Never mind the sports. The real battle in Beijing is not the struggle to top the medal table, but the multibillion-dollar fight between two giant brands intent on conquering the fastest-growing sportswear market in the world.
Adidas and Nike have invested unprecedented sums in wooing Chinese consumers during the Olympics. The German firm is estimated to have spent US$190 million on sponsorship and associated marketing; its US rival has stumped up close to US$150 million.
Adidas is sponsoring the Games, as well as the Chinese Olympic committee. Torchbearers, officials and volunteers are all clad in the brand; so too are Chinese champions.
“Every single Chinese athlete winning a medal will be in Adidas on the podium,” said Paul Pi (畢寶元), vice-president of marketing for Adidas China.
But Nike has fought back by sponsoring the Chinese teams in 22 of 28 Olympic sports.
At the root of this rivalry is a market a fraction the size of that of the US — but growing at 30 percent annually for the past five years.
“If you want to lead globally, you have to lead in China,” Pi said.
Nike says it passed the US$1 billion sales mark this spring, a year ahead of schedule. Adidas says it has leapfrogged its rival in becoming market leader by the start of the Games, with sales up 60 percent in the first half of this year — though its claim is based on factors such as brand image. It is “on course” to reach US$1.5 billion by 2010.
“They are absolutely neck and neck,” Terry Rhoads of Shanghai-based sports specialists Zou Marketing said.
“Adidas had to have this sponsorship,” said Greg Paull, co-founder of marketing consultants R3, who believes the brand was at risk because of Nike’s deals with individual athletes.
“We expected the Olympics would not be a powerful marketing tool — but the opposite has been the case. The market hasn’t matured to the stage of the US or UK in terms of marketing literacy and the celebrity aspect is still very strong,” he said.
Adidas has tapped into the national passion for sport with a campaign that gives its standard slogan a patriotic twist: “Together in 2008 — Impossible is nothing.”
“Other countries are interested in the Olympics. But in China well over 90 percent of people are passionate and supportive and want to be involved,” Pi said.
Meanwhile, Nike’s “Courage” advertising spots emphasize individual achievement.
“For us, it’s about connecting with athletes: We make products that make them perform better and then build on the excitement that creates,” said Nike spokesman Charlie Brookes, citing the ultralight Hyperdunk shoe for Kobe Bryant or Asafa Powell’s Zoom Aerofly.
The real race is outside the Olympic zone. Adidas, which is opening stores at the rate of two a day, will have 5,000 shops in China by the end of the year. Its new store in Sanlitun — several kilometers away from the Bird’s Nest stadium — opened last month and is the largest in the world, with 3,170m² of retail space over four floors. There is a rooftop basketball court, a smoothie bar, computer terminals to customize trainers and exercise stations. A gallery showcases the footwear Adidas has made for the Games, from boxing boots to slides for divers — all presented in glass cases and lit with artistic reverence.
Nike has slightly fewer outlets, and its flagship store is a mere 1,208m², but its Wangfujing location is one of Beijing’s premier shopping hubs. It also boasts a gallery in the 798 art district, where the current exhibition traces the brand’s development — and not a single item is for sale.
Meanwhile, the two companies face competition from sporting icon turned entrepreneur Li Ning (李寧). The three-time gold medalist demonstrated his gymnastic flair as he “ran” around the top of the Bird’s Nest Stadium before lighting the Olympic cauldron — albeit dressed in Adidas. But to many young Chinese people he is now as well known for his eponymous sportswear brand: sales reached US$750 billion last year. After his appearance, his Hong Kong-listed stock rose 3.5 percent.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary