Sportswear companies like Nike and Adidas, have made many products
throughout the world that are very popular and continue to grow in their
reputations of being the top two leading companies in the sports industry. With
many fans for both sports-related companies, the numbers and popularity
continue to rise, and live up to their high admired feedback. According to
Global Market Shares, Nike is sitting at 31%, while Adidas is estimating about
16% of footwear status. The purpose I will be showing in this paper is the
comparison and contrast which include the terms of quality of product(s), the
prices, marketing and advertising.
Nike, Inc., an American corporation originally known as Blue Ribbon
Sports or BRS was founded by Philip Knight, a track athlete at the University
of Oregon, and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. Bowerman, who also
attended the University of Oregon in his early days, and also achieved his
career by winning two gold medals in the 1960’s Summer Olympics; he wanted to
make his own pair of Nike shoes for him, but claimed they were Phil Knight’s,
one of his athletes he was very proud of. By 1974, Nike Inc. was officially
registered and became the new big thing with the millionaire dollar money
slogan of “Just Do it”.
Adidas is a multinational corporation based on European designs and
manufacturers. It was founded in the year of 1948 by a man named Adolf Dassler,
who fought in WW1. After arriving home, he received a position in a porcelain
factory in Nuremberg, Germany. This is where he started to produce his own shoes
and began to work on them in his mother’s wash room, which became a work area
for him until he opened up his own business. “Impossible is nothing” has become
a world-wide known slogan for Adidas, and has made it the second biggest
sportswear manufacturer in the world, following Nike.
Already, Nike and Adidas offer a vast amount of products for customers
who are approached to either gender of sports-wear for men and women. Each
company also proposes a variety of footwear that key in important factors such
as; outdoors, indoors, exercise, casual, and etc. Selling these items, it is a
key focus for Nike to connect with consumers with online and in store
techniques. Whereas Adidas, with a long history of European marketing, it has a
stretched tradition of dominance in its marketplace.
Similar products don’t always mean similar prices. Adidas focuses more on
other options with sponsors for specialized sports and general athletics for
mainly clothing. In contrast, Nike promotes their products by agreements on sponsorship
with professional teams, college athletic teams, and celebrity athletes like
Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan which end up being more expensive due to having
bigger and better advanced technology.
In conclusion, Nike and Adidas have built their way up to being the top
two sportswear corporations in the world, and are both famous sports brand that
will never die down. Spreading like a wild fire, these two sport industries
look for any ways to help expand its sources and range of products to help those
wanting more balance whether in sports or life, and the appetite for more of
it.
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