Nike VS Adidas-The Better Fit:

Nike, Inc. (NKE) was founded as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight in January 1964; it was then officially renamed as Nike in 1971. Nike is a leader in the global athletic footwear and as per the 2013 data from Brand Directory, it is considered as the 60^th most popular brand in the world compared to Adidas at 187. The two major segments of Nike are Nike Brand and Other Businesses but over 90% of the company total revenue is generated from Nike Brand segment. The other Businesses segment includes Nike Golf, Converse and Hurley International.

In its fiscal second quarter Nike posted better revenues and earnings than expected because of its retail channels strength and  shift of the consumer toward high-end products and this could increase the Nike stock price . Nike expects that the world’s middle class population will increase to 1 billion consumers over the next decade and Nike is availing that opportunity as it concentrated its marketing effort in India and china particularly. Nike could also avail a benefit from five year deal of $1.1 billion with National Football League by supplying them gear.

Nike is also capitalizing yoga apparel market for women which is growing at a rapid pace, and by the end of 2019 global market share of Nike in all athletic apparel will grow to 6.5%. Additionally Nike running shoes called Flyknit also gain the popular among the consumers. . Western Europe is the region where Nike has a highest percentage future orders which increased to 26% whereas future orders in central and Eastern Europe increased to 13%. In North America and china orders raise to 11% and 4% respectively. China sales are weakened in the past but the recent improvement shows healthy sign for the Nike to achieve high future growth.

Adidas was registered in 1949 and was founded by Adolf Dassler in 1948 in Germany. Its Revenue Growth rate is 9.4%. In 2012 its Net Sales figure is around $14.88 billion. Adidas famous brand include Adidas Originals or the Heritage Line, Adidas Performance and Adidas Y-3. Some of the most famous brand ambassadors includes soccer star Lionel Messi, tennis player Novak Djokovic and basketball star Derrick Rose. Adidas produces the kits of many football teams around the world, and also produces the ball used in the UEFA champion League matches and Fifa World cup tournament since 1970. Adidas produces more than 245 million pairs of shoes in 2011. Adidas holds the uniform rights to the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and Major League Soccer.