Adidas is preparing to roll out its outdoor collection in the U.S. market – an initiative it first embarked on five years ago with limited success. This time around the effort is part of a worldwide push and a seven-year business strategy.
Building on the outdoor category’s strength in Europe, where Adidas has been sold for the past two years, the athletic brand plans to unveil the new collection at next month’s Outdoor Retailer show. Adidas Outdoor has also made inroads in Asia and in Russia, under the guidance of Rolf Reinschmidt, senior vice president and global head of operations for Adidas Outdoor. The Stateside debut in stores is slated for July.
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“We knew we had to earn our way,” Reinschmidt said. “We are approaching the market from a different product focus and with a deeper integration into the outdoor community. Growth will come from doing things right and not through heavy advertising and marketing.”
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Seeking credibility with serious climbers and outdoor enthusiasts, mountaineer Reinhold Messner, the first person to climb Mount Everest without oxygen and the first climber to ascend all 14 “eight-thousanders” — peaks more than 8,000 meters, or 26,246 feet — has been tapped as a brand ambassador. He will be the front man for the more technical Mountainsport group. Messner, who has also taken solo treks across Antarctica and through the Sahara desert, will be master of ceremonies for the first OIA Outdoor Inspiration Awards, which Adidas Outdoor will sponsor Jan. 21 in Salt Lake City.
In addition, extreme alpine climbers Thomas and Alexander Huber have been recruited to endorse the brand. The brothers will front the more traditional Hiking-Trekking component of Adidas Outdoor.
The company also tapped female sport climbers to help with product development. Unlike traditional climbing, sport climbing is a style of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors, especially bolts, fixed to the rock for protection.
The women’s collection will consist of 53 styles of apparel and 40 styles of shoes. Wholesale prices will range from $35 for a fleece jacket to $250 for a Gore-Tex jacket. There will also be a number of items made from Gore-Tex’s recently launched Active Shell, four-way stretch Windstopper and PrimaLoft insulation. The Mountainsport side of things will have a sleeker fit with more of a European flair as opposed to the Hiking-Trekking pieces, which will be slightly roomier with more of a conventional design,
“We focused the product line on being very authentic and credible,” said Adidas Outdoor managing director Greg Thomsen. “We want to keep very connected to the outdoor market.”
Adidas Outdoor is expected to be sold in 350 to 500 domestic retailers, as well as through Adidas’ seven freestanding stores and its Web site, he said. The U.S. market will have about 90 percent of what is sold in Europe. The label should face off against competitors such as The North Face, Arc’teryx and Salomon, Thomsen said.
Adidas is not the only athletic label expanding its range with subcategories. Columbia Sportswear is getting ready to unveil a new higher-priced styles for city dwellers that will be geared for high-end stores.