Adidas AG FWB: ADS, ADR
ink Sheets: ADDYY) is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, golf company (including Ashworth), and Rockport. Besides sports footwear, the company also produces other products such as bags, shirts, watches, eyewear and other sports and clothing-related goods. The company is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world, after its American rival Nike.[3]
Adidas was founded in 1948 by Adolf "Adi" Dassler, following the split of Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik between him and his older brother, Rudolf. Rudolf later established Puma, which was the early rival of Adidas. Registered in 1949, Adidas is currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, along with Puma.
The company's clothing and shoe designs typically feature three parallel bars, and the same motif is incorporated into Adidas's current official logo. The "Three Stripes" were bought from the Finnish sport company Karhu Sports in the 1951.[4][5] The company revenue for 2009 was listed at €10.38 billion and the 2008 figure at €10.80 billion.
Both brothers joined the Nazi Party, but Rudolf was slightly closer to the party. During the war, a growing rift between the pair reached a breaking point after an Allied bomb attack in 1943 when Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were already in: "The dirty bastards are back again," Adi said, apparently referring to the Allied war planes, but Rudolf was convinced his brother meant him and his family.[10] After Rudolf was later picked up by American soldiers and accused of being a member of the Waffen SS, he was convinced that his brother had turned him in.[7]
The brothers split up in 1947,[11] with
* Rudi forming a new firm that he called Ruda – from Rudolf Dassler, later rebranded Puma,
* and Adi forming a company formally registered as adidas AG (with lower case lettering) on 18 August 1949. The acronym All Day I Dream About Sport, although sometimes considered the origin of the adidas name, was applied retroactively, which makes it a backronym. The name is actually a portmanteau formed from "Adi" (a nickname for Adolf) and "Das" (from "Dassler").[1]
Background
For over 80 years adidas has been part of the world of sports on every level, delivering state-of-the-art sports footwear, apparel and accessories. Today, the adidas Group is a global leader in the sporting goods industry and offers a broad portfolio of products.
Challenges
In 2002 and following the launch of a new company website, adidas encountered an unexpected challenge – they began to receive an unprecedented volume of diverse enquiries from consumers that far exceeded their capacity to respond.
As a result EWA were appointed to conduct a consumer communications review and asked to analyse and understand the consumer reaction by looking at the query type, flow, impact and the channel of enquiry. During the communications review, EWA identified a number of challenges that adidas faced. There was a huge communication gap between adidas and its consumers, with no internal system in place to deal with the increasing and diverse enquiries. EWA also identified an outstanding opportunity to market and promote products directly to consumers.
EWA Approach
As a result of the findings from the communications review, EWA was invited to set-up a dedicated customer care centre. As part of this process EWA developed a series of processes to respond systematically to all consumer enquiries. This included a number of key functions:
* The set-up of a dedicated team of customer service agents to manage inbound enquiries from consumers across all channels
* The establishment of a case-based database system to record the details of all inbound enquiries and responses
* Integration with adidas product inventory for instant visualisation of product information and availability
* The development of a returns status portal
* The development of standard enquiry reply templates
* Support and a defined process for the escalation of legal issues
The Customer Care Centre offered adidas all the advantages of outsourcing – instant access to the latest telephony and e-communication technology, the benefit of long term experience in front-line consumer relationship management and the removal of the need for expensive internal infrastructure.
Result
The adidas Group Customer Care Centre today provides an invaluable channel of communication with consumers. Topics as diverse as sponsorship, product enquiries, complaints and marketing are all handled by the centre. With efficient processes and decisive outcomes, the majority of staff time is now spent on pro-active promotion and sales support. In addition to frontline consumer enquiry management, the dedicated unit also provides detailed management reporting on areas including:
* Top product and retailer enquiries
* The level of response to media and PR campaigns
* '‘Hot Topics’ raised by consumers
* Insight into consumer demographics and purchase patterns
Support is also provided to adidas retailers who can escalate complicated consumer issues to the adidas Group Customer Care Centre. The centre then communicates directly with the relevant adidas departments and the consumer, to deliver a consistent satisfactory resolution.
Looking forward
Five years since inception, the adidas Group Customer Care Centre receives over 60,000 enquiries per annum via phone, email and letter.
Recently for two consecutive years, the adidas Customer Care team were finalists in the National Customer Service Awards.
Due to the excellent work of the Customer Care Centre and following the acquisition of Reebok by adidas at the end of 2005, EWA has now integrated the management of Reebok and Rockport consumer enquiries into the unit.
The Customer Care Centre continues to go from strength to strength, with continual review and development of the processes involved. The team answers an increasing number of enquiries which are dealt with more efficiently, ultimately leading to added value to the adidas Group business and a greatly improved experience for its customers.
