Athletic Footwear Industry

I felt that the most important aspect of this case is the history that has been with Bangladesh, and the major political turmoil it has seen in a very short period of time. In 1947 the government transitioned from British-ruled to that of a providence of Pakistan, which became known as East Pakistan. Although they had independence, they always felt disconnect and that they were underrepresented in the government. In the early 1970’s, they gained their independence with the help of India and became known as the country of Bangladesh. The country has continued to remain split with many political groups fighting for power to overthrow leadership. Many of the parties were linked to opposition newspapers, which promote their

Customers make purchasing decisions based on the information they have among products and the values of goods a company offers. For that reason, companies have to promote their products to increase products awareness. In order to achieve organizational goals, companies must understand the market’s needs to ensure the success of their businesses. Such information can be gained through research. The industry that will form the basis of this paper is Western Canadian Shoe Association. The three brands under study are Reebok, Adidas, and Nike.

Foot Locker is one of the top competitors in the athletic shoe industry. Foot Locker Inc. accounts for a market leading 40% of industry revenue (IBISWorld, 2014). Foot Locker’s first retail location was opened on September 12, 1974 in City of Industry, California. Initially a subsidiary of the F.W Woolworth Company, Foot Locker Inc. has since becoming the successor corporation to its former parent company, and now operates approximately 3,450 retail locations under its different brands (Footlocker Inc., July, 2013). They compete with other athletic shoe stores like Adidas and Nike, as well department stores like Target and Wal-Mart. Since 1974, Foot Locker Inc. has launched different brands, namely, Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champs, and Eastbay, to cater to consumer demographics, and adapt to changing consumer preferences.

The main competitors that we determined for Running Central based on the athletic footwear industry in the Peoria area were Dick’s Sporting Goods, Finish Line, and Champs Sports. Secondary competitors could be considered places like Wal-Mart, Shoe Carnival, Payless, Shoe Dept., and DSW who sell but aren’t specialized in athletic shoes. Due to the fact that Peoria has a lot of primary and secondary competitors for Running Central, we determined that there is an overstored market. In order to stay competitive in an overstored market, Running Central has focused on non-price actions that are exclusive to their store and will drive sales and profits; this being through their extraordinary customer service.

By the use of Porter’s Five Forces model to analysis the athletic footwear market around the world; our strategy is to cut the price of footwear in the Year 11 and 12, and to increase budget of advertisement and to bid celebrity endorsements in order to boost the sales volume in a competitive industry .

The athletic shoe industry will be first analyzed by the Porter’s Five Forces framework. The well-known Porter’s Five Forces is a model that analyzes an industry and helps firms develop a business strategy. The five forces model focuses on six forces that will determine the attractiveness of this industry: (1) the risk of entry by potential competitors, (2) the intensity of rivalry among established companies within an industry, (3) the bargaining power of buyers, (4) the bargaining power of suppliers, (5) the closeness of substitutes to an industry 's products, and (6) the power of complement providers (Hill, Jones, & Schilling, 2015).

This research paper will be demonstrating a more in depth look at the way athletic shoes are produced and sold. The information that will be provided contains all the background history and production process all the way up until the shoe is ready to be sold. The brand of shoe that I am specifically targeting is Nike. I wanted to do a big brand name like Nike because it is one of the most dominating companies in the sports industry. Their shoes are upon the highest sellers in the U.S. and many sports teams and athletes sponsor Nike to extend the name to many people. Nike is so popular throughout the world and it will be interesting to learn more about where the product is actually coming from and how it is being made.

NIKE is the world’s largest athletic footwear and apparel that ranks in the top 20 of the World’s Most Valuable Brands 2015. It designs, develops, markets, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories. The company was founded in 1964 and has its headquarter in Beaverton, Oregon. Apart from Nike brand, the company also entirely owned subsidiaries, which are Converse and Hurley International brand. In FY2015 (for the period ended 31 May 2015), Nike, Inc. recorded revenues of $30,601 million ($28,701 million solely from Nike brand), a growth of 10% over FY2014. Moreover, a break-down of revenues (only Nike brand) by geography illustrates that 47.9% of the total revenues were accounted by North America, 19.9% by Western Europe, 13.6% by Emerging Country, 10.7% by Greater China (an increase of 18% over FY2014), and the rest by Central and Eastern Europe and Japan. In addition, in term of revenues by product category, Nike generates revenues mainly from Footwear products with 63.8%, following by apparel 30.1%, and the remaining is equipment and other.

