“A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
TOWARDS DIFFERENT SPORTS
FOOTWEAR BRANDS”
RESEARCH PROJECT

MAY 30, 2021

PARAS VERMA
18044414
 “A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS
DIFFERENT SPORTS FOOTWEAR
BRANDS”

A PROJECT REPORT
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
DEGREE OF
“BACHELORS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION”
SESSION 2018-2021

Submitted By: Supervised By:

Paras Verma Asst. Prof. Mehek Gulati
BBA-III (B)
5054
18044414

DAV COLLEGE, SECTOR -10 CHANDIGARH.

PANJAB UNIVERSITY

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 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the dissertation entitled “A COMPARATIVE

STUDY ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS DIFFERENT
SPORTS FOOTWEAR BRANDS” is my original work and has not
formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma fellowship or
similar other titles. It is the bonafide work carried out by Paras Verma,
a student of DAV College, Sector -10 Chandigarh during the academic
year 2020-2021, in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the
degree of Bachelor of Business Administration. The report submitted
is done with fulfilment of all requirements needed to complete the work
during the training. My conduct was good during the entire training
period. I was sincere towards my work and did all the study with
thorough understanding and dedication.

Signature:
Name: Paras Verma
University Roll Number: 18044414
College Roll Number: 5054
Date: 17-05-2021

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 PREFACE

Bachelor of Business Administration is a stepping stone to the

Management Career. It is a matter of immense pleasure for me in the
constitution of this project. All efforts had been duly made in order to
incorporate the required and the useful resources into the project. This
project is surely and outcome of sincere hard work and utmost
dedication. This opportunity has been utilized to its fullest to express
my sincere gratitude to the employees of the organization. I feel highly
indebted and thankful to our project advisor “Asst. Prof. Mehek Gulati”
for the completion of this project. This project stresses upon how
different organizations manages competition in this cut throat market.
In order to make the data and findings easily understandable, efforts
have been made to present the information in a more simplified and
organized manner. This project has been very helpful in gaining the
knowledge on various aspects which will be helpful for me in the
future.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is in particular that I am feeling towards my mentors who graciously

gave me their time and expertise. They have provided me with the
valuable guidance, sustained efforts and friendly approach. It would
have been difficult to achieve the results in such a small span of time
without their help. I deem it my duty to record my gratitude towards
the external project supervisor and internal project supervisor ASST.
PROF. MEHEK GULATI who devoted her precious time to interact,
guide and gave me the right approach to accomplish the task also
helped me to enhance my knowledge and understanding of the project.

Paras Verma

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PARTICULARS PAGE NUMBER
1 Executive Summary 06-07
2 Company Profiles
 Adidas
 Nike 08-30
 Reebok
 Decathlon
3 Research Methodology
 Overview
 Definition
 Need of the study
 Objectives
 Research Design
 Data Collection
• Primary Data
• Secondary Data 31-35
 Sampling Factors
• Sample Collection
• Sample Size
• Sample Area
• Sampling
Technique
 Research Tools
 Questionnaire Design

4 Data Analysis and Interpretation 36-60

5 Findings and Suggestions 61-62
6 Limitations 63
7 Bibliography 64
8 Annexure 65-72

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 CHAPTER-1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This project takes a look in various kinds of Merchandising activities,

market share of different shoes and various sales promotion schemes,
which are followed in the shoe industry. The three major players i.e.,
Reebok, Nike and Adidas dominate the sports shoe industry in India.
Decathlon has an emerging trend in the market, given its quality and
pricing it gives a tough competition to the top most brands in the
market. India is one of few battlegrounds in the world where there is
neck-to-neck competition between the three. The companies claim to
be in number one sport coating the data produced by two different
marketing research companies.

In the 1980s, Adidas sneakers became popular amongst teenagers and

young men. The Adidas sneakers were popularized by the Run DMC
song “My Adidas” and became a huge fashion trend. The Tapie affair
the history of the company as presented by its official web site is
incomplete, perhaps because it is indirectly linked to financial scandals.
After a period of serious trouble. The death of Adolf Dassler’s son
Horst Dassler in 1987, the company was bought in 1990 by Bernard
Tapie, for 1.6 billion French francs ($320million), which Tapie
borrowed. Tapie was at the time a famous specialist of rescuing
bankrupt companies, a business on which he built his fortune.

Nike is the world’s #1 manufacturer and marketer of athletic footwear

and apparel. Almost out of the blue, the company established itself as
one of the world’s most familiar brands during the 1980s and 1990s.
As familiar as a coke bottle or Big Mac, the Nike “swoosh” logo came
to symbolize not just sports culture, but street culture, as the appeal of
the star players who endorsed the brand was carried onto city streets.
The approach of the new century set Nike new problems.

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Trainers went out of fashion, economic slowdown and labour problems
hit Asian performance. But the group has bounced back, retaining its
iron grip on the sporting apparel sector and still undisputed lender in
sports-oriented street wear.

Reebok is the world’s third- largest maker of sneakers, athletic shoes

and sport apparel. Goods are sold under the brands Reebok, Rockport
and Greg Norman Collection. Reebok is also the official outfitter of the
NFL and has an exclusive deal to supply NBA jerseys beginning the
season
Reebok announced in 2005 it will merge with German Sporting apparel
company adidas-saloman in a deal valued at @3.8 billion. The merger
completed by the first half of 2008 and created the second-largest
sporting goods company behind Nike with @11billion in revenues.
Adidas maintained its corporate headquarter in Germany and its North
American headquarters in Portland, OR Paul Fireman remained as chief
executive officer of the Reebok international ltd. And continued to lead
the Reebok team. Reebok continued to operate under its name and
retained its headquarters in Canton, MA.
In fiscal 2008, Reebok had net income of @192.4million and sales of
@3.7billion.

Decathlon is a French sporting goods retailer which was founded by

Michel Leclercq in 1976, Decathlon started with a store in Lille,
France. Now, with over 1647 stores in nearly 1000 cities in 57 countries
and regions it is the largest sporting goods retailer in the world.
The company manages the research, design, production, logistics and
distribution of its products in house; partners with global suppliers; and
markets their own brands directly to consumers in Decathlon-branded
big-box stores. The brand’s turnover for the year 2020 was
approximately about 11.4 billion Euros.

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 CHAPTER-2
COMPANY PROFILES

1. ADIDAS
1.1 INTRODUCTION
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,
after Nike. The company was started by Adolf Dassler in his mother's
house; he was joined by his elder brother Rudolf in 1924 under the
name “Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik”.
The three stripes are Adidas' identity mark, having been used on the
company's clothing and shoe designs as a marketing aid. The branding,
which Adidas bought in 1952 from Finnish sports company “Karhu
Sports” for the equivalent of 1,600 euros and two bottles of whiskey,
became so successful that Dassler described Adidas as "The Brand with
Three Stripes".

