Eric, you are “Head of Performance” at adidas. What exactly does that mean?

Well, in the first place that means that I have the best job in the world (laughs). Seriously, if you love sport and you love competition, why wouldn’t you want to come to work everyday and talk about, think about and do sport?

Eric Liedtke, “Head of Performance” at adidas

Now, in our Route 2015Route 2015 is the Strategic Business Plan for 2015 that aims at growing the business of the entire adidas Group to € 17 billion by 2015. This plan is the most comprehensive business plan the adidas Group has ever prepared, incorporating all brands, sales channels and Group functions globally. It is our road to success: our Route 2015. we identified running, next to basketball, as one of our key growth drivers. Why running?

Overall, running is a huge market, even much bigger than football in terms of product sales. The global running business amounts to about 15 billion Euros, of which running footwear is about 70%. And it is quite obvious why it is so big. Everyone has a pair of running shoes, which isn’t true for any other category.

So is running even more important than football for adidas?

Football is absolutely the heart and soul of our brand. We are the number one globally and have a huge heritage in football which goes way back to Adi Dassler offering cleated boots to the German football team in 1954 at the “Wunder von Bern”.

But in terms of opportunity, running is the key…. To achieve our plans we must win in running, and we must win in every market. We are getting better each year, as our 19% growth in 2011 and our soon to be released 2012 results can attest but we are far from done. We have a lot of work to do.

But it is not only about gaining market share, right? Running has also seen quite a boom lately.

Absolutely. You just need to look at the number of people participating in the big marathons around the world, which goes up every year. In 2011, the New York marathon had an all-time high of 47.323 finishers. And the 2013 Berlin marathon was completely sold out after only 3.5 hours, the first 10.000 spots were already sold after 2.5 minutes. It is crazy.

But why is it such a trend? What has changed?

I think this is mainly for two reasons. First, running is a fairly easy and cheap thing to do. You just need a pair of running shoes and some shorts and off you go. Even in some European markets that have been badly hit by the Euro debt crisis, like Spain for example, the number of runners is steadily increasing. But most importantly, running as a sport has changed a lot over the last years. Some years ago, running was a pretty geeky thing and you mainly saw older guys in split shorts running at least their 50 km per week. Now running has become much younger, which is also reflected by the products and the much younger and more colorful design. Running is also getting much more female. The rate of male/female runners is about 50/50 now. That used to be totally different. And running is much more inclusive today. You don´t have to be a hard core runner anymore, it is totally accepted to just do two rounds in the park every other week.

So, are you a runner Eric?

Haha, no, not at all… I only run when I have to. American Football was always my sport. I ran to prepare for the season and ran in games, but running for enjoyment? I’ll leave that to others.

Thank you very much for your time Eric!

You are very welcome.

Thus, she will work with NEO to design and develop seasonal ranges beginning Fall/Winter 2013. She will also be the face of four seasonal collections throughout the year and will appear in print, digital, retail, and outdoor campaigns to debut in February 2013. She will identify her favorite pieces, the first of many opportunities for Selena to communicate her personal style with fans.

Selena is taking a look at the wide range of adidas NEO clothes.

Selena says: “It is a great partnership for me because NEO really cares about style and having fun with fashion and allowing you to be yourself. This is something that’s always been important to me and is important to my fans, too: knowing they can express themselves through wearing whatever clothes they want and feel good about themselves. I am really enjoying being involved with the design process and NEO is letting me have fun with this. I get to wear the clothes first and have a voice and an opinion and I can’t wait to see the results of our new collection. I’m excited that it also allows my fans to be involved and they can come with me on this journey.”

We talked exclusively to the team that worked together with Selena and they jointly answered a few questions for us. Read below what Kimberly Wallengren (Senior Manager Brand Marketing NEO), Bernhard Serr (BUBusiness Unit (BU) is an organisation within the company which unites various business functions which are all relevant to a specific market segment. At the adidas Group, BUs are suborientated to the individual brands. Business Units at the adidas Group include BU Basketball, BU Swim or BU Football. Director, NEO apparel), Dean Lokes (Vice President NEO Footwear) and Catrin Joergens (Senior Product Marketing Manager NEO) answered collectively to our questions.