In this industry, the Power of Buyers is low to moderate. It is considered low because athletic shoe producers have two sets of customers, direct consumers and intermediate consumers creating very low buyer concentration. Their intermediate consumers include a variety of stores from discounts stores, sporting goods stores and department stores. Due to the large size of the athletic shoe producers, the majority of intermediate consumers have very little negotiating ability and thus low power, allowing the athletic footwear firms the ability to earn an increase in profits by selling to intermediate consumers at full price. Some intermediate consumers such as large department stores and large sporting goods stores would have the size to be able to leverage some power over the athletic shoe producers giving them moderate power. The industry’s members reach direct consumers through vertically integrated self-operated brick and mortar retail stores as well as through online firms. Direct buyers have moderate power over the athletic shoe producers since there are no switching costs to go between brands. However, athletic footwear is strategically important to people if they are either athletes or people wanting to participate in high performance fitness activities, therefore giving them low power since they depend on the product to fill a

Competition is very fierce due to the number of companies competing for sales. Lots of money goes to marketing and promotions using various channels to reach the young demographic group of consumers who spend the most money on Nike’s products. Growth is slowing down in the athletic footwear industry. But new markets are emerging with high growth rates. These markets include extreme sports market and the corporate merchandise market.

Market analysis C & J Clarks LtdCONTENTSEXECUTIVE SUMMARY1.INTRODUCTION2.COMPANY HISTORY AND PROFILE2.1C&J Clark2.2History2.3Manufacturing2.4Range of Shoes2.5 K Shoes3.MARKET ANALYSISA. MICRO ENVIRONMENT3.1 Market Data3.2Competition3.3Consumer demandB. MACRO ENVIRONMENT3.4Political3.5Social3.6Technological3.7Economic4.SWOT ANALYSIS5.IDENTIFICATIONS OF STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES6.RECOMMENDATIONS6.1Short Term6.2Medium Term6.3Long TermEXECUTIVE SUMMARYI have been asked by C & J Clark Limited (Clarks) to prepare a report which would include a market analysis of the UK footwear industry and to propose a number of strategic recommendations which would ensure that Clarks secures its short, medium and long term future as the market leader in the shoe

Those who enjoy the sport of basketball or fashion prefer various types of footwear and therefore are the major consumers. For instance, brand loyalty such as Nike, Jordan, Adidas, and athlete endorsements influence a buyer’s decision. The marketers do not target individuals who dislike basketball, and people who are above or below the age of the target market. As a result, it is a source of opportunity because it introduces a product line such as socks, insoles, and cleaning spray for consumers outside of the target market.

Share of athletic footwear sales by channel of distribution in the U.S. from 2008 to 2014

Barry and Harris (2015) reveal that compared to Nike, Adidas has less than half of share, thus it becomes evident that the latter has lesser market share compared to its competitor. On the other hand, according to a survey conducted by HS Insider, in terms of college students, several of them prefer the fit of Nike, while others prefer the quality of Adidas (2015). Furthermore, taking the case of employees working in each company all over the world, both companies have same amount of workforce (HS Insider, 2015). So how does one company have a greater presence than the other? The answer lies in the public relations as well as social media presence, which show that Nike significantly overshadows Adidas with its various online programs and deals. Furthermore, Nike spends

The class breakdown shows that the propensity to wear `sporty ' garments increases with status, but peaks in the group for both men and women. Geographic market segmentation. There are a number of different factors to consider with regards to the geographic scope of the market. The major retailers are national chains, whose pricing is generally determined on a national level. The larger cities and shopping centers, for example, will generally sell a greater amount and a greater range of products. With the increasing use of the internet, consumers are able purchase products from a wide number of competing sources, both on a national or possibly even international level. Consumer Markets. Sportswear can easily be the largest individual market, but this includes purchasing of sportswear to use as leisurewear or casual clothing (e.g. multi-purpose trainers as casual shoes). It is now impossible to distinguish between the `fashion or function ' markets. Functional items are extremely diverse, with some important niche markets being running shoes, fleece tops for outdoor pursuits. The sportswear market is driven by strong branding and globalised manufacturing, led by two giant brands which are Nike and Adidas. Competitor Analysis. Competitor analysis in marketing and strategic management is an assessment of the strengths and