During a conference call with news media last week, NBA Commissioner David Stern and Erich Stamminger, president and CEO and of the adidas brand, both appeared to be excited about building on the international opportunities now available through a new partnership between the two brands. The adidas Group and the National Basketball Association have signed an 11-year strategic global merchandising partnership that will make the adidas brand the official uniform and apparel provider for the NBA, the Women’s National Basketball Association and the NBA Development League beginning with the 2006-07 NBA season. The new deal extends the original Reebok agreement by six years, with product expected on the shelves in October or November. adidas acquired Reebok in January and there has been much speculation about a shift in league licenses since the acquisition was first announced in August.

You could almost hear Stern grinning as he talked about the perfect storm-like situation that would see adidas finding its stride as the new supplier for the NBA just in time for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. According to Stern, while basketball’s status as the most popular sport on the planet might be debated, the NBA as the most recognizable league is not, given the fragmented nature of the world’s soccer landscape. In China, though, basketball is the most popular sport, in part thanks to Yao Ming’s emergence as a superstar in the NBA. Still, Stern was happy to point out that the top-selling jersey in the emerging market is Tracy McGrady, followed by Allan Iverson and Ming.

Stamminger commented that adidas plans to do more than just take over the license and sell jerseys. The company wants to “build an environment around the NBA” with more showcased product and shop-in-shop set-ups. Design will be conducted by adidas’ design organization with a strong possibility of the brand bringing technical features to the apparel like the brand’s ClimaCool.

When SEW quizzed Stamminger about the future of the NFL and NHL deals now under the Reebok business, he said that there were “no plans to switch.” In regards to why the NBA, he laid out in logical fashion: adidas wants to be the leading sports brand in the world, basketball is the leading sport in the world, NBA is the leading icon in basketball, therefore, adidas needs to partner with the NBA to become the leading sports brand in the world. Reebok will remain a “marketing partner” of the NBA with the ability to create NBA branded footwear. The company currently markets NBA licensed product under the Reebok brand in the mid-market channels and sells NBA footwear under the Logo Athletic brand in the mass retail channel.

Over the mid- to long-term, sales are expected to be split 50/50 domestically and internationally with a surge in retail products and purchases following the Beijing Olympics.


>>> With adidas now clearly laid out as the “team” brand, why the reluctance to move on the NFL deal? Does it have more to do with the fact that the NFL may see an opportunity to bid up the deal if re-opened? Nike may be a threat here, but the Reebok OnField group, which now reports to both the adidas and Reebok CEO’s, has set the bar pretty high…

>>> Aside from the international angle, another upside may be the ability for adidas to utilize a much deeper player pool in cross-marketing basketball footwear with NBA product…