2005年NPR美国国家公共电台八月-Adidas to Acquire Reebok in Billion-Dolla

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There's a big deal today in the world of sneakers. Germany's Adidas is buying Massachusetts-based Reebok, in an athletic¹ shoe pairing valued at nearly 4 billion dollars. The acquisition should give Adidas added attraction, in its race with industry giant Nike. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Long before Nike sold its first waffle soled running shoe, Adidas was the world leader in sporting goods. Reebok enjoyed its own heyday² during the aerobics³ craze in the 1980s. For more than a decade, though, the two companies have been eating Nike's dust, with just over 11 billion dollars in combined sales last year to Nike's 14 billion. Adidas chairman Herbert Hainer said today, the acquisition of Reebok should help both companies pick up their pace and finally catch up to their swoosh bearing competitor.

This is a perfect fit for both of the companies, because it is so complementary and I definitely think it is a milestone⁴ in the industry.

The merger⁵ combines Adidas' strength in Europe with Reebok's presence in the big US market. Reebok pitchman Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets should also help the combined company in China, as the sporting world looks forward to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The companies say the merger will not result in any significant job cuts. Reebok will maintain its headquarters in Massachusetts. And founder⁶ Paul Fireman will stay on for now, as CEO of the Reebok brand. Fireman says Adidas and Reebok will keep their separate stables of athletic and celebrity⁷ endorsers⁸, and retain their distinct brand identities.

Remember consumers have different personalities⁹. And therefore (they have a look) they look at the brands slightly different, so I think it is a race that's not necessarily gonna be one or the other, it's gonna be together we are gonna have both work out to do our best for both of our brands to exist.

The two brands' different personalities are on display at this big five sporting goods store in San Diego,where sales woman Diner Yang says the shoes appeal to very different customers.

Adidas they have like that old school look to women, so not everybody is into that. So Reebok is like a better-looking shoe .It's more like casual. It's great for anything basically. Anything.

Adidas’ executives today praised Reebok's strategy of offering hip-hop casual shoes aimed at fashion-conscious consumers. Eric York Staler who heads the market strategy firm, the Volby Partners, says today's deal will allow Adidas to go after that same fashion market without the risk of alienating¹⁰ its more serious athletic customers.

Now actually Adidas can do exactly what they always did, namely, emphasize performance through technology, and then use the Reebok brand in that fashion or entertainment sort of direction to capture an important segment of the market.

The Adidas-Reebok combination comes at a time when Nike is under new management since the retirement¹¹ of Phil Knight¹² as CEO last year. Chief analyst¹³ Marshal Cohen of the market research firm NPD Group says today's deal will force the markets leader to take notice.

In the past they really just kind of stay in the front, and like anyone running a good race, you just stay focused on the finish line. Today this really changes everything. And now Nike has got to really look around every once in a while at the competition.

For Adidas, though, managing a stable of diverse brands will be no easy task. Earlier this year, Adidas announced plans to unload the French sporting goods company Salomon for 590 million dollars. That's less than half what Adidas paid for the company 8 years ago. Scott Horsley, NPR news, San Diego.