Selena Gomez is one of the stars of today’s teen culture. Girls want to be like her – they want to live like her, they want to look like her. What do you think makes her so special and the perfect style icon for the NEO Label?

During design meetings Selena provides her thoughts on the look and feel of the adidas NEO collection.

Being a teen icon, Selena is very close to the target NEO consumer, so really understands the brand’s philosophy of being edgy but comfortable. Through her designs she is encouraging teens to “live their style”. We are all extremely excited about our upcoming collaboration with her and the inspiration and credibility she is giving to the adidas NEO Label.

Selena is adidas NEO Label’s new guest designer? How deeply are you able to involve her in the process? (did she actually draw her designs?)

Selena has been heavily involved in the design process from the outset and attends seasonal design meetings where she helps set the direction for the new collection. At the design meetings Selena inputs on the look and feel of the collection as well as details such as trims, materials colors and silhouettes. Selena wanted the range to reflect a lot of who she is now, which is a confident young woman with an individual sense of style. We have also included the use of subtle colors that she likes as well as continuing to give the range a comfortable but edgy feel. Throughout the process, we have looked to incorporate her feminine touch in an accessible way across the range.

Did she have a favorite product in the range that she designed herself? And will you promote this as her own design?

Selena has incredible knowledge about the teen consumer market that she is able to give her personal point of view on.

Selena loves NEO’s collection of accessible styles for every teenage girl as well as the mix and match styling opportunities, which she describes as the perfect match between comfort and style. The collection will be stylish and laid back with everything that a teen girl wants from footwear to accessories and apparel. It will incorporate Selena’s style with a NEO twist and provide guidance to teens to be cool and edgy but still comfortable.

What’s Selena’s favorite product?

Selena loves the NEO  yellow sweater which going to hit the market probably in March 2013. She thinks it’s super comfortable, yet great fashion! She wore it out of NEO’s first meeting, she liked it so much.

Selena is super busy. How much fun was it to work with her? Do you have a special moment you can share with us?

Selena is an extremely professional and enjoyable person to work with and great fun too. She is very talented at combining different styles with a stylist’s approach and has shown an incredible attention to detail throughout the process. She has an incredible charm and knowledge about the teen consumer market that she is able to give her personal point of view on. She fully understands the looks, personality and style of teenage girls.

Are there any special moments you shared with her?

Selena is just a really special young woman. Very approachable, very confident. She represents the NEO Label so well in her personality and spirit.

“Build a digital ecosystem for the enthusiastic consumer and the empowered employee.”

Three key elements

This summary of our IT strategy contains three key elements: the ecosystem speaks of Global IT’s capability to see the company end-to-end. We have to leverage that capability even better than before to provide solutions with more than a focus on one function or one market. The quantum leap for our company is to move from multi-local to global, and to provide cross-functional excellence to our consumers. Important areas are a ‘multichannel approach’ in Sales and an industry-leading ‘creation-to-shelf process’.

Global IT’s direct impact on the consumer has significantly increased through more recent business models and technologies such as mobile, social media, eCommerceElectronic commerce stands for business transactions conducted on the internet. or miCoachmiCoach is an adidas product category that has been created to offer consumers of all levels personal coaching with training programmes designed by the world’s top coaches. miCoach aims to make the user a better athlete, regardless of the sport.. The ‘face of IT is changing’, as we provide solutions not only for employees, but also for our consumers, who we want to be ‘enthusiastic’ about our company’s products.

“Empowering” all employees

While the employee has always been a focus of Global IT, we have seen a shift of technical innovation from enterprise to consumer technologies. To drive engagement and productivity for all employees, we need to ‘empower’ them by embracing new solutions, devices and user interfaces from the consumer space.

