The adidas Plan to Take Over America

It’s no secret that adidas and Nike compete year in, year out for poll position in the US market. With that said, adidas’s Executive Board member for Global Brands, Eric Liedtke, recently revealed that the German sportswear giant hopes to topple its American counterpart in the near future by the means of superior design. In order to mount its challenge, adidas poached key players from Nike’s senior design team and relocated its newly appointed Creative Director, Paul Gaudio, from Herzogenaurach, Germany to Portland, Oregon. In addition, the brand plans to host a slew of global product launches in the US this year, as well as open up a design studio in Brooklyn, New York with the aim to replicate the market dominance they maintain in Europe. While football stands as a major market in many European countries, Liedtke says the brand will look to Running as the initial focus for its strategy in North America, starting with the adidas Ultra Boost (seen here) which will lead the way for adidas’s push in 2015. Stay tuned for more and read the full interview transcript with Executive Board member Eric Liedtke over at dezeen.