Adidas Chief Criticizes Anti-China Protestors

Summary:

The reason I chose this article on Adidas is because for the last ten years I have respected the brand which supports my passion for the sport of soccer. I have read numerous positive articles on the company's success. However, it was interesting to stumble upon an article which shows Adidas's lack of care and involvement to world issues.

Connections:
This article relates to chapter one on retail as it highlights Adidas as a major retailer who sells millions of dollars worth of sporting products to consumers. In the article the CEO Heibert Hainer, states his goal is to have €1 billion in sales in China per year by 2010.

The article is an example of producer-wholesaler-retailer-consumer distribution. This is also a normal channel of distribution which is used to reach ultimate consumers. Adidas uses producers to produce the raw material , wholesalers to store and distribute and retailers to sell to the consumer. By sponsoring fifteen national teams in the Beijing Olympics (2008) Adidas' goal was to increase sales by 2010. This is good idea as millions of Chinese and international viewers will see Olympians wear Adidas and then willgo purchase items sold by the company.

Adidas CEO criticises the pro-Tibet demonstrations as an attempt to disrupt the Olympic touch ceremony. I believe it is a good interruption as the world needs to see both negative and positive sides of the Olympics. We need to know what is happening in the world besides what Adidas is selling.

Reflections:

I believe this article had a lot of personal meaning I looked to Adidas as a stand up in the clothing industry. However their lack of care to international conflict such as the Pro-Tibet movement is saddening. Yes, I understand they need to make money but I believe a simple acknowledgement of the issue would have been sufficient as opposed to ignoring the issue all together. The brand is prominent in the retail world and it needs to address even negative publicity in order to stay competitive in the business. In this day and agepeople want to know what the brand stands for in terms of world isses. It is a tough market and any negative publicity could harm even an established brand.