Adidas is “ready to make a bigger play for the U.S. market” after its major World Cup moment, according to Vicki Young of WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY. The summer tournament “provided another reason for the German brand to be optimistic about its prospects at a time when Nike continues to be in transition.” Although the “Swoosh’s blockbuster World Cup campaign generated huge attention and media impact,” early indications are that Adidas “emerged as the winner on the sales front.” More details should emerge next Thursday, when Adidas reports second-quarter earnings on July 30. Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden said that the brand expects “event-related sales” of around $1.7B. Young wrote it is “a big win for Adidas and a move in the right direction,” given all that it “still has to do in North America to catch up with its biggest competitor, the behemoth known as Nike.” M Science research analyst Drake MacFarlane said that beyond the World Cup, there is “more reason for optimism” for Adidas. In the shoe segment, running also “continues to fuel excitement” for the brand, which “was front and center” when its new super shoe “swept the London Marathon” this spring (WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, 7/20).
3 STRIPES TAKEOVER: DIGIDAY’s Sam Bradley writes Adidas and Nike began the World Cup sponsoring 26 of its participating teams, but following the exits of Nike-backed England and France, Adidas was “gifted an invaluable opportunity in the form of an all-stripes final.” The brand “marked the occasion with a film dubbed ‘La Final’ highlighting its sponsored stars [Spain F] Lamine Yamal and [Argentina F] Lionel Messi.” How the intangible benefits of that exposure “leads to sales remains to be seen.” With Nike’s most recent quarterly earnings published at the end of June, and Adidas’ next tranche not due until the end of this month, we are “left relying on early clues regarding the World Cup’s commercial impact.” Nike CEO Elliott Hill told analysts that the company had “already sold 2.5 times as many soccer kits” by the tournament’s midpoint than it had throughout the entirety of the 2022 event, but Adidas is “expected to edge its American rival.” Furthermore, early ad-spend and social-listening estimates “suggest that, despite being outspent” by Nike, Adidas “followed a different media strategy and enjoyed a stronger mid-tournament return on social” (DIGIDAY, 7/21).