Adidas Mission Statement vs Adidas Scandals

Adidas Mission Statement: Adidas was originally known as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) when it was first created in 1924, but was rebranded as Adidas in 1949. The company is a global sports behemoth, earning nearly 22 billion Euro in annual revenues.

Adidas is the largest sports apparel manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world, only behind Nike. Adidas currently owns other companies and organizations, such as Reebok, Matix, TaylorMade, Runtastic, and the Bayern Munich football club.

While the name “Adidas” is assumed to be initials for “All Day I Dream About Sports”, it is actually derived from the name of the company founder, Adolf “Adi” Dassler. His first shoes made since his rebranding featured the signature three-stripe decal that Adidas apparel still has to this day.

Adidas’ slogan is currently “Impossible is Nothing”, inspired by a quote said by late boxing great Muhammad Ali.

Adidas has had quite a remarkable history for almost being a century old, and has garnered success in global marketing and recognition. Since the company had evolved, it has managed to do well in counting on its employees to help its business grow and flourish, as you can see below.

Adidas Core Values

Adidas and its employees carry four key values across the company, which are integrity, passion, performance, and diversity.

This is essentially the Adidas mission statement that is taught to all new and current Adidas employees. These values have helped the company stay at the top of its game for generations, and well as helped them continue to create products and brands for customers to enjoy.

What performance means to Adidas is that the company has to succeed in everything it does, from creating quality products to making money.

Company executives acknowledge the demand of sportswear from youth to professionals, and thus has managed to succeed in making Adidas a lucrative name in sports from Germany to other parts of the world.

Adidas view its biggest asset is its employees; workers need to stay healthy, remain productive, and have the room to work and improve when working alongside Adidas managers and executives.

Adidas Vision Statement

Adidas has also created a “vision statement“. It states that the company is accountable as design leaders with the determination to offer the best products for athletes among all the other offerings in the sports apparel market.

This vision statement is derived from the company’s operations as a reflection for all their employees working for them across the globe. Adidas also emphasizes that its innovations give it the advantage over competing companies, making it an attractive brand for players in its markets.

The first part of Adidas’ “vision statement is that it sees itself as the leader in sports design. Adidas emphasizes that it is driven to lead and set the standards in the industry, rather than observe what other companies such as Nike are doing.

Rather than following trends to simply activate cash-grabs here and there, it tends to follow its own path in order to offer products that are completely new and unique to their audiences. This is done all while making products with quality in mind.

The second part of its “vision statement” involves solving problems that consumers are facing.

Adidas always seeks opportunities to solve problems of various athletes and customers, and solve them in the form of products that are appealing, comfortable, and/or effective in what they are designed to do.

The company believes that this is one of the main reasons why the company exists, as solving problems that consumers are facing has always been an easy means to grow a company.

Is Adidas Aligned With Its Mission Statement?

Many may wonder if Adidas has lived up to their mission statement. As a matter of fact, they have been innovating and helpful with new products and concepts for generations.

• In 1970, they have contributed to making the TELSTAR soccer ball, featuring white hexagons around black pentagons; the classic design that many people still associate with a soccer ball today. This design was conceptualized to help make the ball more visible on black-and-white TV sets.
• In 1984, Adidas introduced the “micropacer”, which was a device inserted into their shoes to help athletes count how many steps they take. This is widely known to day as a pedometer, and Adidas has its own on sale, known as miCoach.
• Adidas has been worn by athletes over many generations, helping teams and individuals achieve championships and even Olympic medals, from Germany to Argentina. In the late 80s, it further innovated by making specialty shoes just for specific sports. Such shoes include the Torsion (running), Streetball (basketball), and Predator (football) shoes.
• Since then, Adidas has further expanded its portfolio to reach out to more types of athletes and consumers than ever before. Reebok CCM Hockey for hockey players, TaylorMade for golfers, and Five Ten for outdoorsmen are among new markets that Adidas now has the opportunity to appeal to.

Thanks to its opportunities to innovate and expand but rather than rebranding their new acquisitions into their proprietary Adidas brand, the company continues to improve upon their pre-existing brands to ensure customers the products behind those brands are as good as ever.

Adidas Corporate Scandals

Being a global company like Adidas, however, does not grant automatic immunity from scrutiny.

• Like rival company Nike, Adidas had been accused of operating sweatshops in other countries for the production of their goods made with cheap labor. Indonesia is the most notable of countries where Adidas “sweatshops” were reported. In 2006 and 2007, Adidas had turned down many suppliers that supported unions and decided to work with subcontractors with subpar labor rights as a means to earn higher profits.
• In 2011, Adidas had been questioned about the overpricing about jerseys of New Zealand rugby team All Blacks. The price was originally NZ$220, which was more than double the price that other vendors had the jersey for at the time. Rather than lowering the price of their own All Blacks jerseys, Adidas took action to stop other vendors from selling theirs.
• In 2012, Adidas published a photo on their Facebook page a picture of one of their shoes designed by Jeremy Scott. These shoes also featured shackles. This shoe was intended to have been released in July of that year. After the outrage on social media that followed, the show never made it to retail.
• In 2016, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has undergone a controversial doping scandal. While other companies have pulled their support from the IAAF in light of this news, Adidas stood by the organization, stating that they would monitor the IAAF closely and watch how they handle themselves moving forward. It was previously reported that Adidas would sever its ties from the IAAF, but instead they have been working with IAAF and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to ensure that reforms are set in motion.
• In 2018, the Adidas head of global sports marketing James Gatto had been found guilty of paying college basketball players to attend colleges and universities sponsored by Adidas. Gatto had been sentenced to nine months in prison, while two other personnel who have also taken part in this scandal served six months. All three were released on appeal bonds.

Despite the company’s shortcomings, Adidas has generally been known as a reputable company making it a viable alternative to Nike and Under Armour. It is because Adidas stuck to its core values and mission statement that it has been able to bounce back from adversity and still make customers happy with sports apparel and products.

---

The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Financhill has a disclosure policy. This post may contain affiliate links or links from our sponsors.