We use the three elements of our purpose statement consistently to set our Global IT targets. This comes with a challenge, but it is also very rewarding, as we see how it impacts the adidas Group Route 2015Route 2015 is the Strategic Business Plan for 2015 that aims at growing the business of the entire adidas Group to € 17 billion by 2015. This plan is the most comprehensive business plan the adidas Group has ever prepared, incorporating all brands, sales channels and Group functions globally. It is our road to success: our Route 2015. targets. We are in the middle of building a digital ecosystem for the enthusiastic consumer and the empowered employee, and I am looking forward to continuing this journey – together with my team.

What this will mean concretely for the ‘enthusiastic consumer’ and the ‘empowered employee’ I will outline in additional posts on this platform over the coming weeks.

If you are familiar with the adidas Group mission you probably know that the adidas Group’s indelible mark in this world is to be the global leader in the sporting goods industry with brands built around a passion for sports and a sporting lifestyle. You will also find over forty thousand people with a passion for making the world a better place through sport. This gives adidas Group employees a sense of purpose. Our leaders know we also must create the best workplace and working culture so adidas Group employees can thrive and have the energy and motivation to achieve our mission. Therefore we have a goal to be a top employer in every market we operate in.

I work as part of our Talent team which is charged with building programs and supporting a culture to achieve this mission. My specific role is in Talent Acquisition and focused on employer branding. One aspect of my job is to work with each of our locations and brands to look for ways to strengthen our footprint as a top employer. Our TaylorMade-adidas GolfTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaGTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaG) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaG family.) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaGTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaG) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaG family. family. headquarters in Carlsbad, California, have been making big strides to achieve this status. They recently won the best places to work award from Outside Magazine and the CEOThe Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company is the highest-ranking corporate officer and in charge of total management of an organisation., Mark King, was featured on the US hit TV show Undercover Boss (get insights into this experience from mark King here). Fox News also decided to visit the TaylorMade headquarters to run a story on their top employer success. So I decided to interview their Head of HRHuman Resources (HR), is the organisation within the adidas Group which is responsible for the management of our workforce. Responsibilities include attracting, selecting, training, assessing and rewarding employees as well as fostering a corporate culture of performance, passion, integrity and diversity., Joe Walsh, to understand what they are doing to achieve their recent top employer status.

Interview with Joe Walsh, Head of HRHuman Resources (HR), is the organisation within the adidas Group which is responsible for the management of our workforce. Responsibilities include attracting, selecting, training, assessing and rewarding employees as well as fostering a corporate culture of performance, passion, integrity and diversity. for TaylorMade-adidas GolfTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaGTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaG) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaG family.) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaGTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaG) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaG family. family.:

Joe Walsh, Head of HR for TaylorMade-adidas Golf

Joe, can you tell us a little bit about your role with TaylorMade and a bit about your background?

I currently oversee Global Human ResourcesHuman Resources (HRHuman Resources (HR), is the organisation within the adidas Group which is responsible for the management of our workforce. Responsibilities include attracting, selecting, training, assessing and rewarding employees as well as fostering a corporate culture of performance, passion, integrity and diversity.), is the organisation within the adidas Group which is responsible for the management of our workforce. Responsibilities include attracting, selecting, training, assessing and rewarding employees as well as fostering a corporate culture of performance, passion, integrity and diversity. at TaylorMade and have been in the role since January of 2011. I began my career at TaylorMade in 2002 and have worked in the Finance Department as well as Human ResourcesHuman Resources (HRHuman Resources (HR), is the organisation within the adidas Group which is responsible for the management of our workforce. Responsibilities include attracting, selecting, training, assessing and rewarding employees as well as fostering a corporate culture of performance, passion, integrity and diversity.), is the organisation within the adidas Group which is responsible for the management of our workforce. Responsibilities include attracting, selecting, training, assessing and rewarding employees as well as fostering a corporate culture of performance, passion, integrity and diversity..

