双语新闻：借奥运声势 阿迪意在中国战耐克
Adidas Using Olympics In Race Against NikeWHEN it comes to China, is bigger better? Sportswear giant Adidas AG thinks so.
At midnight Friday, the German-based company will open here its biggest store anywhere. The reflective-glass-clad building, with panels at different angles creating a crinkled effect, is a marker of Adidas's ambition to use China as a battleground to overtake U.S.-based rival Nike Inc.
Measuring about 3,170 square meters, the shop is about 1 1/2 times the size of Adidas's previous largest outlet, on Paris's swanky Champs-Elysees. The new store, in Sanlitun, the main entertainment district in the capital, also serves as a celebration of Adidas's role as the official sportswear provider for the Beijing Games, a privilege that cost an estimated $80 million to $100 million in cash and kind, according to people familiar with the matter. And it's just a few steps from a popular market that sells $20 knockoffs bearing the Adidas three-stripe and trefoil.
But counterfeit items aside, Adidas's business in China is booming, its executives say. Christophe Bezu, who heads Adidas Asia, says China will be the company's second-largest market by sales by the end of this year, after the U.S., overtaking Japan. China is already Adidas's most profitable market, having passed Japan and some other European markets on that measure at the end of 2007.
While the company won't disclose per-country sales, Chief Executive Herbert Hainer has said that Adidas's China sales will surpass 1 billion euros ($1.6 billion) by 2010. Mr. Bezu hinted in an interview this week that the company is 'already likely to do that much earlier. We hope to make an announcement during the Olympics.' The company is due to announce its first-half earnings on Aug. 5, three days before the Olympics' opening ceremony.
Adidas isn't the only sportswear company thriving here. China became Nike's second-largest market in 2007, and the company hit $1 billion in Chinese sales in fiscal 2008, a year ahead of schedule.
Growth in developing markets, including China, is vital to both sportswear titans because their sales are flattening in primary markets such as the U.S. Thanks in part to the frenzy surrounding the Olympics, China's sportswear market in 2009 is projected to increase 90% from 2006, to $7.2 billion from $3.8 billion, according to Shanghai-based sports consultancy ZOU Marketing. By contrast, investors' fears about slowing growth in the U.S. caused Nike's shares to sink 9.8% last Thursday, to their lowest level in almost seven years, after Nike posted its quarterly earnings. Adidas's shares fell 3% the same day amid investor concerns as the U.S. is the major market for both countries. Wednesday in Frankfurt, Adidas's shares edged down nine European cents to 38.81 euros ($61.25), while Nike's shares were up six cents at $59.05 midday on the New York stock exchange.
Given China's huge population and relatively low retail rents, several retailers besides Adidas are betting on megastores. In 2006, for example, Swedish home-furnishings giant Ikea built its largest retail store outside its Stockholm headquarters in Beijing, which draws thousands of shoppers on weekends. This year, the Louis Vuitton brand opened its biggest Asian flagship store in Hong Kong, largely because of the lure of Chinese consumers.
'Big is beautiful in China because it is still an unsophisticated market. Customers are dazzled by size,' says David Hand, Beijing managing director of property company Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.
Also, given the strong sense of patriotism in China, consumers are flattered that retailers are choosing their country to establish their biggest stores, particularly in the nation's capital, he says. According to Jones Lang, average annual rent in the Beijing retail market is $986 per square meter, far below Shanghai's $2,265 and Hong Kong's $3,059.
The Adidas store is part of a huge retail and boutique-hotel complex in Beijing's central entertainment district that was chiefly designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who designed the Louis Vuitton brand's flagship store in Tokyo. The Adidas store was designed by New York-based ShoP Architects as a boxy edifice with strips of mirror and glass that protrude to reflect passing pedestrians and cars, creating a sense of movement and energy, according to ShoP's architects.
Adidas hopes to draw Chinese consumers with the promise of a healthy lifestyle, including free features such as an interactive zone in which shoppers will be able to test their skills in balancing, running and jumping on various machines developed by sports researchers at Germany's University of Freiburg.
A service called 'sports concierge' will provide training and nutrition advice. Other services will offer customized football jerseys and sneakers, even allowing customers to choose different sizes for their left and right feet.
