MSNBC: Adidas, the German sporting goods company that recently acquired US rival Reebok, plans to reposition Reebok as a performance brand, said Herbert Hainer, Adidas’s chief executive.
While Adidas is known for engineering athletic shoes – last year it launched Adidas I, a $250 high-tech wonder dubbed “the world’s first intelligent shoe” – Reebok has emphasised casual footwear.
Endorsement deals with rappers Jay-Z and 50 Cent have given the Reebok brand broad appeal among the more fashion-conscious urban consumers.
Speaking by satellite to a strategic footwear forum hosted by the World Shoe Association, Mr Hainer said: “There is no doubt that we will position Reebok back more to a performance brand than it has been over the last two to three years. Reebok was one of the first to bring a lot of technology into the market.”