TaylorMade seems to be making big strides these days with being recognized as a top employer. You just received a top employer award through Outside Magazine and you were also interviewed by Fox 5 News on being a top employer. What is the number one thing you attribute to this top employer success?

Joe Walsh in an interview on FOX 5 News

Number one would be our unique culture that reflects our intense belief that our success is directly linked to living out our values, every day. Our commitment to a set of principles which guides our performance and honors our employees’ contributions illustrates what makes TaylorMade-adidas GolfTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaGTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaG) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaG family.) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaGTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaG) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaG family. family. an extraordinary place to work, create and succeed.

TaylorMade has been hitting record numbers year after year and you are now the number one brand in the metalwoods category. Do you think this success plays a key factor in you also being recognized as a top employer?

Our success is a validation of our aspiration: We aspire to be the best performance golf company in the world. Our aspiration is that anyone associated with the game of golf embraces the chance to work with us and contribute to something truly exceptional. These aspirations are driven by creative, dedicated employees who take ownership for creating the future of the company.

We saw that TaylorMade launched a very popular social media campaign about two years ago called “where in the world” which received a lot of publicity and recently your CEOThe Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company is the highest-ranking corporate officer and in charge of total management of an organisation., Mark King, was on the hit reality TV show Undercover Boss. And now you are achieving top employer awards. Why is TaylorMade making such a huge play at getting its name out there to potential recruits?

Mark King exchanged his suit with a baseball cap and a t-Shirt for CBS' "Undercover Boss".

We are honored to receive the recognition we have been given. Mark King’s appearance on Undercover Boss depicted our Chief Executive OfficerThe Chief Executive Officer (CEOThe Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company is the highest-ranking corporate officer and in charge of total management of an organisation.) of a company is the highest-ranking corporate officer and in charge of total management of an organisation. as he is seen each and every day – with our employees, engaging, questioning, learning and rewarding them along the way … certainly the reality that our employees know and appreciate each and every day here. In terms of a recruiting advantage, we believe that inspired people are capable of extraordinary things, so if potential recruits are inspired by seeing our company and our employees, we feel that this can be a huge recruiting advantage.

The CEOThe Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company is the highest-ranking corporate officer and in charge of total management of an organisation. of TaylorMade’s parent company adidas Group, Herbert Hainer, was recently at your world headquarters in Carlsbad, California, for an investors meeting. Did the topic of being a “top employer” come up with adidas Group’s CEOThe Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company is the highest-ranking corporate officer and in charge of total management of an organisation.?

Mr. Hainer had a fantastic visit to Carlsbad and we were honored to host him and the group of participant investors on their Field Trip to Carlsbad. Mr. Hainer did in fact discuss the topic of being a top employer, particularly as it pertains to our industry leadership. Herbert Hainer and Mark King both spoke to the investor group about our brand leadership and the people behind the success of our golf brands.

Recent studies from Universum Global have shown that some of the top items students are looking for in a top employer for 2012 are professional training and development, challenging work, high future earnings, good reference for future career and market success. How do you feel TaylorMade stacks up against these?

I believe that we stack up very well against these top employer criteria or top items. We offer an environment where employees are challenged to seek their greatness each and every day and this translates directly into our success in the golf marketplace and with our customers who have grown to expect great things from TaylorMade-adidas GolfTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaGTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaG) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaG family.) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaGTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaG) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaG family. family..

Outside of these attributes, what do you feel TaylorMade has that sets you apart or makes you unique as an employer?

Our principles – when you see seeking greatness, inspiring people, acting with speed and leading change – and when you bring these to life each and every day, I feel that we have a unique advantage, given that these principles start from the top of the organization and move all throughout the TaylorMade world.

What areas will you put the most focus on in 2013 to continue your success as a top employer?

The TaylorMade headquarters' main entrance in Carlsbad, California.