1.2 HISTORY
The history of Adidas is one of consistently meeting the evolving needs
of the athlete. Focusing more on function and less on fashion, Adidas
strives to provide athletes with shoes that can make a noticeable
difference in their performance. Meeting athlete needs is what makes
Adidas the best. The company Adidas was founded in the early 1920s
as Gebruder Dassler Schuhfabrik, in Herzogenaurach in Germany.
Adolf Dassler designed a pair of sport shoes in 1925 and few years later
he and his brother Rudolph were selling special shoes for tennis players
and began design specific shoes for different sports. The family
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company split in 1948. After the split, Adolf (Adi) Dassler founded
Adidas and his brother Rudolph founded Puma. The three-stripe logo
was designed in 1941 by Adi Dassler and he registered it as a trademark
for Adidas after the split.
The strength of Adidas was its product innovation. Adi Dassler
registered more than seven hundred patents. Adidas began selling its
shoes in the United States after 1968 and in few years the company
dominated the American market. The most important marketing
breakthrough was the active promotion of global sporting events,
especially the Olympics. The connection of Adidas to the Olympics has
a rich heritage. At the 1972 Olympic game in Munich, every official
wore Adidas.
Adidas has 107 subsidiaries in 20 countries, and exports to 160
countries. Activities of the company and its subsidiaries are directed
from Adidas-Salomon AG's headquarters in Herzogenaurach,
Germany.

1.3 PRODUCTS
Adidas - footwear, apparel, and hardware such as bags and balls.
Salomon - Winter sports incl. skis, snowboards, snowblades, ski boots
and bindings, inline skates, hiking, apparel. Mavic -Cycle components,
Bonfire - Snowboard apparel. Arc'Teryx - Outdoor apparel, climbing
equipment, Cliché - Skateboard equipment, footwear and apparel,
Taylor Made-Adidas Golf - Golf equipment, golf apparel, golf shoes
and finally, Maxfli - Golf balls, irons and accessories.

1.4 COMPETITORS
Rudolf Dassler, Adie’s brother, founded a rival company, PUMA the
chief competitors of Adidas are PUMA and NIKE. In August 2005, the
company announced that it had made a deal to acquire rival REEBOK
for$3.8 billion. The acquisition would increase its market share in
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North America and allow it to further compete with Nike. This will
propel Adidas to the number two spot in the foot apparel market behind
Nike. Adidas’ trademark saying is ‘impossible is nothing’.

1.5 ENHANCEMENT
In the 1980s, Adidas sneakers became popular amongst teenagers and
young men. The Adidas sneaker was popularized by the RUN DMC
song “My Adidas” and became a huge fashion trend.
After a period of serious trouble following the death of Adolf
Dasseler’s son Horst Dasseler in 1987, the company was bought in
1990 by Bernard Tapie for 1.6 billion French Frances ($320million),
which Tapie borrowed. Tapie was at the time a famous specialist
rescuing bankrupt companies, a business on which he built his fortune.
Tapie decided to move production offshore to Asia. He also hired
Madonna for promotion.
In 1992, Tapie was unable to pay interest from his loan. He mandated
the Credit Lyonnais bank to sell Adidas, and bank subsequently
converted the outstanding debt owed to equity of the enterprise, which
was unusual for then-current French banking practice. Apparently, the
State-owned bank had tried to get Tapie out of dire financial straits as
a personal favour to Tapie, reportedly because Tapie was a minister of
Urban Affairs in the French government at the time.
February 1993, Credit Lyonnais sold Adidas to Robert Louis Dreyfus,
a friend of Bernard Tapie, for a much higher amount of money than
what Tapie owed 4.485 billion francs rather than 2.85billion.
Forgetting why the bank actually bought Adidas, Tapie later sued the
bank, because he felt spoiled by the indirect sale.
Robert Louis-Dreyfus became the new CEO of the company. He is also
the president of the Olympique de Marseille football team, to which
Tapie is closely linked. Tapie went bankrupt himself in1994. He was

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the object of several lawsuits, notably related to match fixing at the
football club. He spent 6 months in La Santé prison in Paris in 1997.

1.6 POST-TAPIE ERA

In 1997, Adidas AG acquired the Salomon Group, and its corporate
name was changed to Adidas-Salomon AG.
In August 2005, Adidas declared its intention to buy Anglo-American
rival Reebok for US$3.8 billion. This takeover was completed in august
2005 and meant that the company will now have closer business sales
as those of Nike in Northern America. The acquisition of Reebok will
also allow Adidas to compete with Nike Worldwide. World cup 1954
when West Germany miraculously won the soccer 1954 World Cup,
their footwear was supplied by Adidas. These shoes introduced a
technological breakthrough: studs with screws. When weather was
good and pitch was hard, the shoes were equipped with short studs;
when it rained; longer studs were screwed on the bottom of the shoes.
As the final game against the highly-favoured team from Hungary was
played in heavy rain, this gave the German players a firmer hold on the
slippery pitch.

1.7 CELEBRITIES SPONSORED

Celebrities are often involved in advertising campaigns such
as television or print adverts to advertise specific or general
products. Adidas use David Beckham and Lionel Messi as their brand
ambassador and many more celebrities in every region to promote their
product. Adidas already has heavy weight sportsmen such as
Sachin Tendulkar, Leander Paes & Mahesh Bhupathi
endorsing the brand in India. They had the image, apart from
endorsing the performance element in the brand.

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 1.8 ADIDAS IN INDIA
Adidas entered the Indian market in 1996 by setting up a 100%
subsidiary of Adidas AG called Adidas India Ltd. and announced its
joint venture with Magnum International Trading Company Ltd. on
October 1, 1996. The new joint venture – Adidas India Ltd. – was
incorporated with an initial investment of US $ 205 million with Adidas
India Ltd. holding 80% of the equity and Magnum holding the balance
20%. This investment was raised to US $ 6.4 million with the equity
structure remaining the same. Currently, the total investment stands at
US $ 11.4 Million with the equity structure changing to 91.4% by
Adidas and 8.6% by magnum.
Adidas’ Range of Products in India: A month after announcing the joint
venture, Adidas India Ltd. launched its range of sports footwear,
apparel and accessories in New Delhi on November 1, 1996.
Subsequently, Adidas products were also launched in Mumbai,
Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Calcutta. Currently, Adidas
products are available in 30 cities in India.
The range of Adidas products available in India include sports footwear
featuring some of the most popular innovations and technologies
developed by Adidas such as Feet You Wear, Torsion system and Adi-
wear. The sports footwear available in India includes a wide range of
core categories such as adventure, basketball, cricket, golf, indoor,
running, tennis, training, soccer and workout.
Adidas has introduced in India, a wide range of sportswear for both
men and women. These include apparel for athletics, basketball,
cricket, golf, running, soccer, swimming, tennis and training for Men
and women.

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 1.9 BRAND VALUE AND STRATEGY OF ADIDAS
Brand value and strategy of Adidas Ag, a leading producer of sports
apparel. In 2006, Adidas owned another big brand Reebok for more
than 3.5 million dollars.
The brand value of Adidas Ag, the leading leisure wear, sports footwear
and equipment producer across the globe is currently almost 2748
million dollars.
The company's brand name is Adidas and it is displayed with a trefoil
logo. This logo, a very popular one, is a signature of Adidas' brand. It
had been launched in 1972.
The new Adidas logo, three stripes running across its several products,
was introduced in 1991.
In 2006, Adidas acquired the Reebok brand for 3.8 million dollars.
In 2007, Adidas repositioned its Reebok brand to attract the consumers
of athletics apparel. Moreover, the company adopted several plans to
expand its brand name. Adidas has given lot of emphasis on
advertising. The strong brand management has successfully branded
the company over the world.
Adidas has introduced several market campaigning ideas, for example,
the "Run Easy" campaign for the Reebok brand.
After acquisition, the main challenge was to avoid the competition
between the past two rival brands, Reebok, the producer of athletics'
sneaker, and Adidas. But Reebok's brand managers have not only
successfully done that but also, they increased the brand value of both
Reebok and Adidas.

