In its bid to overtake Nike by 2015, Adidas Group has fully backed Hydra Ventures, a new venture capital firm that will create and develop new consumer brands in the apparel, footwear and sports related areas.
Hydra Ventures full backing by the Adidas Group allows it to take a long-term perspective on building sustainable consumer brands, reads the firms website. We are able to back teams through all stages of their development and provide financing terms that are flexible and transparent.
Reached by e-mail Friday, a spokeswoman for Adidas Group declined to respond to several questions about Hydra Ventures investment criteria. We have not launched any ventures yet but are currently soliciting and considering proposals, she said.
Hydra Ventures counts three of Adidas Groups top executives on its board, including CEO Herbert Hainer; Managing Director Tom Montgomery and CFO Robin Stalker. Hainer spent eight years with Procter & Gamble in various sales and marketing positions. He joined Adidas Germany in 1987 and has held numerous management positions within the Group, including managing director sales and logistics Germany and SVP of sales and logistics for EMEA.
The veteran fund manager on the board is Duncan Fitzwilliams, who sits at the helm of Nash Fitzwilliams, a London firm that specializes in private placements of between $1.5 million and $30 million. Rounding out the five-member board is Toby Hoare, CEO for JWT Europe J. Walter Thompson, the global advertising firm.
The launch of Hydra Ventures comes as Adidas Group seeks to topple Nike, Inc. as the worlds leading sports brand by growing revenues 45-50 percent in currency-neutral terms by 2015. Adidas Groups revenues rose 15.5 percent to $17 billion in 2010. Nikes fiscal 2011 revenues reached $21 billion for the 12-moth period through May 2011.