We will continue to focus on the environment that we are creating for ALL of our employees, where they have the opportunity and responsibility to create the future of TaylorMade-adidas GolfTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaGTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaG) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaG family.) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaGTaylorMade-adidas Golf (TMaG) has led the golf industry's technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the adidas Group, which was the birth of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. In 2008, golf-inspired lifestyle sportswear manufacturer Ashworth became part of the TMaG family. family.. This environment centers around being able to create, innovate and challenge the landscape of golf and our employees that make it all happen!

Okay, last question Joe, if you could give three of your top words of wisdom for anybody interested in working for TaylorMade, what would those be?

Inspiration, Greatness, Change, Speed … four words instead of three!

Rolf, one year can be a very long time… for example if you are waiting for the bus. However, a year sometimes also passes in the twinkling of an eye. How do you feel about the last 12 month?

Five Ten's founder and president Charles Cole together with Rolf Reinschmidt.

Definitely not like waiting for the bus because that would mean waiting passively for something to happen. For me the last year felt like going on a weekend outdoor expedition with some friends, it just flew by.

That’s right. So this implies you are quite satisfied with the process of integrating Five Ten into the company so far, right?

Yes I am. We have set ourselves clear priorities before starting the integration process. These priorities included setting up business and creation processes for Five Ten, providing them with the adidas Group’s infrastructure systems and setting up a European Sales Office at the adidas Group’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach. Looking at these things, I can say we achieved quite a lot and are fully on target. The European Sales team is complete by now, the first Five Ten shoes are produced in adidas supplier factories and many processes are already harmonized. In 2013 it will be very interesting to get the first outcomes of what we worked on in 2012. Nevertheless we will predominantly need the upcoming year to practically apply a couple of things which we have been implementing in the last 12 months.

Come on! No pitfalls? No frustrations?

Five Ten free climber Dean Potter climbing in front of a breathtaking scenery

All in all I am very satisfied with the progress we have made. It wasn’t always easy and there is obviously always room for improvement. I certainly would have liked to progress faster at some points; if we’d start today with the integration I’d for example focus even more on setting up the required IT Systems. But after all we should never forget that business integrations are not only about processes and abstract organizational charts. First and foremost it’s about people. There are human beings behind any brand and pretty much any process. Each and every team member has very distinct ideas, habits and needs. The key success factor is to make sure everybody is buying into the changes we are carrying out, understands where we are heading as a company and is willing to contribute their part. It’s important to do things step by step.

adidas Outdoor has quite ambitious business goals. Do you have time for doing things step by step?

There is one thing that became very clear to me throughout the last months: at adidas we are always looking for ways to improve our business and sometimes this leads to being a little bit too self-critical. It feels like we sometimes tend to forget that we are a very well-oiled machine with very high and professional standards and an incredibly valuable performance culture. We should be more aware of this culture and the fact that we are moving at a very fast pace. For a much smaller brand such as Five Ten and the people that bring it to life it is sometimes hard to understand why we do things the way we do. They are just used to a different company culture and different ways of working.

Can you give us a specific example here?

In August 2012 adidas Outdoor invited international stars from the bouldering and sport climbing scene to a second edition of adidas ROCKSTARS to Stuttgart, Germany; a great stage for both adidas Outdoor and Five Ten

Five Ten benefits very much from the adidas Group’s infrastructure and our standardized processes. They are very keen to learn how we do certain things. But in order to implement these processes we need to get rid of some habits held dear for quite a while. To give you an example: if we can provide a salesperson with a complete sample set for his sell-in meetings with retailers early on, it’s definitely worth the efforts of change. But you need to find the balance between change for the good and change for the sake of changing. By changing people’s working culture you might also run the risk of trimming their creativity. Overall it is great to see that the better part of both, adidas and Five Ten employees, are enthusiastically adapting to the changes and embrace the new possibilities.

You outlined how Five Ten is benefitting from the new situation. Is it generally rather Five Ten taking advantage of the acquisition than adidas Outdoor?

