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Reebok - the true long story of sucess

Reebok - the true long story of sucess

The early years – before 1945

Every great story has a beginning. This one started in a small town in Bavaria, Germany. After first steps in his mother’s wash kitchen, Adi Dassler registered the “Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik” in 1924 and embarked on his mission to provide athletes with the best possible equipment. Gold medals in Amsterdam (1928, Lina Radke) and Berlin (1936, Jesse Owens) were first rewards and milestones – and only the start of our story.

Founding father

On August 18, 1949, Adi Dassler started over again at the age of 49, registered the “Adi Dassler adidas Sportschuhfabrik” and set to work with 47 employees in the small town of Herzogenaurach. On the same day, he registered a shoe that included the registration of the soon-to-become-famous adidas 3-Stripes. From humble beginnings to a global success story – which was accelerated by a miracle …

A miracle in Bern

Who would have thought that screw-in-studs on lightweight football boots would help write history? When the German national football team faced the unbeatable Hungarians in the 1954 World Cup final, they won so much more than just a trophy. Their unbelievable victory would be heard around the world for decades to come. And it made adidas and its founder a household name on football pitches everywhere.

Reebok: A brother-to-be, still miles away

Two brothers working together for the best of the athlete. Sounds familiar? Well this story started across the channel, miles away from Herzogenaurach. While adidas continued to grow after its own 1954 miracle, two British men by the names of Joe and Jeff Foster gave their grandfather’s company “J.W. Foster and Sons” (founded in 1895) a new name: Reebok. Keep it in mind for now, we will get back to this later.

Fine feathers make fine birds

What’s in a name? Everything, when you name it after a “Kaiser”. When the Franz Beckenbauer tracksuit model celebrated its debut, it became the first piece of apparel for adidas and opened a whole new business to a company that, so far, was famous for shoes.

The athletes’ trust

How do you consistently earn the trust of world-class athletes through the decades? Produce innovative products that make them better for once. Adi Dassler’s secret to success had an additional personal ingredient: he met with athletes (some of them even as visitors in Herzogenaurach), listened carefully to what they said and constantly observed what can be improved or even invented to support their needs. The best of the best trusted adidas and its founder from the beginning. And that would not change throughout the decades to come.

One ball for all

Footwear for gold medal winners? Check. Apparel for record breakers? Check. Now, how about something to kick with? Consider it done. In 1970, adidas conquered yet another branch of the sporting goods industry, delivering the official ball, TELSTAR, for the 1970 FIFA World Cup™. As the name TELSTAR already tells, the ball was designed to improve visibility on Black and White TV. It was the beginning of a wonderful partnership, with adidas providing the Official Match Ball to every FIFA World Cup™ that followed.

The Trefoil and the Olympic Idea

In 1972, the world turned to Germany when the Olympic Games opened in Munich. Just in time for the event, adidas presented a new logo that was here to stay: the Trefoil. Then, symbolizing performance. Today, the adidas Originals collection stands for lifestyle and street. Times may change, but trefoiled quality will always remain

Becoming a true multi-sports specialist

From Herzogenaurach to the world: the 3-Stripes kept expanding to more and more sports throughout the years. This is reflected in the broad range of athletes who trust adidas to make them better: besides the usual suspects such as the world’s best football players, like the Argentinean national team, outdoor icon Reinhold Messner climbed mountains in adidas shoes and gymnast Nadia Comaneci scored a perfect 10, repeatedly.

A new team member – Salomon joined the gang

Back on the right track, adidas added a new member to its team. With the acquisition of the Salomon Group and its brands Salomon, TaylorMade, Mavic and Bonfire, the company changed its name to adidas-Salomon AG.

Home sweet home

The year the company’s share is admitted to the DAX, comprising Germany’s 30 largest quoted companies, adidas-Salomon AG committed itself to its roots and moved into new headquarters just outside Herzogenaurach. The “World of Sports”, a former US military base turned campus, is constantly renewed, extended and modernized over the following years to house the growing company and its employees.

An innovative leader

Herbert Hainer became the new CEO of adidas-Salomon AG and, with him, the company’s focus went even more to innovation. ClimaCool (2002), adizero (2004) and the F50 football boot, launched just in time for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ in Germany, became market hits – as did the new CEO. Herbert Hainer will lead the company from one record to the next.

New century, new divisions

As the new century started, adidas reinvented the game again. In addition to its sport performance offering, adidas is the first in the industry to introduce a new lifestyle segment, focusing on sports-inspired streetwear. In the years to come, new partnerships with Yohji Yamamoto (2002) and Stella McCartney (2004) were born along with exciting labels such as Y-3 (2003) and Porsche Design Sport (2007).

Finding new teammates

When you are already great, how do you become even better? You keep on training. Or join forces with someone who complements you and your strengths.

In 2011, adidas acquired the outdoor specialist Five Ten, and TaylorMade first the golf company Ashworth in 2009 and then, three years later, the golf equipment company Adams Golf – making the company even stronger for the road ahead.

Creating the New

In March 2015, the next five-year strategic business plan for the company was presented. ‘Creating the New’ is the strategy and attitude that leads adidas into the future. The company is working every day to inspire and enable people to harness the power of sport in their lives. The strategy translates that competence in sports into streetwear and fashion because sport is an attitude and a lifestyle. Everything the company does is rooted in sports. As the brown shoe category was not core to this strategy, 2015 saw the divestiture of the Rockport brand. This allowed the company to reduce complexity and focus on the adidas and Reebok brands. These brands connect with consumers; therefore, their success defines the success of the business. With Creating the New, brands are closer to consumers than ever before. To achieve this, the plan is focused on three strategic choices:

Speed: Become the first true fast sports company – fast in satisfying consumer needs, fast in internal decision-making.
Cities: Six key cities in which to grow share of mind, share of market and share of trend are identified: New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Tokyo, London and Paris.
Open Source: Be the first sports company that invites athletes, consumers and partners to be part of the brands.

LEADER WITH A DIGITAL VISION

After 15 years, Herbert Hainer passed the CEO baton to Kasper Rorsted in October 2016. Transitioning to adidas after leading the German consumer goods company Henkel for eight years, the Dane was well received among employees, media and investors alike. As fashion and sportswear industries continued to revolutionize with health and fitness merging into a lifestyle concept, Rorsted began steering the company to new successes in a digital era, building on the previously established strategy, ‘Creating The New’.

One Response
  1. Reebok and Adidas – the same owner. The same quality and the same price. Why not one brand but two?

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