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 2. NIKE
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Nike, Inc. is an American multinational corporation
that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and
worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment,
accessories, and services. The company is headquartered near
Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world's
largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer
of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$37.4 billion in its
fiscal year 2020 (ending May 31, 2020). As of 2020, it employed
76,700 people worldwide. In 2020 the brand alone was valued in excess
of $32 billion, making it the most valuable brand among sports
businesses. Previously in 2017, the Nike brand was valued at $29.6
billion. Nike ranked No. 89 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest
United States corporations by total revenue.
The company was founded on January 25, 1964, as "Blue Ribbon
Sports", by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, and officially became
Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1971. The company takes its name from Nike,
the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own
brand, as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Blazers,
Air Force 1, Nike Dunk, Air Max, Foamposite, Nike Skateboarding,
Nike CR7, and subsidiaries including Jordan Brand and Converse. Nike
also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) from 1995 to
2008, and previously owned Cole Haan, Umbro, and Hurley
International. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment,
the company operates retail stores under the “NIKETOWN” name.
Nike sponsors many high-profile athletes and sports teams around the
world, with the highly recognized trademarks of "Just Do It" and the
“Swoosh” logo.

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 2.2 HISTORY
Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was founded by
University of Oregon track athlete Phil Knight and his coach, Bill
Bowerman, on January 25, 1964. The company initially operated in
Eugene, Oregon as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka
Tiger, making most sales at track meets out of Knight's automobile.
According to Otis Davis, a University of Oregon student athlete
coached by Bowerman and Olympic gold medallist at the 1960
Summer Olympics, his coach made the first pair of Nike shoes for him,
contradicting a claim that they were made for Phil Knight.
In its first year in business, BRS sold 1,300 pairs of Japanese running
shoes grossing $8,000. By 1965, sales had reached $20,000. In 1966,
BRS opened its first retail store at 3107 Pico Boulevard in Santa
Monica, California. In 1967, due to increasing sales, BRS expanded
retail and distribution operations on the East Coast, in Wellesley,
Massachusetts.
By 1971, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka Tiger came to an
end. BRS prepared to launch its own line of footwear, which was
rebranded as Nike, and would bear the Swoosh newly designed by
Carolyn Davidson. The Swoosh was first used by Nike on June 18,
1971, and was registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on
January 22, 1974.
In 1976, the company hired John Brown and Partners, based in Seattle,
as its first advertising agency. The following year, the agency created
the first "brand ad" for Nike, called "There is no finish line", in which
no Nike product was shown. By 1980, Nike had attained a 50% market
share in the U.S. athletic shoe market, and the company went public in
December of that year.
It was agency co-founder Dan Wieden who coined the now-famous
slogan "Just Do It" for a 1988 Nike ad campaign, which was chosen by
Advertising Age as one of the top five ad slogans of the 20th century
and enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution. Walt Stack was featured
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in Nike's first "Just Do It" advertisement, which debuted on July 1,
1988. Wieden credits the inspiration for the slogan to "Let's do it", the
last words spoken by Gary Gilmore before he was executed.
Throughout the 1980s, Nike expanded its product line to encompass
many sports and regions throughout the world. In 1990, Nike moved
into its eight-building World Headquarters campus in Beaverton,
Oregon. The first Nike retail store, dubbed Niketown, opened in
downtown Portland in November of that year.
In October 2019, John Donahoe was announced as the next CEO, and
succeeded Parker on January 13, 2020. In November 2019, the
company stopped selling directly through Amazon, focusing more on
direct relationships with customers.

2.3 PRODUCTS
Nike produces a wide range of sports equipment. Their first products
were track running shoes. They currently also make shoes, jerseys,
shorts, cleats, base layers, etc. for a wide range of sports, including
track and field, baseball, ice hockey, tennis, association football
(soccer), lacrosse, basketball, and cricket. Nike Air Max is a line of
shoes first released by Nike, Inc. in 1987. Additional product lines were
introduced later, such as Air Huarache, which debuted in 1992. The
most recent additions to their line are the Nike 6.0, Nike NYX, and
Nike SB shoes, designed for skateboarding. Nike has recently
introduced cricket shoes called Air Zoom Yorker, designed to be 30%
lighter than their competitors'. In 2008, Nike introduced the Air Jordan
XX3, a high-performance basketball shoe designed with the
environment in mind.
Nike sells an assortment of products, including shoes and apparel for
sports activities like association football, basketball, running, combat
sports, tennis, American football, athletics, golf, and cross training for
men, women, and children. Nike also sells shoes for outdoor activities
such as tennis, golf, skateboarding, association football, baseball,
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American football, cycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic
activities, auto racing, and other athletic and recreational uses. Nike
recently teamed up with Apple Inc. to produce the Nike+ product that
monitors a runner's performance via a radio device in the shoe that links
to the iPod nano. While the product generates useful statistics, it has
been criticized by researchers who were able to identify users' RFID
devices from 60 feet (18 m) away using small, concealable intelligence
motes in a wireless sensor network.

2.4 ENHANCEMENT
Nike has acquired and sold several apparel and footwear companies
over the course of its history. Its first acquisition was the upscale
footwear company Cole Haan in 1988, followed by the purchase of
Bauer Hockey in 1994. In 2002, Nike bought surf apparel company
Hurley International from founder Bob Hurley. In 2003, Nike paid
US$309 million to acquire sneaker company Converse. The company
acquired Starter in 2004 and soccer uniform maker Umbro in 2007.
In order to refocus its business lines, Nike began divesting itself of
some of its subsidiaries in the 2000s. It sold Starter in 2007 and Bauer
Hockey in 2008. The company sold Umbro in 2012 and Cole Haan in
2013.As of 2020, Nike owns only one subsidiary: Converse Inc.
In February 2021, Nike acquired Datalogue, a New York based
company focused on digital sales and machine learning technology.

2.5 CELEBRITIES SPONSORED

In the early 1990s Nike made a strong push into the
association football business making endorsement deals
with famous and charismatic players such as Romario, Eric
Cantona or Edgar Davids. They continued the growth in
the sport by signing more top players including: Ronaldo,
Ronaldinho, Francesco Totti, Thierry Henry, Didier
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Drogba, Andrés Iniesta, Wayne Rooney and still have many of the
sport's biggest stars under their name, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan
Ibrahimović, Neymar, Harry Kane, Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappé
among others.
Nike has been the official kit sponsor for the Indian cricket team
since 2005.
A news report originating from CNN reported that Nike spent
$11.5 billion, nearly a third of its sales, on marketing and
endorsement contracts in the year 2018. Nike and its Jordan brand
sponsored 85 men's and women's basketball teams in the NCAA
tournament.

