Nike vs. Adidas

Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Oregon, Nike has grown into the world’s largest producer of athletic apparel. The largest athletic apparel manufacturer in Europe, German-based Adidas comes in behind Nike as the world’s second-largest producer of athletic apparel.

Years of successful sales and marketing earned Nike global brand recognition. The company has locations around the world and nearly everywhere you go someone can be spotted wearing something made by Nike. Numerous top athletes have Nike sponsorships and product lines.

On the other hand, Adidas began manufacturing athletic shoes long before Nike. The Dassler brothers started making shoes in the 1920s. The brothers later split, forming Adidas and Puma. Like Nike, Adidas sponsors top athletes.

Some would argue Nike has just been re-releasing old products and branding them as retro. The company has not brought significantly new or innovative technology or styles to the market lately. It’s time for Nike to step out of the box.

Adidas partnered with the world’s leading chemical company BASF to engineer groundbreaking cushioning material that has the highest return on energy, giving athletes more bounce in each step and less pounding. In response to Adidas’ boost technology, Nike released its react cushion technology for athletes, which provides a soft, springy step.
Nike and Adidas also added more culturally relevant brand ambassadors to their sponsorship rosters. Kanye West first teamed up with Nike; however, when the company would not pay him royalties on his shoes he left and reached out to Adidas. The Adidas Yeezy arose from Nike’s lapse in judgment and has taken the market by storm.

Nike has grown into a much larger company than Adidas and the financial numbers reflect this. However, Adidas maintains an international presence and competes with Nike in global markets, even surpassing Nike in some markets.

So Nike versus Adidas? The numbers speak for themselves. Style wise, the choice is yours.