Adidas also plans to use the store as a way to proclaim its dominance over Nike in the Olympic arena. That's particularly important because many Chinese consumers still think that Nike, rather than Adidas, is the Olympic sponsor, especially because of Nike's contracts with a host of sports stars such as Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang and its development of a range of shoes for Olympic athletes. According to a recent Nielsen survey, 'Adidas faces a significant challenge from nonsponsors' Li Ning, a Chinese sportswear maker, and Nike, says Richard Basil-Jones, Nielsen's Asian-Pacific media managing director.
Locating its biggest store in the world's biggest counterfeit market also could be a challenge for Adidas, but it isn't one that its executives acknowledge. The company has said in the past that piracy isn't a big issue for it globally. Nonetheless, the company successfully sued Payless Shoesource Inc. of the U.S. for trademark infringement this year, and a pending trademark-infringement suit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is scheduled to go to trial this fall.
In China, Mr. Bezu says, Adidas's status as an official Olympic sponsor has helped the company clamp down on copyright infringements because Beijing authorities are eager to protect the Olympic logo. The strong arm of the government has also helped curb the kind of ambush marketing typically found at every Olympic Games, when nonsponsors seek to associate themselves with the Olympic brand. Last week, Li Ning took the unprecedented step of bowing out of a deal to outfit sports presenters on China's main TV sports channel after pressure from authorities.
'Whatever we paid for, we pretty much made back, and the Olympics hasn't even begun yet. I'm happy with that,' said Mr. Bezu.
Pleasing the Chinese has paid off in other ways, too. This year, the Shanghai-based ad agency TBWA China, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc., won China's first gold award at the Cannes International Advertising Festival for an Adidas campaign. Using a combination of computer graphics and live action, the ads appealed to Chinese consumers' patriotism by showing China's sports stars scoring goals and breaking records on the backs and shoulders of the Chinese public.
借奥运声势 阿迪意在中国战耐克
--争夺中国市场，规模至上？运动用品巨头阿迪达斯(Adidas AG)是这么认为的。
周五午夜，阿迪达斯全球最大旗舰店将在中国北京开业。这栋玻璃外墙的旗舰店大楼在不同角度嵌板的映衬下显露出波纹的质感。开设这家旗舰店充分展示了德国阿迪达斯意欲通过中国市场与美国竞争对手耐克公司(Nike Inc.)一决高下的雄心。
