Adidas Essay

Through Adidas’ globalizing structure and their outsourcing to different countries, the company’s influence over labor rights has weakened and the standards have diminished, especially in Asian countries. While the company has the power over these issues, Adidas is not seen to be mending issues until public forces shed light and put pressure on them.

History of Adidas While Adidas is currently one of the most recognized shoe and apparel brands in the world today, it of course was not always like this. The shoe making powerhouse began in the backyard of the Dassler family’s house in the early 1900s (referenceforbusiness.com). They initially made lightweight slippers, but later merged this design with nailed in cleats. It was this ingenious

Adi was father to multiple inventions and practices during the 1950s, such as the first shoe designed for ice, and placing the brand name and logo onto athletic apparel. He invented the screw in cleats for the athletic shoes, allowing the cleats to be replaced instead of replacing the entire shoe. It was these shoes that were worn in the 1954 World Cup Final by the National German Football team. After a rainy first half, the Germans changed their cleats during halftime and came back to win the game. This brought national attention to the shoe and its

This was due to multiple reasons. Firstly was the death of the company’s owner and founder, Adi Dassler. Dassler died in 1978, and while he had set people to take over after his passing, his death was seen as “the end of an era” (referenceforbusiness.com). His death came during a rough time for the company, since in the years following Adidas would face intense competition. Unfortunately for Adidas, they promoted and focused on the athletic shoe market for athletes, while in the early 80s there came a surge in the shoe market for casual runners (Shaw, Mazur, 11). Adidas did not cap on this market, but another rising shoe company did: Nike. Nike’s entering into the market caused it to be a serious competitor for Adidas, which it remains to be today. While Adidas remained dominant in the European market, Nike cause Adidas to lose its lead in the U.S. Nike’s sales in the U.S. were a whopping $2.4 billion by the end of the 80s, while Adidas had a lowly $200 million. Management under Adidas was poor, and there were disputes between the remaining members of the family that owned parts of the company. Reebok also joined the athletic shoe market in 1982 and would be a fierce competitor for Adidas during that