With racing in the mud, Reebok grows

Adidas, the German giant sporting goods sector, can finally benefit from Reebok, which has taken place since its purchase in 2006. The solution does not involve advertising campaigns with celebrities that charge seven-digit paychecks, or aimed at mothers concerned about the environment. She is supported by fanatics in gyms and by good shape-especially the growing number of "warriors" of weekend participating in endurance races with obstacles.
In January, the Adidas shelled out an unspecified sum to turn the Reebok in Spartan Race sponsor, a particularly severe endurance race. Think of barbed wire, fire and other obstacles designed to "test the physical, mental and emotional capacity" of the participants. The agreement gives the Reebok exhibition of 350 thousand among the people who signed up in Spartan Race last year and 500 thousand to crawl in the mud this year.
Matt O'Toole, chief marketing officer of Reebok, explained the partnership, on the occasion of your ad, as follows: "Reebok's mission is to change the way people perceive, experience and define good shape". In short, forget the pilates and the shoes that look like half the people who buy the sneakers from Reebok are "warriors".
It is as if all this marketing message and the mud [the competition] were able to give a polished in. Reebok's sales grew 11% in the second quarter of this year, according to a report released by Adidas on Thursday. And more: the unit's profit margin reached almost 40%, a level not reached since Adidas bought Reebok.
The agreement with the Spartan Race complements a partnership signed in 2010 with CrossFit, a Washington company that sells to its academies programme of 20 minute workouts.
The CrossFit has tournaments on ESPN and fixed series of exercises with names like "Nasty Girls" (Indecent Girls) and "Bad Karma" (bad Karma). Once again, the Reebok is diverting from its roots, embedded in aerobic exercises.
The repositioning was much needed. At the beginning of last year, Reebok lost to Nike a lucrative contract to supply the National Football League, the National Football League, with its products. This left the National Hockey League as the last sports important affiliation of Reebok, and this sport has been paralyzed for most of last season because of labor negotiations.
From 2006 to 2012, Reebok's revenue had dropped 13% to $ 2.2 billion, while the total sales of the Adidas grew 48% over the same period, to $ 14.9 billion. Adidas executives come claiming to be committed to the Reebok since paid $ 3.7 billion for the brand, but they may not have had another option, given the poor performance and the size of the company. But now the Adidas is working on a line of articles that specifically target the Spartan Race, which is expected to be released in the fourth quarter.
"There is no doubt that we are pleased with the improvement," said the Chief Executive of Adidas, Herbert Hainer, in a conference call with investors last week. "But what makes me happier is that definitely the Reebok brand returned to the minds of consumers and retailers," he added.
Meanwhile, aficionados of the Spartan Race are lobbying for the obstacle race becomes in Olympic sport.