Both sides are benefitting. On the one hand Five Ten currently takes very much advantage of adidas’ experience. On the other hand adidas obtained the rights for Five Ten’s stealth rubber technology which unlocks enormous potentials – not only for adidas Outdoor but also for various other adidas categories. The enthusiasm of some categories about the technology is so big that I had to literally ring-fence Five Ten in order keep focused on our priorities.

Moreover it was very good to see that the FiveTen acquisition gave adidas additional credibility in the outdoor community for being an authentic and high-performance player in the outdoor industry. The community’s recognition is priceless as it pays into our strategy of being an authentic player in the outdoor category.

Thank you very much for your time Rolf!

Rolf Reinschmidt, Senior Vice President adidas Outdoor, was one of the leading persons in the acquisition process of Five Ten.

You are very welcome.

Thinking about global style icons

NEO is a new brand, new in concept, new in spirit. And everything we do embodies the idea of ‘living your style.’ At the beginning of 2012, we started thinking about possible global style icons who also embody our spirit and brand personality.

Justin Bieber’s name came up almost immediately. He possesses an undeniable young, carefree, bold spirit and energy that is identical to the adidas NEO Label. He lives his style in the everyday, but most certainly when he is performing through music and fashion. He has a natural ability to take casual product and make it his own look, which is a perfect fit for NEO, a lifestyle brand for teens. He is multi-talented, a good role model and is hugely popular with the NEO audience.

The new NEO style icon

Hermann Deininger, our Chief Marketing OfficerThe Chief Marketing Officer (CMOThe Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is an executive responsible for various marketing activities in an organisation. Most often, the position reports to the Chief Executive OfficerThe Chief Executive Officer (CEOThe Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company is the highest-ranking corporate officer and in charge of total management of an organisation.) of a company is the highest-ranking corporate officer and in charge of total management of an organisation..) is an executive responsible for various marketing activities in an organisation. Most often, the position reports to the Chief Executive OfficerThe Chief Executive Officer (CEOThe Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company is the highest-ranking corporate officer and in charge of total management of an organisation.) of a company is the highest-ranking corporate officer and in charge of total management of an organisation.., had been considering Justin Bieber as a NEO style icon for a while and when the moment felt right, he gave it the green light. Then Jon Wexler from the EIM team began negotiations with Justin’s management team. And with Jon’s magic touch, everything came together seamlessly.

Justin Bieber and NEO: a perfect fit

Justin has an amazing and diverse worldwide fan base and a very strong influence over them. From a brand marketing perspective, the thing that excited us most was his ability to connect with the NEO teen through his vast social media reach. He has captured the dedicated following of more than 46 million fans on Facebook. NEO makes deep connections with consumers via social media platforms (e.g. on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or Tumblr), so the fit with Justin was perfect. We will leverage his platforms and our platforms over the next 2 years to really engage with the NEO teen and build a powerful brand.

Not only will Justin be fronting the 2013 adidas NEO Label “live your style” brand campaigns, he will also be identifying favorite items for every season. NEO is also an official sponsor of his Believe World Tour 2012/2013 and we will be activating those opportunities as well. He has collaborated on an exclusive design of golden NEO sneakers that he will be performing in during his tour. A special edition of these shoes will be available for purchase later this year.

A perfect match

I am a huge Belieber! After seeing his movie, Never Say Never, I realized that he is the real deal. He is an incredibly talented kid, making the most of everyday and leaving his mark, just as NEO is. The minute I saw the movie, I knew he was a great match for NEO. Luckily, there were others within the company who were thinking the same thing.

Justin Bieber taking a close look at the golden NEO sneakers

At NEO, we are looking forward to working with this great young talent and bringing to life many exciting initiatives through this iconic partnership.