2.6 NIKE IN INDIA

Nike India Private Limited is an unlisted private company incorporated
on 17 August, 2004. It is classified as a private limited company and is
located in Bangalore, Karnataka. Its authorized share capital is INR
609.56 cr and the total paid-up capital is INR 609.51 cr.
Nike India Private Limited's operating revenues range is Over INR 500
cr for the financial year ending on 31 March, 2020. It's EBITDA has
decreased by -26.58 % over the previous year. At the same time, it's
book net worth has increased by 157.64 %.
The company has 3 directors and 1 reported key management
personnel.
The longest serving director currently on board is Sanjay
Gangopadhyay who was appointed on 28 September, 2015. Sanjay
Gangopadhyay has been on the board for more than 5 years. The most
recently appointed director is Vivek Mohata, who was appointed on 09
May, 2019.
Vivek Mohata has the largest number of other directorships with a seat
at a total of 3 companies. In total, the company is connected to 2 other
companies through its directors.
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 2.7 BRAND VALUE AND STRATEGY OF NIKE
In June 2018, Nike announced it would initiate a $15 billion share
buyback over four years, to begin in 2019 upon completion of the
previous buyback program.
For the fiscal year 2018, Nike reported earnings of US$1.933 billion,
with an annual revenue of US$36.397 billion, an increase of 6.0% over
the previous fiscal cycle. Nike's shares traded at over $72 per share, and
its market capitalization was valued at over US$114.5 billion in
October 2018.
In March 2020, Nike reported a 5% drop in Chinese sales associated
with stores' closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It was the first
decrease in six years. At the same time, the company's online sales grew
by 36% during Q1 of 2020. Also, the sales of personal training apps
grew by 80% in China.
n 1982, Nike aired its first three national television ads, created by
newly formed ad agency Wieden+Kennedy (W+K), during the
broadcast of the New York Marathon. The Cannes Advertising Festival
has named Nike its Advertiser of the Year in 1994 and 2003, making it
the first company to receive that honour twice.
Nike also has earned the Emmy Award for best commercial in 2000
and 2002. The first was for "The Morning After," a satirical look at
what a runner might face on the morning of January 1, 2000, if every
dire prediction about the Y2K problem came to fruition. The second
was for a 2002 spot called "Move," which featured a series of famous
and everyday athletes in a variety of athletic pursuits.
Nike was an early adopter of internet marketing, email management
technologies, and using broadcast and narrowcast communication
technologies to create multimedia marketing campaigns.

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 3. REEBOK
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Reebok International Limited is an English-American footwear and
clothing company that has been a subsidiary of German sporting goods
giant Adidas since August 2005. Reebok produces and distributes
fitness, running and CrossFit sportswear including clothing and
footwear. It is the official footwear and apparel sponsor for CrossFit,
and Spartan Race.
In 1958, Reebok was established as a companion company to J.W.
Foster and Sons, founded in 1895 in Bolton, Lancashire, England. From
1958 until 1986, Reebok clothing featured the Union Flag to signify the
company's British origins.
The company's global headquarters are located in Boston,
Massachusetts, U.S., with regional offices in Amsterdam, Montreal,
Hong Kong, and Mexico City.
In November 2016, Reebok announced it would be moving its
headquarters from the Boston suburb of Canton to the innovation and
design building in the seaport district of South Boston. The reasons for
the move, according to the company, were to be located in an urban
environment that is more desirable to millennial workers and to “clarify
the roles” of United States offices. The move was completed in fall of
2018.

3.2 HISTORY
3.2.1 EARLY HISTORY
In 1895, Joseph William Foster at the age of 14 started
work in his bedroom above his father's sweetshop in
Bolton, England, and designed some of the earliest
spiked running shoes. After his ideas progressed, he
founded his business 'J.W. Foster' in 1900, later he
joined with his sons and changed the company name
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 to J.W. Foster and Sons. Foster opened a small factory
called Olympic Works, and gradually became famous
among athletes for his "running pumps". For
pioneering the use of spikes, the company's
revolutionary running pumps appear in the book,
Golden Kicks: The Shoes that changed Sport. The
company began distributing shoes across the Union
Jack flag which were worn by British athletes They
were made famous by 100m Olympic champion
Harold Abrahams (who would be immortalized in the
Oscar winning film Chariots of Fire) in the 1924
Summer Olympics held in Paris.

3.2.2 1980s–1990s
In 1982, Reebok debuted the Reebok Freestyle
aerobics shoe, the first athletic shoe designed for
women. The following year, Reebok's sales were $13
million.
The company began expanding from tennis and
aerobics shoes to running and basketball throughout
the mid to late 1980s, the largest segments of the
athletic footwear industry at the time. Fireman bought
the English-based parent company in 1984. In
addition to its IPO, the brand will conquer tennis with
the Newport Classic, popularized by Boris Becker and
John Mc Enroe, and the Revenge Plus, better known
today under its name Reebok Club C.

3.2.3 2000s–PRESENT
Reebok signed Venus Williams after she won singles
titles at Wimbledon and the 2000 Summer Olympics.
In December 2000, Reebok signed a 10-year licensing
agreement with the NFL for the exclusive rights to
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 manufacture and sell NFL licensed merchandise,
including uniforms and footwear, for all 32 teams.
In 2001, Reebok became the exclusive apparel
outfitter for the 29 teams in the NBA, and 16 WNBA
teams for ten years beginning in the 2004–2005
season. Reebok moved most of its hockey equipment
lines to CCM after 2015. In 2017, Adidas sold CCM
to a Canadian private equity firm, Birch Hill Equity
Partners, for around $100 million.

3.2.4 ADIDAS ACQUISITION

Following an intellectual property lawsuit in August
2005, Adidas acquired Reebok as a subsidiary, uniting
two of the largest sport outfitting companies, but
maintaining operations under their separate brand
names. Adidas acquired all of the outstanding Reebok
shares and completed the deal valued at $3.8 billion.
Following the acquisition, Adidas replaced Reebok as
the official uniform supplier for the NBA in 2006 with
an 11-year deal that includes the WNBA, replica
jerseys, and warm-up gear.

3.3 PRODUCTS
Reebok designs, manufactures, distributes and sells fitness, running
and CrossFit sportswear including clothing and footwear. The clothing
line includes t-shirts, hoodies and pants among other items. The brand
has also collaborated with other companies to produce fitness
equipment and workouts.
The company has released numerous notable styles of footwear
including the 1982 introduction of the Reebok Freestyle that was
manufactured and marketed for women. In 1984, the shoe accounted

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for more than half of the Reebok sales. Following the aerobics trend
from the 1980s to early 1990s, Reebok also released workout programs
called Reebok Step beginning in 1989. The brand also introduced one
of their most signature shoes, The Reebok Pump. The footwear
collection was released as a men's basketball shoe and the world's first
fully adjustable fit controlled with manual air allocation.
The Reebok Ventilator, a line of lightweight athletic shoes with vented
side panels, was first introduced in 1990. In 1996, Reebok signed a $50
million endorsement deal with Allen Iverson when he signed with the
Philadelphia 76ers. Iverson collaborated with Reebok during his
contract to create the second-longest running basketball shoe line in
history, beginning with the Question shoe in 1996 and ending with
Answer XIV.
In 2017, the UFC announced the launch of a new collection under the
name Fight Night Collection that includes an upgraded version of the
Reebok-branded apparels.
In 2018, Victoria Beckham being a long-term design partner with
Reebok launched her first collection inspired by Shaquille O'Neal.

