ANALYSIS REPORT

CUSTOMER SURVEY
We conducted a customer survey to find out the customer preference and why people prefer a
certain brand. Our survey consisted of people in the age group 15-40. Most of them preferred
Nike to Adidas, but felt that Nike was overpriced. Those who preferred Adidas, however
showed great brand loyalty to the brand. We asked them to rate attributes like quality, price,
durability, comfort, style, advertising and innovation on a scale of 10. The results that we
obtained is graphically shown below.

12

10

6 Nike
Adidas

0
Quality Durability Price Comfort Style Advertising Innovation
Marketing Strategies
Both Nike and Adidas are in the maturity stage of the product life cycle. The market is basically
experiencing a slowdown in sales growth because the products have achieved acceptance by
their most potential buyers. Profits are stabilising and declining because of the hyper
competition phenomenon explained earlier. Both Nike and Adidas help athletes perform at the
peak of their ability and this goal continues the drive the brands’ activities today. Both Nike and
Adidas use celebrity and team endorsements as the base for marketing their products. Nike
traditionally sponsors teams and Adidas sponsors individual players.

The overall marketing strategy adopted by both firms is highly researched and successful. They
must keep innovating and achieve profits through high volume and low cost.

Porter’s Generic Strategies

Overall cost leadership
Nike has always been higher priced than Adidas and both of them use this difference against
each other, Nike trying to reiterate its high performance premium stand and Adidas trying to
capture the market with lower prices.

Differentiation
Nike offers its consumers the option to customise their own shoes on its website, a huge
differentiation that Adidas does not have. Nike also has a large array of innovative products,
including the Nike+, in collaboration with Apple. Adidas stands for competing and winning over
yourself attitude, aptly represented by their slogan “Impossible is Nothing”. Nike communicates
a provocative and aggressive winner attitude with their” Just Do It” slogan.

Focus
Nike and Adidas focus on aspiring athletes between the age of 15-35. They also cater to the
needs of people who consider in sport as a way of life and are willing to pay a premium for the
brand value of the products.
CREATING VALUE
Nike and Adidas provide customers the best goods in athletic footwear. They give importance
to comfort, durability and value for money. Nike is known for coming out with innovative
products like Nike+. Adidas on the other hand offers customers the same value but at a
marginally lower cost. Both Nike and Adidas are taking full advantage of the newly expanding
footwear market. They offer discounts during strategic occasions and increase sales. Nike and
Adidas are continuously coming out with new and cutting edge technology which keep up with
the needs of the customers. They provide a brand value and have established themselves in the
market of footwear industry and consumers are proud to be associated with them.

Nike and Adidas have a variety of sports shoes which suit various needs of various customers.
From basketball to gym shoes, they cater to all needs in the athletic shoes industry.

Nike and Adidas are into extensive advertising campaigns which reflect their positioning in the
minds of their customers. Adidas stands for competing and winning over yourself attitude, aptly
represented by their slogan “Impossible is Nothing”. Nike communicates a provocative and
aggressive winner attitude with their” Just Do It” slogan. Both Nike and Adidas use celebrity
and team endorsements as the base for marketing their products. Nike traditionally sponsors
teams and Adidas sponsors individual players.

Capturing Value
Pricing philosophy
The basic pricing philosophy of both brands is dependent upon the quality of the product. A
product with a high degree of innovation also has a higher pricing. Their customers are willing
to pay a higher price for their brand value and the benefits that their products offer.
Considering the higher income of today’s generation and the increasing buying power of
customers both Nike and Adidas have priced their products wisely.

They have been largely successful with recovering the value generated as the market is mostly
receptive to their innovative and advanced products. The younger generation loves the brand
value and are willing to pay a premium price for the products offered. With the increase in
awareness among people about the importance of wearing the right kind of shoes for a
particular sport and the quantum leap in the buying power of customers, the athletic footwear
has been fast growing.

Sustaining Value
According to our survey, both brands have been successful at retaining customers. Adidas has
higher brand loyalty among the two, but Nike’s cutting edge technology enables it to maintain
its customer base. Adidas’s three stripes and the Nike’s swoosh are among the world’s top
logos but the swoosh is dominant in most places.

Both Nike and Adidas are fully exploiting the growing footwear market. Nike is forever trying to
bring out cutting edge technologies and innovative ideas to meet their customers’ growing
needs. Adidas and Nike are competing with each other to gain the “No. 1” position. The
increase in the buying power of the customers has also been fully utilised by both the brands.
They have priced their products with a huge margin that people are willing to pay because of
the brand value associated with them.