The business world is a very competitive field, where only the best can be able to thrive. To thrive in whatever field you venture into, you need a creative edge and consistent effort. On the side of the creative edge, the field is very wide, and anything that is attractive and useful can be built on to create a business empire.
The business world is very wide, and many fields are growing each and every day with improvements to their products that are attracting customers all over the world. An example of such fields is the clothing line business. The clothing line business has been one of the most lucrative fields nowadays, especially because of the growing interest in fashion all over the world.
Many companies and multi-national corporations have set up their basis on the clothing line business, with creative ideas that always satisfy the ever-growing fashion-conscious population in the world. A perfect example of such companies is Adidas, which is not only a company but a multi-national corporation.
This multi-national corporation designs and manufactures shoes, clothing, and other accessories. Its products are sold all over the world because of their good quality and likable designs. The brand has been consistent with the quality of its products for so many years, and for this reason, Adidas is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second-largest in the world after Nike.
Inception
Adidas was formed by Adolf “Adi” Dassler, who made shoes in his mother’s scullery in Herzogenaurach, Germany. After returning from World War One, he was joined by his brother, Rudolf, which became the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory. In the 1936 Summer Olympics, the Dassler Brothers urged Olympic sprinter, Jesse Owens, to wear their spiked shoes.
Because of Jesse Owens’ four gold-medal wins, the Dassler shoes became popular among athletes, and this pushed them to sell around 200,000 pairs of shoes per year before world war two. In 1947, the two brothers split because their relations had broken down. Rudolf went to start his own company, which he named, Ruda (later rebranded as Puma), and Adolf registered his company as Adidas AG.
The brothers went on to have a huge rivalry, one which they never settled until their deaths. In 1952, after the 1952 Summer Olympics, Adidas acquired its three-stripe logo. In 1987, Adolf Dassler’s son, Horst Dassler, passed on, and there was a period of trouble. After this period, the company was sold to Bernard Tapie, the Minister of Urban Affairs at the time, who was considered to be a specialist in rescuing bankrupt companies.
Since Tapie had borrowed the money from Credit Lyonnais bank in France, he failed to repay the debt, and the company was sold to Louis-Dreyfus. Louis-Dreyfus, who was the company’s CEO at the time, was very successful, but in 2000, he announced his retirement due to illness.
In 2004, the company collaborated with top English designers, Stella McCartney, with whom they have had a lot of success by designing women’s clothing. In 2006, Adidas bought Reebok, which brought them closer to Nike in terms of sales. In 2005, Adidas released the Adidas 1, the first-ever product shoe with a microprocessor and in November 2005, they released an improvement of the original.
The company has a wide range of products for almost every sport. For example, the company makes football kits for many European football clubs, and in April 2006, they announced an 11-year deal to make NBA, NBDL, and WNBA jerseys. The company has also endorsed a lot of popular players around the world, such as Lionel Messi, Kobe Bryant, Sonny Bill Williams, and many others.
Evolution
Adidas sells its products all over the world, and it has achieved this level of popularity by heavily investing in advertising and endorsing popular sporting figures all over the world. The company has also been quite popular because of the good quality of the products that they have.
Adidas has always been a pioneering company and a trend-setter all over the world. This is quite evident since the company was the first to introduce rubber-spiked for running athletes and the World’s First Intelligent Shoe. The company also faced criticism for over-pricing some of its products, which they corrected. But, despite all this, Adidas remains a very successful company with a bright future.
Awards & Achievements
Adidas is a successful company that has done a lot in the manufacture of sportswear clothing, shoes, and accessories. The company has received worldwide recognition from all over the world and has also received awards from different boards and corporations. Some of the awards that the company has won are as follows:
- Thomson Reuters Foundation Stop Slavery Award in 2017
- Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporation in 2019.
Net Worth of Adidas in 2024
Adidas is a well-known multi-national corporation and the second largest sportswear manufacture in the world. The company sells its products all over the world, and it has been consistent with quality and likeable designs. As of December 2024, The company has shops all over the world and boasts a net worth of about $18 billion, an increase of $7 billion from 2016, which shows the company’s consistent growth.
Adidas is a well-known multi-national corporation that hosts a large market all over the world. The company hosts a lot of employees all over the world and has sponsored a lot of sporting projects all over the world. Apart from just its financial achievements, the company has also involved itself in social projects such as advocating for stopping slavery.