3.4 ENHANCEMENT
Following an intellectual property lawsuit in August 2005, Adidas
acquired Reebok as a subsidiary, uniting two of the largest sport
outfitting companies, but maintaining operations under their separate
brand names. Adidas acquired all of the outstanding Reebok shares and
completed the deal valued at $3.8 billion. Following the acquisition,
Adidas replaced Reebok as the official uniform supplier for the NBA
in 2006 with an 11-year deal that includes the WNBA, replica jerseys,
and warm-up gear.
Reebok named Paul Harrington president and CEO of the company in
January 2006, replacing Paul Fireman who was acting president since

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2004. Harrington joined the company in 1994 and was Reebok's senior
vice president of global operations and chief supply chain officer.
In 2010, Reebok announced a partnership with CrossFit, a fitness
company and competitive fitness sport, including sponsoring the
CrossFit Games, opening CrossFit studios, and introducing a line of co-
branded footwear and apparel for Fall 2011. In 2011, Reebok debuted
the CrossFit delta symbol on the brand's fitness apparel line. Around
that time, Reebok, as it slowly began to lose its contracts to make sports
uniforms and apparel to professional sports leagues and college teams
(its last uniform rights contract, with the NHL, ended in 2017) began
repositioning itself as a largely fitness-oriented brand, just as it had
been during the 1980s and early 1990s.
In 2013, Reebok announced another fitness partnership with Les Mills,
a group fitness and team training program in eighty countries in more
than 20,000 studios. The agreement included Reebok footwear and
clothing integration into Les Mills' fitness programs and media
marketing. By July 2013, the red delta sign began showing up on all of
Reebok's fitness collections. The brand announced it was phasing out
the vector logo and replacing it with the delta sign, making it the
company's second logo change in more than 120 years. The delta
symbol represents the three pillars of positive self-change including
mental, physical and social, as Reebok increases its presence in the
fitness industry with yoga, dance, aerobics and CrossFit.

3.5 CELEBRITIES SPONSORED

Reebok has been partnering with some of the world’s most
talented athletes and celebrities since the 1990s when they
signed golfer Greg Norman and created the Greg Normand
Collection. Then in 2003 Rebook made history by signing
Jay-Z, the first non-athlete to score a deal for a line of
sneakers from an athletic shoe company.

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Through the years Reebok has launched many campaigns featuring not
only top athletes but music and film icons too. Some of these celebrities
include: 50 Cent, Daddy Yankee, Allen Iverson, Yao Ming,
Donovan McNabb, Kelly Holmes, Curt Schilling, Scarlett
Johansson, Casillas, Stevie Williams, Christina Ricci, Lucy
Lui, John Leguizamo, Lewis Hamilton, MS Dohni and
Nicole Vaidisova.
Reebok has maintained long partnerships with some of their endorsers
as well as creating new ones. Other Reebok endorsers are Erin
Andrews, Kelly Brooks, John Wall, Chad Ocho Cinco (also known as
Chad Johnson), Thierry Henry, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Andy
Pettitte, Tim Lincecum, Sidney Crosby, Shane Mosley, Alexander
Ovechkin, Ryan Giggs, David Ortiz and Swizz Beatz.

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 4. DECATHLON
4.1 INTRODUCTION
Decathlon S.A. is a French sporting goods retailer. With over 1647
stores in nearly 1000 cities in 57 countries and regions (Jan 2020), it is
the largest sporting goods retailer in the world.
The company manages the research, design, production, logistics and
distribution of its products in house; partners with global suppliers; and
markets their own brands directly to consumers in Decathlon-branded
big-box stores.
As of January 2020, Decathlon operated 1,647 Decathlon stores
worldwide in nearly 1,000 cities and 57 countries.
Online delivery has been introduced in Australia, Bangladesh,
Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong
Kong SAR, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mainland
China, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore,
Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, and recently, Egypt,
Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and parts of Canada (Ontario & Quebec).
In India, Decathlon products may be purchased directly through their
stores, subsequent to change in India's FDI policy and approval for
Decathlon in February 2013. In addition to this, Decathlon products are
also available online through their online resellers.

4.2 HISTORY
Founded by Michel Leclercq in 1976, Decathlon started with a store in
Lille, France.[7] Its holding company was formerly known as Oxylane.
The company expanded abroad a decade later: to Germany in 1986,
Spain in 1992, Italy in 1993, Belgium in 1997, Portugal, the United
Kingdom in 1999, Brazil in 2001, China in 2003, India in 2009, Taiwan
in 2012, Hong Kong in 2013, Malaysia and Singapore in 2016, South
Africa, Philippines and Indonesia in 2017 and South Korea, Australia
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in 2018. The company employs more than 87,000 staff from 80
different nationalities.
The retailer stocks a wide range of sporting goods, from tennis rackets
to advanced scuba diving equipment, usually in large, big-box
superstores averaging 4,000m2 in size. Decathlon Group markets its
products under more than 20 brands. Its research and development
facilities are located across France, where the company develops its
product designs, registering up to 40 patents per year.

4.3 PRODUCTS
Decathlon is vertically integrated, designing and developing its own
products and marketing under its more than 20 brands, with each
sport—and often sub-sports and sports groups—having their own
brand. For example:

BRAND SPORT CONCERNED

Aptonia Nutrition and Triathlon
Kiptsa Football
FLX Cricket
Artengo Tennis
B'Twin Cycling
Caperlan Fishing
Domyos Fitness Cardio
Kalenji Running

4.4 ENHANCEMENT
Its success has greatly contributed to the decline of independent
retailers in France, while the spread of its own brands has caused great
difficulties for traditional manufacturers. 2008 was a record year for
the company as the brand Decathlon had beaten all its competitors on

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three key points: margin, market share, and highest turnover per square
meter of retail space. It is arguably the third at a global level. A 2008
survey of 774 catchment areas at the request of the Ministry of
Economy and Finance shows that "for sporting goods, Decathlon is
dominant in 92.8% of zones". This dominant position has the effect of
marginalizing its commercial competitors, including independent
retailers.
Decathlon claims to follow a strict policy when it comes to employee
welfare and that all contractors working with Decathlon follow the
Human Responsibility in Production (HRP) process in all activities.
The HRP designates the management system and resources
implemented by Decathlon relative to workplace conditions at
production sites and with suppliers.
Since 2003, Decathlon has adopted a social charter of the Social and
Environmental Responsibility World Forum regarding human rights,
health and safety, respect for the environment, corruption and
management and communication.

4.5 COMPETITION
In 2009, Decathlon's sector rivals, Go Sport [fr] and Sport 2000 [fr],
joined forces to set up a common purchasing centre in Switzerland,
intended to "pressurize most of the major international suppliers",
according to François Neukirsh, Managing Director of Go Sport, in the
newspaper Les Échos. Otherwise, the company does not have
significant competition due to their specific target audience in mass-
market retail. Intersport is also a major competitor mainly in European
market.

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 4.6 CELEBRITIES SPONSORED
No celebrity endorsement, no big posters publicity,
publicity costs are strictly controlled in the turnover of
1%, almost no advertising investment, only by word of
mouth, can be widely known, this is really
unthinkable, and Decathlon has such magic. The brand
recognizes its staff as the real influencers.