All this is down to great people, great service and great systems, underpinned by great support from the adidas Group.
ink Sheets: ADDYY) is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, golf company (including Ashworth), and Rockport. Besides sports footwear, the company also produces other products such as bags, shirts, watches, eyewear and other sports and clothing-related goods. The company is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world, after its American rival Nike.[3]Adidas was founded in 1948 by Adolf "Adi" Dassler, following the split of Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik between him and his older brother, Rudolf. Rudolf later established Puma, which was the early rival of Adidas. Registered in 1949, Adidas is currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, along with Puma.
The company's clothing and shoe designs typically feature three parallel bars, and the same motif is incorporated into Adidas's current official logo. The "Three Stripes" were bought from the Finnish sport company Karhu Sports in the 1951.[4][5] The company revenue for 2009 was listed at €10.38 billion and the 2008 figure at €10.80 billion.
Both brothers joined the Nazi Party, but Rudolf was slightly closer to the party. During the war, a growing rift between the pair reached a breaking point after an Allied bomb attack in 1943 when Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were already in: "The dirty bastards are back again," Adi said, apparently referring to the Allied war planes, but Rudolf was convinced his brother meant him and his family.[10] After Rudolf was later picked up by American soldiers and accused of being a member of the Waffen SS, he was convinced that his brother had turned him in.[7]
The brothers split up in 1947,[11] with
* Rudi forming a new firm that he called Ruda – from Rudolf Dassler, later rebranded Puma,
* and Adi forming a company formally registered as adidas AG (with lower case lettering) on 18 August 1949. The acronym All Day I Dream About Sport, although sometimes considered the origin of the adidas name, was applied retroactively, which makes it a backronym. The name is actually a portmanteau formed from "Adi" (a nickname for Adolf) and "Das" (from "Dassler").[1]
Background
For over 80 years adidas has been part of the world of sports on every level, delivering state-of-the-art sports footwear, apparel and accessories. Today, the adidas Group is a global leader in the sporting goods industry and offers a broad portfolio of products.
Challenges
In 2002 and following the launch of a new company website, adidas encountered an unexpected challenge – they began to receive an unprecedented volume of diverse enquiries from consumers that far exceeded their capacity to respond.
As a result EWA were appointed to conduct a consumer communications review and asked to analyse and understand the consumer reaction by looking at the query type, flow, impact and the channel of enquiry. During the communications review, EWA identified a number of challenges that adidas faced. There was a huge communication gap between adidas and its consumers, with no internal system in place to deal with the increasing and diverse enquiries. EWA also identified an outstanding opportunity to market and promote products directly to consumers.
EWA Approach
As a result of the findings from the communications review, EWA was invited to set-up a dedicated customer care centre. As part of this process EWA developed a series of processes to respond systematically to all consumer enquiries. This included a number of key functions:
* The set-up of a dedicated team of customer service agents to manage inbound enquiries from consumers across all channels
* The establishment of a case-based database system to record the details of all inbound enquiries and responses
* Integration with adidas product inventory for instant visualisation of product information and availability
* The development of a returns status portal
* The development of standard enquiry reply templates
* Support and a defined process for the escalation of legal issues
The Customer Care Centre offered adidas all the advantages of outsourcing – instant access to the latest telephony and e-communication technology, the benefit of long term experience in front-line consumer relationship management and the removal of the need for expensive internal infrastructure.
Result
The adidas Group Customer Care Centre today provides an invaluable channel of communication with consumers. Topics as diverse as sponsorship, product enquiries, complaints and marketing are all handled by the centre. With efficient processes and decisive outcomes, the majority of staff time is now spent on pro-active promotion and sales support. In addition to frontline consumer enquiry management, the dedicated unit also provides detailed management reporting on areas including:
* Top product and retailer enquiries
* The level of response to media and PR campaigns
* '‘Hot Topics’ raised by consumers
* Insight into consumer demographics and purchase patterns
Support is also provided to adidas retailers who can escalate complicated consumer issues to the adidas Group Customer Care Centre. The centre then communicates directly with the relevant adidas departments and the consumer, to deliver a consistent satisfactory resolution.
Looking forward
Five years since inception, the adidas Group Customer Care Centre receives over 60,000 enquiries per annum via phone, email and letter.
Recently for two consecutive years, the adidas Customer Care team were finalists in the National Customer Service Awards.
Due to the excellent work of the Customer Care Centre and following the acquisition of Reebok by adidas at the end of 2005, EWA has now integrated the management of Reebok and Rockport consumer enquiries into the unit.
The Customer Care Centre continues to go from strength to strength, with continual review and development of the processes involved. The team answers an increasing number of enquiries which are dealt with more efficiently, ultimately leading to added value to the adidas Group business and a greatly improved experience for its customers.
All this is down to great people, great service and great systems, underpinned by great support from the adidas Group.