Shoe Wars…

IMG’s Matt Moore reports on the battle of the sportswear giants taking place on the ground at the Beijing Olympics…

Adidas may have spent in the region of £50m in cash and merchandise donations to become an Official Partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, but they are not the only sportswear giant hoping to cash in on the bonanza currently unfolding in China.

With a population approaching 1.3 billion, there are a lot of people to be kitted out in sportswear and footwear – and that’s without taking into account the billions more watching on TV. This has not gone unnoticed amongst the big three apparel behemoths hoping to make an impact; Adidas, Nike and Chinese brand Li Ning.

Impossible may be nothing, but Li Ning – just did it, pulling off perhaps the biggest coup of the Games as suspended by ropes he ran around the Birds Nest stadium to light the Olympic flame and officially launch the 2008 Olympic Games. Proving his companies own tagline”Anything is Possible” (which the company launched before Adidas came out with “Impossible is Nothing”).

Whilst he was wearing Adidas everyone in China knows the sportswear company he is associated to and I’d be willing to bet if you were to survey the watching Chinese public most people would have assumed he was wearing Li Ning.

Adidas, as an official partner have secured the rights to the Games, securing an excellent showcase area on the Olympic Green (see earlier post) and a live site in Beijing next to the superstore.

As part of the deal Adidas will also provide the shoes and clothes to 100,000 staff, volunteers and technical officials ensuring plenty of air time for the brand. They have also sponsored several national Olympic associations, including the Chinese and the British, and individual athletes.

The strategy of the unofficial competitors is interesting…

China’s Li Ning, a China only company have sponsored teams and federations from outside China – including the US table tennis team (one of the most popular sports in China), Sudan’s track and field athletes, Sweden’s Olympic Delegation, as well as China’s divers, table-tennis players and gymnasts. In addition to the international sponsorships, the company is running an ad campaign called “One Team, One Belief” featuring European, African, South American and Chinese athletes standing in a stadium with their hands across their hearts.

With it’s Nike-esqe swoosh logo and Adidas like slogan, they are certainly catching the eye. Nike have focused on star athletes such as 110m hurdler and one of the faces of the Games Liu Xiang and federations (22 of China’s 28 sporting federations) including the basketball team meaning that NBA sensation Yao Ming will wear a Nike uniform on the court at the Games despite a personal deal with Adidas’ Reebok unit.

However if either of these two superstars win gold however they will receive their medal in an Adidas “podium suit”, even if the medal was won in Nike.

Nike’s federation sponsorship is not limited to China, with over 40 deals secured with national federations including the US, Germany and Russia. Guaranteeing that team members will be wearing Nike during play regardless of pre-existing individual endorsements.

Adidas have approximately 4,000 stores in China, including the largest Adidas superstore in the world in Beijing covering 10,000 square feet of floor space. Nike has a similar number, but a quick walk around Beijing by my count seemed to have Nike coming out with almost twice as much store presence.

The Adidas live site next to the Adidas superstore is really cool with the chance to test your reaction time out of the blocks, measure how hard you can kick a football, as well as an art display including works by David Beckham, Ian Thorpe, Tyson Gay and Yelena Isinbayeva, illustrating through drawing, painting and sculpture personal impossible is nothing (PIIN) artwork exploring defining moments in their life.

Even as you stand in the Adidas live site though glance across the street and there is a giant Nike swoosh overlooking the arena, symbolic of Nike’s effort to ambush at every opportunity.

Despite not having an official association to the Olympic Games the Nike store has a strong Olympic theme to it. All the staff are decked out in Red Nike t-shirts with CHN on the back and the number 08. Whilst images of Olympic athletes LeBron James, and Liu Zhang dominate the store.

In addition to the store presence Nike have a huge presence in the local malls, with a track setup in the middle of one section and boxers, BMX racers, and tennis player’s setup in another section.

A quick Google search indicates an article from R3 a Beijing based media consultancy that “all advertisers in China will spend 19 percent more in 2008 than a year earlier to about $54.3 billion (27.5 billion pounds), for an “Olympic effect” of about $8.6 billion in additional spending. In addition, Olympic sponsors alone will spend 21.8 billion yuan (1.61 billion pounds) this year, rising 52 percent from 2007.”

Whilst Nike and Adidas are likely to contribute a large chunk to this, I can’t help but wonder that the Nike marketing folks may well have the last laugh when every Olympic medalist turns over their medal to see the goddess of victory – Nike smiling back at them!

To view more pictures from this blog, click here…