4.7 BRAND VALUE AND STRATEGY OF

DECATHLON
For the first 25 years, the retailer focused on growing its business in the
European market like Spain, Germany, Italy, and Portugal. As the
world entered the 21st century, Decathlon decided to enter the Asian
market by opening its first store in China (2003) and India (2009).
Decathlon has a unique business model – they design, test,
manufacture, and retail their own brands. Their research and
development team employs 700 people that work meticulously on new
products and new designs of existing products. Every year, the retailer
churns out about 2,800 products on an average.
At present, they have just under 30 private labels – each dedicated to
one sport or physical activity. These passion brands have their own
identity in the market. For example, Quechua is their hiking, camping,
and outdoor gear brand. The Kalenji range is designed for running and
Wed’Ze is for skiing enthusiasts.
The low prices, in fact, pose the biggest challenge for the company.
Years of conditioning makes it difficult for consumers to see value in
products that are available at low prices because they associate
premium prices with premium quality and vice versa.
The unique business model of Decathlon with its own private labels,
R&D unit, supply chain, and sales channels has enabled the company
to evade middlemen and distributors. The company also doesn’t
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believe in increasing marketing spends and pouring money into
sponsorships.
This is Decathlon’s mantra to success and key to profitability. And
competitors believe that this is the reason why the company has scaled
the heights of success. But once you start peeling away the layers,
Decathlon’s real appeal and strength come to the surface.
The company focuses on beginners, unlike other premium brands who
design their products for experts and price it accordingly. Decathlon
has been moving from one country to another with an aim to make
sports accessible and inclusive for all. Their main target group is the
beginners; the ones that can be converted into lifetime customers.
The French sporting goods retailer ended 2019 with a revenue of 12.4
billion euros (13.3 billion dollars), 9% more than the previous year. The
growth is derived from the recovery of its main market, France, where
the groups business had dropped 5% last year.
This year, Decathlon’s revenues in France experienced a 3% increase,
although the French company does not specify how much the parent
contributes to the group. The unexpected decline in the fiscal year of
2018 conditioned the results on a global level, which revealed to be its
slowest growth of the whole decade and, for the first time, it did so
below double digits (+ 5%).

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 CHAPTER-3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Planning provides a framework within which the goals of research are
to be achieved. It facilitates the smooth sailing of the various research
operations thereby, making it as efficient as possible, yield maximal
information with minimal expenditure of efforts, time and money. The
plan and procedure of any research study is bound up with its purpose.
To carry out this research study, a systematic model and procedure was
adopted. By methodology we mean the selection of the relevant data,
applying appropriate research tools and techniques for analysis,
scientific investigation of the problem. The content of this section deals
with method and procedure of the study. Data was collected with the
help of structured questionnaire.

2. DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM

The first step in research is the formulation of a research problem. It is
the most important stage in applied research since poorly defined
problem will not lead useful results. It is rightly said, “A well-defined
problem is half solved”. A poorly defined problem causes confusion
and does not allow the researcher to develop a good research design.

3. NEED OF THE STUDY

• To determine the growth direction of sport shoes industry.
• Customer perception will be taken into consideration about.

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 4. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
• To study about the factors that affects the customer satisfaction
in terms of sports shoes.
• To know about the current and future prospects in this market
segment.
• To find out the major problems faced by the customers while
choosing the right shoe and of the right brand.
• To understand what differentiates between the major brands.
• To understand what really convinces a customer to go for a
branded sport shoe.
• To identify the approach of the people regarding various branded
sports shoes.
• To study which branded shoe is mostly preferred by people as per
their choices.
• To find out the factors which influence the people at the time of
making the purchase decision of such sports shoes. Some factors
are: Quality, Durability, Color, Price, Shape, Sole, Comfort
and Use in sports.

5. RESEARCH DESIGN
To design is to plan, that is, designing is a process of deliberate
anticipation directed towards bringing an expected situation under
control. It is an arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis
of data in a manner that combines relevance to the research purpose
with economy in procedure. All research involves the elements of
observations, description and the analysis of what happens under
certain circumstances. The present study is designed to investigate ‘A
Comparative Study on Consumer Behaviour Towards Different Sports
Footwear Brands’. In order to study the stated relationships, the
descriptive- survey method of investigation is used. In the light of the
facts, the present study is descriptive in the sense that it aimed at
describing the nature and distribution of the variables. The research
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study is a survey, as it has definite objectives, planning analysis and
interpretation.

6. METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

The study is based on primary data. Primary data for research was
collected with the help of self-administered questionnaire that was
especially designed to achieve the study objectives. Data collection was
done over a period of one month. Respondents were selected randomly
from in and around the Tri-city. The questionnaire was shared among
those people who keenly interested in shoes and know their shoes really
well.

6.1 PRIMARY DATA

The primary data is considered to be fresh hand data that is collected to
know about the objective of the study. Here in this project the primary
data is collected in the form of questionnaire. The primary data for this
study is collected with the objective in mind “A Comparative Study on
Consumer Behaviour Towards Different Sports Footwear Brands”.

6.2 SECONDARY DATA

The secondary data for the study is collected with the information that
is being published in magazines, journals and from the internet. The
various kinds of information regarding the study are collected from
various websites that are referred in reference section.

7. SAMPLING FACTORS
7.1 SAMPLE COLLECTION
Sample collection of the data is the valuable data that is used for the
analysis and interpretation through which a result can be brought out
for the purpose of the study. The data required for the study is collected
with the help of questionnaire. These questionnaires are shared with

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different users through the direct link of filling the google forms and
asked to get it filled up. That data is interpreted from the information
that is incurred from the questionnaire.

7.2 SAMPLE SIZE

Sample size is considered to be the quantity of data has been collected
for the study. Due to the limitation of time and scope of the study the
number of respondents from which the data is collected is 106. The
sample size will be covering customers of different profiles viz. gender,
age, qualification, occupation. Such categorization is done to attain the
most accurate result that is required for the study.

7.3 SAMPLE AREAS

Sample area is considered the location where the study has been
conducted. The location may comprise of certain boundaries which the
researcher would have been able to easily cover up for the study.
Sample area means area in which research is conducted. I have covered
in and around the Tri-city (digitally) for conducting the survey.

7.4 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

Sampling technique is incumbent on the researcher to clearly define the
target population. The technique I use in this project is convenient
sampling, Convenience sampling (also known as grab sampling,
accidental sampling, or opportunity sampling) is a type of non-
probability sampling that involves the sample being drawn from that
part of the population that is close to hand.

8. Research Tools Used

For the present study measures of central tendency tools such as
frequency distribution and percentage are used.

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 9. Questionnaire Design
The questionnaire was filled by respondents. These questions are filled
by age group of under 18 to above 30 years. Questionnaire based on “A
Comparative Study on Consumer Behaviour Towards Different Sports
Footwear Brands”. The questions were categorized according to
satisfaction level and the factors influencing the customers while using
sport shoes of different brands. The questions included are open ended
and multiple-choice questions.

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 CHAPTER-4
DATA ANALYSIS
&
INTERPRETATION

1. AGE GROUP

INTERPRETATION

72.6% of the total customers for the branded sports shoes belong
to the age group of 18-25 years whereas the age groups of 25-30,
30-40, 40+ combined comprise of 27.4%.
It is evident from the above graph that youth is more oriented
towards the purchase of branded sports shoes.
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2. RESIDENCE

INTERPRETATION

It is evident from the above graph that 33% of the people belong
to Chandigarh, 21.7% to Zirakpur, 16% to Panchkula whereas
15.1% to Mohali. 14.2% do not belong to the vicinity of Tri-city.

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3. SHOE PREFRENCE

INTERPRETATION

It is crystal clear from the data collection that 48.1% of the people
prefer to wear sports shoes. 35.8% go for a casual shoe whereas
only 11.3% prefer wearing formal shoes.

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4. USE OF SPORTS SHOES (FREQUENCY).

INTERPRETATION
 50.9% people wear sports shoes on a daily basis.
 17.9% wear them only on weekends.
 17.9% wear them only once a week.
 13.2% wear them twice a week.

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5. RECENT PURCHASE

INTERPRETATION

Only 5.7% people didn’t purchase any sports shoes in the past 6
months whereas the people who did preferred Nike the most
(27.4%).
23.6% purchased sports shoes from Decathlon, 18.9% from some
other brands, 15.1% from Adidas and a mere of 9.4% from
Reebok.
It is evident that Nike is the most favourable brand followed by
Decathlon.

