Business Challenge: How can adidas deepen and maintain the loyalty of today’s generation of Runners against Specialist Running brands (e.g., Brooks, New Balance, ASICs, Hoka) and leading Generalist brand, Nike?
Project Topics
Growth Strategy
Marketing
PR & Communications
Research & Development
Company Information
| Company | Adidas |
| HQ | Herzogenaurach, Bavaria |
| Revenue | 500,000,000+ |
| Employees | 2500+ |
| Stage | Large Enterprise |
| Hiring Potential | N/A |
| Website | https://www.adidas.com/us |
Company Overview
Adidas is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world. It is the holding company for the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, 8.33% of the German football club Bayern München, and Runtastic, an Austrian fitness technology company. Adidas' revenue for 2018 was listed at €21.915 billion.
Experiential Learning Program Details
| School | Montclair State University |
| Engagement Format | Live Case - Think "Hackathon" or Case Competition with a whole class of students! This learning format allows educators to deliver experiential learning to students at scale. Students are often split into groups to work on a live case (or a series of cases) from a real host company that directly relates to key learning objectives. |
| Course | MBA Business Consulting (Spring 2021) |
| Level |
|
| Students Enrolled | 20 (4 groups of 5 students) |
| Meeting Day & Time | TBD |
| Student Time Commitment | 4-7 Hours Per Week |
| Company Time Commitment | 2 Hours |
| Duration | 17.57 Weeks |
Program Timeline
Key Project Milestones
-
February 28, 2021 - Runner Segment Analysis
Learning Objective:
Profile customer segment, purchase preferences, and brand drivers
Guiding Questions:
- What are the key differences in today’s generation of Runners perception of Generalist Running brands (e.g., adidas, Nike) vs. Specialist Running brands (e.g. New Balance, ASICs, Hoka)?
- [Kate, please provide more definition of “today’s generation” in terms of demographics, etc.]
- Are there differences in the customer journey and buying process for Runners purchasing Specialist Running footwear?
- What are the brand loyalty drivers for the Running community?
Suggested Deliverable:
- Milestone 1 Deliverable Report – Runner segment product preferences, buying behaviors/influencers and brand loyalty drivers. Include Customer Journey maps.
- Requested adidas resources
- Target Customer Profiles, Market Segmentation, Industry Sales data
- Client Meeting – Information Gathering/Clarifications (w/o 22 Feb)
- What are the key differences in today’s generation of Runners perception of Generalist Running brands (e.g., adidas, Nike) vs. Specialist Running brands (e.g. New Balance, ASICs, Hoka)?
-
March 22, 2021 - Competitor Assessment
Learning Objective:
Profile leading competitors’ strengths, weaknesses and gaps to be exploited
Required Tactics:
- Conduct In-Depth-Interviews (min of 3) with Runner influencers (coaches, running club leaders, shoe retailers, etc.) to gather additional insights, fill information gaps and validate hypotheses on Runner segment, competitive landscape, etc.
- Conduct a competitive assessment of 3 leading Specialty Running Brands in the US (New Balance, ASICs, Hoka … Kate, please confirm) and develop a SWOT analysis to determine opportunities for adidas to exploit.
- Conduct a SWOT assessment of Nike, the leading US Generalist Running brand, to determine openings for adidas to differentiate its brand and service model with Runners
Suggested Deliverable:
- Milestone 2 Deliverable Report – Competitor assessment of top 3 Specialty Running Brands (New Balance, ASICs, Hoka) and the leading Generalist Running Brand (Nike) – strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for adidas to exploit.
- Requested adidas resources
- Competitive Research & Sales Data, Syndicated Industry Data on Market Trends
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April 5, 2021 - Ideation
Learning Objective:
Drawing on your conclusions in Milestones 1 & 2, Identify ways for adidas to deepen relationships with Runner community, increase sales and brand loyalty.
Guiding Questions:
- What new branding/customer engagement strategies have proved successful in other consumer product categories, and what learnings can be taken from these?
- How can adidas go beyond product with value-added services while still embedding product as a branded consumer experience?
- What could be a disruptive evolution of how Running Footwear brands service & support Running consumers? How would this benefit the brand and the consumer?
Suggested Deliverable:
Milestone 3 Deliverable: Client Presentation (w/o 5 April) – Present top 8-10 ideas, filtering criteria and details on the top 3 ideas to pursue further.
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May 17, 2021 - Final Client Recommendation
Learning Objective:
Articulate recommendation and business rationale
Suggested Deliverable:
Milestone 4 Deliverable: Client Presentation (w/o 17 May) & Report
Report to include:
- Executive Summary (1-2 pages max)
- Problem Statement & Scope of Assignment
- Situational/Competitive Assessment (SWOT’s)
- Options Evaluated (Top 3)
- Recommendation & Business Rationale
- Timelines – highlight milestones, key events
- Budget Required
- Summary/Conclusions
- Works Cited/Referenced
Project Resources
There are no resources currently available
Industry Mentors
There are currently no supervisors assigned.
Academic Mentors
