Marketing & Sponsorship

Nike nabs early lead over Adidas in Women’s World Cup gear sales

Published

1 year ago

July 26, 2023

Among the battles of the brands at the Women’s World Cup, no showdown likely means more dollar-wise than the one playing out between Adidas and Nike.

Each sees soccer as a key cog in its business, and the sport produced sales of $25 billion and $51 billion for the companies, respectively, over their most recent four quarters.

At the moment, Nike appears to be winning.

“Nike is selling out of World Cup merchandise faster and at a higher price point than Adidas,” Refinitiv director of consumer research Jharonne Martis said in an email. “The latter has been offering higher promotions for its World Cup merchandise. This suggests that Nike is better poised to gain higher profits from the Women’s World Cup.”

As of a week ago, just ahead of the tournament’s kickoff, Nike was enjoying a sellout rate on 11% of its World Cup merchandise, compared to 4% for Adidas, according to Martis’ research, which stems from a partnership between Centric Pricing, a collector of pricing and sales data, and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), owner of Refinitiv as well as other financial services and information businesses.

Adidas is an official sponsor of the WWC, which is taking place in Australia and New Zealand. But both companies sell World Cup-related merchandise by virtue of their team sponsorships. Adidas sponsors 10 of the teams in the tournament, while Nike claims 13. (Puma is a distant third with two teams while a clutch of other brands sponsor one squad.) Teams generating the most sellouts are Adidas’ Argentina and Nike’s Brazil, England and France.

According to Martis, the research found 65% of national team merchandise on sale at Adidas with an average discount rate of 25% off list price, while Nike appears to be holding the line on prices better, with 16% of its team merchandise on sale with an average markdown of 4%.

However, discounting doesn’t tell the whole story—as any shopper knows, sometimes the list price is there just to make the actual price seem like a better deal. Such might be the case with Adidas, which the Centric-LSEG analysis says is starting with an $84 average price for shirts and jerseys—the bulk of merch sales—compared to Nike, which has an average list price of $78. The researchers tallied 846 “fan gear” items from Nike across the 17 teams it sponsors, and 354 products for the 17 “national teams” Adidas supports.

The Women’s World Cup merchandise trends seem to carry over from the men’s version of the quadrennial tournament last fall. In the first two weeks of the Qatar World Cup, Nike enjoyed a sellout rate of 23% compared to 11% for Adidas, according to a December analysis by Refinitiv done in conjunction with StyleSage. During that period Nike had a much higher average selling price than Adidas, $71 versus $46.

With both World Cups, each company sees making a big impression important both for immediate sales and long-term brand awareness. Nike CEO John Donahue told analysts at the end of June that the company saw double-digit growth in its global soccer business thanks in part to excitement about the Women’s World Cup. “Nike,” he said, “is proud to partner with more federations in the tournament than any other brand, and we’ve matched that energy with our most comprehensive women’s football collection ever.”

For his part, Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden told analysts in early May that soccer remains a strong suit for the company. “We look very, very good for ’24 in football. Women’s football gained importance,” Gulden said. “I do think we have to own soccer around the world.”

Author

Ambrose Ijeh

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Marketing & Sponsorship

DFB Betting Partner Interwetten Stops Making Markets In German Amateur Football

Published

12 hours ago

October 16, 2024

Ambrose Ijeh

Germany-based bookmaker Interwetten, a partner of the DFB, has stopped offering betting markets for all amateur matches in the country.

The decision was taken after news last month that police in Germany confirmed they are investigating potential betting related match-fixing in 17 lower-league matches.

Matches being investigated were from Germany’s professional third division (3. Liga), semi-professional fourth tier (Regionalliga) and amateur fifth tier (Oberliga). Authorities said they are looking into suspicious refereeing decisions and unusual behaviour from goalkeepers and defenders.

As well as pulling betting markets from the men’s and women’s amateur game (both on their domestic and international platforms), Interwetten have tightened their betting registration rules.

German-based customers can no longer register for its international platform, and international gamblers cannot register on the German platform.

“We very much welcome this decision by Interwetten,” says Dr. Holger Blask, CEO of DFB GmbH & Co. KG.

“This shows the partner’s sense of responsibility. We are both convinced that a controlled sports betting market with licensed sports betting providers ensures proper game play and thus the integrity of sporting competition, as well as best taking player protection into account.”

Author

Ambrose Ijeh

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Marketing & Sponsorship

Adidas Release Absolutely Stunning Jude Bellingham Signature Predator

Published

12 hours ago

October 16, 2024

Ambrose Ijeh

Adidas has unveiled its first ever Predator football boot in collaboration with Jude Bellingham, Named ‘Belligold’, the England midifelder helped design the premium look and colourway, with the Adidas Preadator Elite x Jude Bellingham set to debut at Estadio de Balaídos as Real Madrid take on Celta Vigo at the weekend.

Along with the Predator unveiling, Adidas has also released a signature Gazelle trainer and another Bellingham Originals clothing collection. There’s a consistent theme throughout, as the 21-year-old continues to take world football by storm. What most will care about, though, is the stunning Predators…

Featuring the soon-to-be iconic ‘JB’ logo – Jude Bellingham’s initials, of course – on the fold-over tongue, the Adidas Predator Elite comes in a sleek black and gold colourway with subtle detailing and accents throughout.

Winning the Champions League and La Liga in his first season at Real Madrid is certainly the inspiration for that colourway, and is further emphasised by the catching gold outsole adorning the soleplate the boot. Bellingham’s La Liga Player of the Year award is just reason for the gold and black colourway, too.

Author

Ambrose Ijeh

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Marketing & Sponsorship

Brazil Cracks Down On Unlicensed Bookmakers’ Club Sponsorships

Published

2 days ago

October 14, 2024

Ambrose Ijeh

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said it will enforce a ban on club sponsorship by bookmakers across all levels of Brazilian football starting last Friday (11 October).

Clubs and leagues have been instructed to end deals with operators lacking approval from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), following orders from the Ministry of Finance.

This move affects five Série A clubs, including Grêmio, Corinthians, Bahia, and Palmeiras, all of which are sponsored by Esportes da Sorte – the company challenging the SPA’s licensing process.

Athletico Paranaense has already suspended its sponsorship with the company, though other clubs maintain their partnerships.

The CBF’s decision aligns with Brazil’s broader effort to regulate betting through a new licensing regime, aimed at controlling the rapidly growing sports betting market in the country.

The SPA has issued 90 licenses but faced criticism from betting companies left out of the process, such as Esportes da Sorte, which only holds a state-level license from Rio de Janeiro, now invalid nationally due to a recent ruling.

Brazil has been plagued by allegations of betting related match-fixing with the unlicensed betting market impacting not only the sporting integrity of Brazilian football but also the country’s broader economic and legal framework.

However, betting sponsorships have quickly become a crucial revenue source for many clubs.

The lights-out approach adopted by Brazil’s regulators differs from that in Europe where regulators have generally given betting operators more time to comply with new regulations amid growing concerns of the need to increase consumer protections. In Brazil the issue has been that regulation has not been fast enough to keep up with the explosion of bookmakers in the market and the clubs’ financial ecosystems.