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6. DID THEY REPEAT THEIR PREVIOUS
PURCHASE?

INTERPRETATION

It is visible from the graph that 66% people preferred buying

shoes from the same brand they usually buy. Only 33% tried a
new brand.

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7. WHAT INFLUENCED PEOPLE TO SWITCH
BRANDS?

INTERPRETATION
 34.9% People switched brands due to the change in trend.
 32.1% were influenced by the price.
 32.1% didn’t switch brands.
 19.8% switched due to the promotions or discounts a certain
brand was offering.
 12.3% switched due to a bad experience from their past
shoe.
 8.5% people were influenced by their peers.

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8. PURPOSE FOR USING SPORTS SHOES?

INTERPRETATION
 32.1% people use them for different sports activities.
 28.3% use them for running.
 21.7% use them in the gyms.
 3.8% even use them for trekking.
 14.2% use them for different other activities.

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9. HOW MUCH DO YOU CARE ABOUT BRANDS
WHILE BUYING SPORTS SHOES?

ITERPRETATION
 44.3% people strongly care about their shoes.
 36.8% people sometimes care about their shoes.
 17.9% don’t care about their shoes.
 0.9% people limit their purchases due to price and style.

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10. DO YOU BUY ONLY BRANDED SPORTS
SHOES?

INTERPRETATIONS
 46.2% prefer buying branded sports shoes only, brand over
everything.
 36.8% people prefer buying branded sports shoes only when
quality is important for them.
 6.6% people consider the price before buying branded
sports shoes.
 5.7% people barley care about what brand they are wearing.
 Whereas, only 4.7% prefer buying branded shoes once in a
blue moon.

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11. PEOPLE CHOOSE BRANDED SPORTS SHOES
BECAUSE?

INTERPRETATION
 68.9% people prefer branded sports shoes because they
consider them of better quality.
 19.8% people find branded sports shoes attractive.
 6.6% people buy them because they can buy them.
 The rest either don’t buy branded shoes or they are
dependent upon their family for it.

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12. WHICH ATTRIBUTES ACCORDING TO
PEOPLE MAKE A GOOD BRAND?

INTERPRETATION
 According to people, 76.4% consider quality as main factor
for the determination of a good brand.
 10.4% consider that competitive pricing makes a good
brand.
 5.7% consider that the way of promotion by a brand makes
it a good brand.
 5.7% consider a brand good only when it provides
discounts.
 0.9% consider that freebies are an important factor for the
determination of a good brand.
 0.9% don’t really care about brands.

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13. DO YOU BELIEVE IN BRANDS THAT ARE
ENDORSED BY YOUR FAVORITE
CELEBRITIES?

INTERPRETATION
 44.3% don’t care about the brands that are being endorsed
by their favorite celebrities.
 31.1% are unsure about it. They are maybe influenced by
their favorite celebrities or maybe not.
 24.5% are definitely influenced by their favorite celebrities.

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14. HOW PEOPLE RATE THE ATTRIBUTES
WHILE CHOSING SHOES?

INTERPRETATIONS
I. BRAND
 25.47% don’t care about the brand.
 8.5% barely care about the brand.
 22.6% somewhat care about brands.
 21.7% give importance to the brand.
 21.7% are highly oriented towards the
brand.

II. COMFORT
 45.28% gave 5 points to comfort
 23.58% gave 4 points to comfort
 11.32% gave 3 points to comfort
 6.60% gave 2 points to comfort
 13.20% really don’t care about comfort
and gave 1 point to it.

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III. DURABILITY
 37.74% people really care about the
durability of their shoes.
 21.70% people mostly care about
durability.
 15.09% people are kind of neutral in this
field.
 9.43% people do not care a lot.
 16.03% people do not care at all about
durability.

IV. FUNCTION
 17.92% people buy only after looking at
the function of the shoes.
 30.19% people mostly buy according to
the function of the shoes.
 14.15% are neutral in this case.
 18.86% don’t really care about the
function of the shoes.
 18.86% don’t care about the function of
the shoes at all.

V. FASHION
 24.53% people are fashion oriented when
it comes to shoes.
 22.64% people are mostly fashion oriented
but can compromise.
 20.75% people are neutral when it comes
to fashion.
 10.38% people sometimes care about
fashion.
 21.70% people don’t care about fashion
when it comes to sports shoes.

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 VI. PRICE
 27.36% people consider the price before
buying shoes.
 27.36% people somewhat care about the
price before buying shoes.
 16.98% are neutral when it comes to
price.
 11.32% people do not really care about
the price before buying the shoes.
 16.98% people don’t care about the
price. Other factors affect their purchase.

VII. QUALITY
 47.17% people consider quality as the most
important factor before buying the shoes.
 21.70% people prefer buying shoes of good
quality.
 10.38% are neutral in this case.
 3.77% people care less about the quality of
their shoes.
 16.98% people don’t care at all about the
quality of their shoes.

VIII. PERFORMANCE
 32.08% people prefer buying a shoe with
the best performance.
 26.42% people prefer buying the shoe with
a good performance.
 12.26% people are neutral when it comes to
performance of the shoe.
 8.49% people sometimes care about the
performance of the shoe.
 20.75% don’t care about the performance.

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IX. RELIABILITY
 26.42% people are oriented towards the
reliability of the shoe.
 27.36% people consider it important.
 15.09% are neutral in this case.
 11.32% people care too less about this
factor.
 19.81% people don’t really care about
the reliability of a shoe.

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15. BRAND PREFERENCE ACCORDING TO
SOME ATTRIBUTES.

INTERPRETATIONS

Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Decathlon and other brands were kept into
consideration while asking this question. The results are as
follows:

I. STYLISH
140 Responses were recorded in
this field. The results are as
follows:
 37.14% people find Nike
as the most stylish brand.
 22.14% people find Adidas
as very stylish.
 12.86% people find Reebok as stylish.
 15.71% people find shoes from Decathlon as stylish.
 12.14% prefer shoes from other brands available in the
market.

II. TRENDY/FASHIONABLE
147 opinions were noted in this
field. The results are as follows:
 23.81% people find Nike as
trendy and fashionable.
 32.65% people find Adidas as
trendier and more
fashionable.
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  16.33% people find Reebok as trendier and more
fashionable.
 14.96% people find Decathlon as trendier and more
fashionable.
 12.24% find other brands as trendier and more
fashionable.

III. YOUTHFUL
151 responses were recorded in
this question. The results are as
follows:
 29.80% people find Nike
shoes as a symbol for youth.
 21.85% people find Adidas
as youthful.
 16.56% people find Reebok shoes youthful.
 19.20% people consider shoes from decathlon youthful.
 12.58% people consider other brands available in the
market youthful.

IV. TRADITIONAL
129 responses were recorded in
this question and the result are as
follows:
 17.83% people find Nike
shoes traditional.
 23.26% people find shoes
from Adidas traditional.
 23.26% people find shoes from reebok traditional.
 15.50% people find Decathlon shoes traditional.
 20.16% people consider the other brands available in the
market as traditional.

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 V. SOPHISTICATED
138 responses were recorded
in this question and the result
are as follows:
 16.67% people find
shoes from Nike as
sophisticated.
 21.01% people find
shoes from Adidas as sophisticated.
 21.74% people find shoes from Reebok as sophisticated.
 18.84% people find shoes from Decathlon as
sophisticated.
 21.74% people consider shoes from other brands as
sophisticated.