该旗舰店坐落在北京主要娱乐区三里屯，占地大约3,170平方米，是阿迪达斯此前最大门店──巴黎香榭丽舍店规模的1.5倍左右。新店开张也是为了庆祝阿迪达斯成为北京奥运会体育用品官方赞助商；据知情人士估计，阿迪达斯为这一殊荣付出了8,000万到1亿美元的现金与实物。然而，在距新店不远的一个大众服装市场，20美元就可以买到带有阿迪达斯三线条纹与三叶草标识的仿制品。
但抛开假货不说，阿迪达斯的中国业务正飞速增长；该公司亚太区主管克里斯多夫?贝兹(Christophe Bezu)表示，今年年底中国市场销售额将超过日本，成为公司仅次于美国的全球第二大市场。在利润方面，去年年底中国也已经超过了日本与一些欧洲市场，成为阿迪达斯获利最丰的市场。
尽管阿迪达斯没有公布各个国家的具体销售数据，但公司首席执行长赫尔伯特?海内(Herbert Hainer)曾表示，公司在中国市场销售额将在2010年前超过10亿欧元（16亿美元）。贝兹本周接受采访时暗示，公司有可能提前实现这一目标，希望在奥运期间可以公布好消息。阿迪达斯将于8月5日公布上半财年业绩，奥运会将于8月8日开幕。
当然，在中国市场迅速增长的体育用品公司并不只有阿迪达斯。中国在2007年已经成为耐克全球第二大市场，该公司中国市场销售额在2008财年达到了10亿美元，提前一年实现了目标。
由于在美国等主要市场的业绩趋于稳定，能否在中国这样的发展中市场实现增长对两大体育用品巨头至关重要。据前锐（上海）商务咨询有限公司预计，部分得益于奥运带来的热潮，2009年中国体育运动服饰市场将较2006年增长90%，从38亿美元增至72亿美元。不过，上周耐克公布财季业绩后，由于投资者担心美国经济增长放缓，耐克股价上周四暴跌9.8%，至近7年来最低水平。受投资者忧虑情绪拖累，当日阿迪达斯股价也下挫了3%，因为美国同样也是该公司的最大市场。周三，阿迪达斯在法兰克福市场下跌0.09欧元，至38.81欧元（61.25美元）；当日午盘耐克在纽约证交所上涨6美分，至59.05美元。
考虑到中国巨大的人口以及较低的租金，阿迪达斯以外的一些零售商也纷纷在中国开设大规模零售店。例如，2006年瑞典家居巨头宜家(Ikea)在北京开设了其斯德哥尔摩总部以外的全球最大零售店，每个周末都能吸引数千名顾客。路易?威登(Louis Vuitton)亚洲最大旗舰店今年也在香港开业，中国巨大的顾客群是吸引其在此开设新店的主要原因。
地产公司仲量联行(Jones Lang Lasalle)的北京董事总经理戴维?汉德(David Hand)表示，中国仍然是个尚未成熟的市场，规模大就是优势，就能吸引消费者。
他还指出，考虑到中国人强烈的爱国心，零售商选择在中国──特别是首都北京──开设旗舰店，可以满足中国顾客的自豪感。据仲量联行统计，北京零售市场的平均年租金是每平米986美元，远远低于上海的2,265美元以及香港的3,059美元。
阿迪达斯北京旗舰店是三里屯一个巨型零售与精品酒店综合项目的一部分。该项目由日本建筑师隈研吾(Kengo Kuma)主持设计，路易?威登东京旗舰店也出自他之手。而阿迪达斯旗舰店则是由纽约建筑师事务所ShoP Architects设计的。该商店是座方形建筑，覆盖了诸多镜子与玻璃条；据该事务所的建筑师称，这种设计意在映照出过往的行人与汽车，营造出一种运动与活力的感觉。
阿迪达斯希望带来一种健康的生活方式，以此来吸引中国消费者。该旗舰店为此提供了各种免费项目，例如顾客可以在一个互动区域测试自己的平衡、奔跑与跳跃能力，该区域的各种器械都是由德国弗赖堡大学(University of Freiburg)的运动研究专家开发的。
一个叫“运动管家”的服务则可以提供训练和营养方面的建议。其他服务还包括提供定制的足球队服与球鞋，顾客甚至可以为他们的左右脚选择不同尺码的运动鞋。
阿迪达斯还计划借助该旗舰店显示其在奥运领域压倒耐克的优势。对阿迪达斯来说，这一点非常重要。很多中国消费者仍然认为耐克才是奥运赞助商，这很大程度上是因为耐克与中国跨栏选手刘翔等诸多体育明星签有合约，并为奥运参赛选手开发了一系列运动鞋。尼尔森媒体研究(Nielsen Media Research)亚太媒体董事总经理锺睿楚(Richard Basil-Jones)表示，该公司近期的一项调查显示，阿迪达斯面临著中国体育用品公司李宁公司(Li Ning)的巨大挑战，而李宁公司也不是奥运赞助商。
阿迪达斯将最大旗舰店设在全球最大假货市场中国，可能也是一大挑战，不过其管理人士是不会承认这一点的。该公司过去曾经表示，仿冒品并不是公司全球业务面临的重大问题。不管怎么说，阿迪达斯今年赢得了对美国Payless Shoesource Inc.的商标侵权诉讼，对沃尔玛(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)的此类诉讼也将于秋季审理。
贝兹表示，在中国市场，阿迪达斯的奥运官方赞助商地位有助于公司打击侵权，因为北京方面采取了积极措施保护奥运品牌。中国政府的有力措施也帮助遏制了以往每届奥运会都会出现的隐性营销行为，非赞助商以往总会设法将自身品牌与奥运联系起来。上周，在有关方面的压力下，李宁公司破天荒地中止了与中国主要体育电视频道解说员的服饰赞助合约。
贝兹说：“无论我们付出了多少，我们都得到了更多的回报；而奥运会甚至还没有开幕。我对此很满意。”
迎合中国人心理也在其他方面带来了回报。今年，Omnicom Group Inc.旗下、总部位于上海的广告机构TBWA China借助阿迪达斯广告为中国赢得了戛纳国际广告节(Cannes International Advertising Festival)的首个金奖。通过电脑图形与真人动作相结合，该广告展示了中国体育明星在中国民众的肩膀与脊背上得分与破纪录的场景，成功迎合了中国消费者的爱国热情。
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