Add new store Adidas every day to fully impact the industry leader

"In the next two years, Adidas will open an average of 1.5 new stores each day in China." Herbert Heiner, chief executive of Adidas, revealed on Thursday the company's latest expansion plan in China, targeting the rival Nike. Hainer said that Adidas' annual sales in the Chinese market will reach 1 billion euros (1,280 million US dollars) by 2010. This goal is twice the sales of Nike in China last year.

In the Chinese market, Adidas has not been able to keep pace with Nike's development. Nike said that the company’s sales in China in 2005 were close to US$600 million, and according to estimates from sports marketing company Fore Business Consulting, last year Adidas’ sales in the Chinese market was approximately US$385 million.

The industry believes that sales channels are an important bottleneck restricting the development of Adidas in China. At present, the number of adidas brand stores in China is 2,500. This number is not only behind Nike, but also less than some Chinese sports brands that are rising momentum. The spokesperson of Li Ning Sports Products Co., Ltd., which has the largest share in the domestic brand market, told reporters that the Li Ning brand store has exceeded 3,300 in the country by the end of last year. The company plans to expand the number of stores to 5,000 by 2008.

“We will strive to double the number of 2,500 Adidas-branded stores by 2010.” Hainer said he believes Adidas will become the market leader in China in the next two years. In order to advance this goal, Adidas has invested heavily in the 2008 Olympic Games that will attract the most consumers. According to estimates by industry insiders, Adidas spent more than US$50 million on various sponsorships for the Olympic Games.

However, the space left for Adidas in the Olympic Games is running out. Nike, an old rival, had already won first hand and grabbed sponsorship agreements for a number of Chinese sports teams, including basketball teams, track and field teams, and swimming teams. One of Nike's most important treasures is the sports star Liu Xiang. If Liu Xiang wins gold, billions of viewers around the world will see him wearing a Nike sportswear to finish the television shot.

Adidas’s “appearance opportunity” eventually won at the Olympic Games will be more than ten minutes when the Chinese winning athletes get on the podium. Although the sponsorship of athletes receiving awards makes Adidas very expensive, the company still attaches great importance to this. "Everything has to pay a price," Heiner said.