VI. ADVENTUROUS
 20% people consider shoes
from Nike are adventurous.
 22% people consider that
Adidas is more adventurous.
 16% people find shoes from
Reebok as adventurous.
 26% people consider that
Decathlon offers more
adventurous shoes.
 Whereas the rest 16% consider
that Other brands offer more adventurous shoes.

VII. PREMIUM
 32% people consider that Nike
offers a premium sports shoe.
 28% people consider that Adidas
has a much premier shoe.
 Only a mere of 12% people
consider that Reebok offers a
premium sports shoe.

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  18% people consider that sports shoes offered by
Decathlon are premium.
 Only 10% people consider that shoes offered by Other
brands are premium.

VIII. TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN

 27% people consider that Nike
offers a much more technological
driven shoe.
 24% people feel that Adidas
offers a technological driven shoe.
 14% people consider that Reebok
is more technology oriented.
 21% people consider that
Decathlon provides shoes which
are more oriented towards technology.
 14% considers shoes offered by other brands and more
driven towards technology.

IX. RUGGED
 21% people consider that Nike
sports shoes are more suitable
when it comes to the ruggedness
of the shoe.
 22% people prefer shoes offered
by Adidas when it comes to the
durability and ruggedness of the
shoe.
 Only 12% people prefer shoes
from Reebok in terms of
ruggedness.
 27% people prefer shoes from Decathlon as they find the
durable and rugged.
 18% people consider shoes from other brands more
rugged.

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X. PERFORMANCE ENHANCER
 30% people have this mindset
that their performance is
enhanced when they wear
shoes offered by Nike.
 24% people consider that
shoes offered by Adidas
enhances their performance.
 16% people consider that
Reebok enhances their
performance.
 19% people consider that shoes offered by Decathlon
enhances their performance.
 Only a mere 11% people consider that shoes offered by
Other brands available in the market has an impact on
their performance.

XI. COMFORTABLE
 27% people consider that shoes
offered by Nike are more
comfortable when compared to
any other brand.
 25% people consider that
Adidas offers a much better
shoe when it comes to the
comfort offered by the shoe.
 14% people find shoes offered
by Reebok more comfortable when compared to other
brands.
 22% people consider that shoes offered by Decathlon are
more comfortable when compared to other brands.
 Only 12% people find shoes offered by other brands
more comfortable.

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XII. PRICE
 23% people prefer Nike
because they find them
affordable and within range.
 16% people find Adidas
budget friendly.
 34% people consider that shoes
offered by Decathlon are more
budget friendly when it is
compared to other brands in the
competition.
 14% people consider that
Other brands offer a better price when compared to
brands offering the same features or quality.

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16. PEOPLE WEAR BRANDED SPORTS SHOES
BECAUSE IT REFLECTS SOMETHING ABOUT
THEM OR SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THEM?

INTERPRETATION
 13.2% people strongly disagree that branded shoes does not
affect or reflect on their personality.
 9.4% people disagree that branded sports shoes doesn’t
reflect anything on their personality.
 39.6% people are neutral in this case.
 22.6% people agree on the fact that their personality is
upgraded when they wear shoes offered by branded
companies.
 15.1% people strongly agree on the fact that they wear
branded shoes because it reflects good things about their
personality and it keeps them in the good books of others.

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17. WHEN PEOPLE WEAR BRANDED SHOES,
THEY LOOK GOOD AND FEEL CONFIDENT?

INTERPRETATION
 11.3% people strongly disagree on the point that they feel
confident or look good when they wear branded shoes.
 8.5% people disagree on the point that they feel confident
or look good while wearing branded shoes.
 30% people are neutral in this case.
 32.1% people agree on the fact that they look good and feel
confident when they wear branded shoes.
 17.9% people strongly agree that branded shoes improvise
their looks and makes them feel confident.

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 CHAPTER-5
FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS

 FINDINGS

1) Most of the people prefer wearing sports shoes in routine.

2) It has been observed from the research that people don’t
prefer changing brands. They repeatedly buy the same
brands.
3) PRICE and CHANGE IN TREND is what affects the
consumer to switch brands.
4) 50% of the sample class wears sports shoes on daily basis.
5) People have a mentality that a branded product offers a
much better quality as compared to non-branded products,
70% of the sample class thinks so.
6) People consider a brand up to the mark only when it offers
a good quality product.
7) While purchasing a shoe people consider COMFORT,
DURABILITY and the QUALITY as the most important
factors.
8) As per the preference of people:
a. 25.60% prefer sports shoes from NIKE making it the
most liked brand as per the survey.
b. 23.43% prefer ADIDAS, it has been observed that
Nike and Adidas have a cut throat competition.
c. 21.04% prefer shoes from DECATHLON, it has been
observed that Decathlon is making a place in the
Indian market giving a tough competition to the
leading brands in this segment.
d. 15.56% prefer shoes from REEBOK.
e. 14.37% people prefer shoes offered by OTHER
BRANDS.
9) It has been observed from the research and data analysis that
Nike and Adidas have a hold on the market monopoly when

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 it comes to sports equipment, accessories and shoes but
Decathlon is making progress to enter its name into the
BOOKS OF GOOD BRANDS. It has been also observed
that when the price is compared 50% of the people in the
sample class prefer shoes from Decathlon.

 SUGGESTIONS

1) Seasonal promotion campaigns, like special discounts and

advertisements, could be employed.
2) New lines of collections should be introduced for festivals.
3) The prices of branded shoes must be reduced to increase
sales.
4) After sales services can be improved to build a strong
community network.
5) Endorsement to local aspiring players can build a strong
local market by using them as local influencers.
6) Social media game can be improved in these days of
pandemic to cover more target audience.
7) Social work should be added as an ethic to build a social
belonging to the society.
8) A Customer Referral Incentive Program could be set up to
give incentives to the customers.
9) Coming up with an innovative digital marketing programme
for a better and much wider target audience.

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 CHAPTER-6
LIMITATIONS

• This project is limited due to time constraint as it involves a lot

of complex variables which require a detailed study over a period
of time.
• Only a small population was studied in the tri-city, which may not
be enough to show correct picture.
• The consumers were very reluctant to answer the question and the
response may be biased.
• The sampling method was also biased as non-random sampling
method was used.
• Some people were not willing to respond and few of them who
responded were in hurry hence the active participation was
lacking due to which I faced difficulties in collecting
information’s regarding our questionnaire.
• Google forms were used for the questionnaire which was not
feasible for the age group of 45+
• Since physically the questionnaire was not filled the answers can
be biased.

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 CHAPTER-7
BIBLIOGRAPHY

 INTERNET PORTALS
a. www.researchscholar.com
b. www.chinarsuiting.com
c. www.HR.com
d. www.google.com
e. www.wikipedia.com
f. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/marketing-plans-
fashion-59477.html
g. www.nike.in
h. www.adidas.in
i. www.reebok.in
j. www.decathlon.in
k. www.youtube.com

 BOOKS
a. Marketing management by: Philip Kotler

b. Marketing management by: J.C Gandhi

c. Functional management by: R. K. Sharma

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 CHAPTER-8
ANNEXURE

 QUESTIONNAIRE

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 LINK FOR THE RSPONSES
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qsKt71dskRqvr
Qhd9Ewg4z9pXpi-
Ui8Lzcu8ZWN7mZU/edit?usp=sharing
OR
CLICK HERE

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