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Adidas Plans Huge Push Behind World Cup and New Zidane Boot

Athletic wear sales tend to run in cycles.  Interest often peaks around major sporting events and companies assoicated with star athletes see their sales rise as the athletes medals move up the metal scale.  With 2010 approaching, adidas sees its biggest marketing event of every four year cycle ahead and is now taking steps to position itself for maximum advantage.  adidas expects operating margins to be around 5% this year, down from 9,9% in 2008.  It expects a profitable fourth quarter and year despite extra marketing expense in anticipation of the push for 2010.

In addition to a major push to increase soccer sales as discussed below, adidas execs announced a new endorsement deal in a different sport at the press briefing today.   Andy Murray has been signed to a five year, $24.5 million  deal to endorse adidas clothes and shoes, starting in 2010.  He will be dressed in adidas and wearing a new shoe, The Barricade,  when he takes the court in Melbourne for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season.  Murray, currently ranked number four in the world, joins other adidas tennis stars Novak Djokovic, currently world number three and Hopman Cup teammate Laura Robson.  This is the first deal brokered for Murray by his new management company 19 Entertainment, whose most famous client, David Beckham, is also notably a long-time adidas endorser.

In its area of traditional strength, adidas is official athletic wear sponsor of the FIFA World Cup and intends to exploit that endorsement for all its worth in South Africa next year.  It will outfit at least 10 national teams, including Germany, Spain and host South Africa.  It will provide the balls and outfit all officials and referees.  adidas is aiming to beat soccer related sales of $1.92 Billion it recorded in 2008 when the European Championship was last held.

To assist in that effort, adidas is debuting a new signature boot co-designed by former French captain and Real Madrid star, and notorious head-butter Zinedine Zidane, the Predator X, which is the tenth version of an iconic boot worn by Zidane when France won the World Cup in 1998 and also when he cost France the 2008 World Cup.

Here is a video of Zidane previewing the new Predator X:

Full post as published by Sports Biz on November 05, 2009 (boomark / email).