix strategies are also discussed in the report related to the new product
launched in the market. The successful implementation of the strategies will help the company to
achieve the maximum growth and profitability.

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References
Adidas, 2017, Products, viewed on 26th January 2018, http://www.adidas.co.in/help-topics-
products.html
Baker, M.J., 2014. Marketing strategy and management. Palgrave Macmillan.
Bhasin, H., 2017, Adidas SWOT analysis – SWOT analysis of Adidas, viewed on 26th January
2018, https://www.marketing91.com/adidas-swot-analysis/
Bhasin, H., 2017, Marketing strategy of Adidas, viewed on 26th January 2018,
https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-strategy-of-adidas/
Bolton, R.N., Shankar, V. and Montoya, D.Y., 2010. Recent trends and emerging practices in
retailer pricing. In Retailing in the 21st Century (pp. 301-318). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Boone, L.E. and Kurtz, D.L., 2013. Contemporary marketing. Cengage learning.
Bull, J.W., Jobstvogt, N., Böhnke-Henrichs, A., Mascarenhas, A., Sitas, N., Baulcomb, C.,
Lambini, C.K., Rawlins, M., Baral, H., Zähringer, J. and Carter-Silk, E., 2016. Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats: A SWOT analysis of the ecosystem services
framework. Ecosystem services, 17, pp.99-111.
Forte, S.A.B., Forte, S.H.A.C. and Pinheiro, P.R., 2017, Strategic Decision Method Structured in
SWOT Analysis and Postures Based in the MAGIQ Multicriteria Analysis. In Proceedings of the
Computational Methods in Systems and Software (pp. 227-237). Springer, Cham.
Harrison, D. and Kjellberg, H., 2010. Segmenting a market in the making: Industrial market
segmentation as construction. Industrial Marketing Management, 39(5), pp.784-792.

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Hasseb, 2015, SWOT Analysis of ADIDAS, viewed on 26th January 2018,
http://marketingdawn.com/swot-analysis-of-adidas/
IAC, 2018, Who is Adidas' target market today?, viewed on 26th January 2018,
https://www.reference.com/business-finance/adidas-target-market-today-363bdc15dc5a013e
Keller, K.L. and Kotler, P., 2016. Marketing management. Pearson.
Keller, K.L., Parameswaran, M.G. and Jacob, I., 2011. Strategic brand management: Building,
measuring, and managing brand equity. Pearson Education India.
Lovelock, C., 2011. Services marketing: People, technology, strategy. Pearson Education India.
Mba Skool, 2017, Adidas Marketing Mix, viewed on 26th January 2018,
https://www.mbaskool.com/marketing-mix/products/17006-adidas.html
Mba Skool, 2017, Adidas SWOT Analysis, USP & Competitors, viewed on 26th January 2018,
https://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/lifestyle-and-retail/2460-adidas.html
Needle, D., 2010. Business in context: An introduction to business and its environment. Cengage
Learning EMEA.
Shank, M.D. and Lyberger, M.R., 2014. Sports marketing: A strategic perspective. Routledge.
Wright, M. and Watkins, T., 2010. Marketing financial services. Routledge.

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