1. Stay focused and consistent

I believe it is important to stick to your goals, your overarching vision and to what you really believe in. How do you define success? As soon as you are clear on this, ‘focus’ and ‘consistency’ become magic words. Distraction is the biggest enemy of efficiency. Route 2015Route 2015 is the Strategic Business Plan for 2015 that aims at growing the business of the entire adidas Group to € 17 billion by 2015. This plan is the most comprehensive business plan the adidas Group has ever prepared, incorporating all brands, sales channels and Group functions globally. It is our road to success: our Route 2015. once more provides the proof: since starting the journey, every major decision has been checked as to whether it complies with the plan. The focus is clearly on creating the industry’s most desirable brands, and we have executed exactly what we said we would do: innovate, authenticate and invest, to excite our consumers, in particular, the next generation. You see: a plan is like a map, giving you direction so you don’t drift off course.

2. Be flexible

John Lennon is, nevertheless, right when he underlines in the quote above that life and circumstances are constantly changing. Therefore, the pursuit of success certainly requires flexibility and sometimes you might have to run another path than you initially thought you would. This does not contradict the need for focus and consistency. While we have to be clear about our goals and principles, we must at the same time be flexible about the process of how we can achieve them. Here is an example: In light of our ambitious 2015 goals, range harmonisation has been and will be a key task going forward. The direction for the Range comes even more from the Global organistaion but offers enough local flexibility within a given framework to cover local demands.

3. Know what you are doing it for

All goals are worthless if you don’t know what you are pursuing them for … or for whom – because this is most often what motivates you, especially if it is emotionally important to you. Think about your own goals … it’s rarely the objective in itself that drives you. From my point of view, this goes for people as well as companies. Route 2015Route 2015 is the Strategic Business Plan for 2015 that aims at growing the business of the entire adidas Group to € 17 billion by 2015. This plan is the most comprehensive business plan the adidas Group has ever prepared, incorporating all brands, sales channels and Group functions globally. It is our road to success: our Route 2015. clearly asks us to: “Place the consumer front and centre in every decision we make.” Essentially, this has been rooted in our company since its very first days. One of Adi Dassler’s credos always was: “Only the best for the athletes.”This credo, amongst other things, still drives the adidas Group because, over time, the set of targets has broadened and consumers’ wishes have evolved since back then. By always focusing on what’s best for your consumers and stakeholders, brands will always achieve desirability – at least for as long as they implement with excellence.

4. Implement with excellence

Just having a plan is not enough.  A plan’s success obviously strongly depends on the quality of its execution. “Implementing with excellence” not only goes for products, but also for processes and services, etc.. Looking at the newly created label adidas NEO, the team managed to step into the world of fast fashion retailers within no time and deserves a lot of respect. The fast fashion retail sector has been a completely new business model for the adidas Group. Since the end of March, ten stores have been opened in the adidas NEO test market Germany. It’s all about quality– the quality of your ideas, the quality of your work and the quality of your products.

5. Speed

Whilst quality of implementation should be important, on the other hand, you shouldn’t lose too much time with decision making. The speed of the leader(s) is the speed of the team. I am not talking about decisions made in blind faith … especially if they might be irreversible. I am talking about the challenge not to extend the process of weighing up the pros and cons. Did you ever slow yourself down by complicating processes and by asking too many people for their point of view? Did such behaviour make you more successful? Probably not! At some point, you’ll just need to make a call. Don’t let these things steal your forward momentum. The adidas Group decided in the context of Route 2015Route 2015 is the Strategic Business Plan for 2015 that aims at growing the business of the entire adidas Group to € 17 billion by 2015. This plan is the most comprehensive business plan the adidas Group has ever prepared, incorporating all brands, sales channels and Group functions globally. It is our road to success: our Route 2015. that ‘speed’ and fast decision making would be facilitated by a leaner organisation; the subsequent measures taken included, for example, reducing the complexity of the product creation process. It seems to work.

Now it’s your turn! Do you agree? Do you have anything to add? What are your key attributes which make a plan a success? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.