Adidas quickly became a transatlantic, co-headquartered bran

[Aabsao08]

adidas online italia Adidas quickly became a transatlantic, co-headquartered brand. Design, advertising, and communications leads were relocated to America, while Germany was tapped to handle materials and manufacturing. “The Americans are better storytellers and, for our industry, have a better aesthetic sense,” Liedtke explains. “The Germans, in broad terms, are very good in engineering, innovations, getting stuff done.” And that wasn’t the only change. Adidas’s decision-making hierarchy shifted too. In Portland, separate creative silos were established for sports such as football, basketball, and running (again, similar to Nike), allowing teams to develop products tailored to their specific and evolving customers.

adidas scarpe online Both a general manager and a designer sit atop each silo. “If the GMs are driving the car, the creative directors are navigating where to go,” says Liedtke. The groups share core technology, materials, and retail strategy with each other, but with their new autonomy, they’re now able to develop shoes in weeks rather than months. This speed facilitates the company’s collaborations with outside designers. For more than a decade, Adidas had been exploring creative partnerships with designers such as Yohji Yamamoto and Stella McCartney on high-fashion and fitness lines.

adidas scarpe saldi But it wasn’t until the company refocused its creative process in the U.S. that it could move with enough speed and authority to make a wider range of collaborations meaningful at scale. Now, Adidas tests the market of a technology—like Ultra Boost—without a celebrity name attached, which takes six months to a year. Then the company brings in a creative partner, such as West, to add a signature touch and make the product line relevant to culture. “Some [sports brands] talk about how hard work equals winning. Some talk about mind over matter,” says Liedtke, in a not-so-veiled nod to Nike and Under Armour campaigns.

adidas scarpe uomo saldi Athletes such as the basketball player James Harden and NFL cornerback Marcus Peters remain prominent in Adidas’s marketing. “Everything starts from sport,” says Gaudio. “Without it, we don’t have any lifestyle offerings.” Even so, Adidas’s roster of creative partners is significant, from West and Williams to rapper Pusha T and Belgian fashion designer Kris Van Assche. Williams almost single-handedly brought the company’s 1973 Stan Smith tennis shoe back from retirement when he wore them to the 2015 Grammys and then championed Adidas’s throwback Superstar franchise. His boxy, colorful NMD line is currently Adidas’s most aggressive new look since the Ultra Boosts.