Nike takes on the Middle East

It was a very good year for Nike, the Oregon-based athletic footwear and apparel maker that reported revenues of $10.7 billion in 2003. Germany's Adidas-Salomon, too, had a strong 12 months, recording group sales of over $7.5 billion.

During the same period, Puma, another German brand, reported sales in excess of $1.5 billion. It was also a good year for Reebok International, based in Canton, Massachusetts, which saw revenues rise to $843 million and its stock climb by more than 23 percent.

According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), global sneaker sales are estimated to be worth over $15 billion annually. The five dominant categories are running shoes, basketball, cross-training, walking and casual/retro.

'Sports shoes are the single most important product category for the profitability of athletic shoe and apparel brands,' says John O'Neil, who is in charge of New Balance distributor markets.

Most major brands have larger shoe than apparel businesses, mostly because margins are better and inventory lower. Robert J. Corliss, president and CEO of The Athlete's Foot Group, says footwear typically drives the rest of any sports brand. Ball games.

Worldwide, Nike is far and away the leader. In 2002, the last year for which figures are available, Nike held a 34.1 percent share of the international market, more than double second-place Adidas, at 16.5 percent.

In the Middle East, however, the situation is essentially reversed, mostly for a very simply reason: Nike is primarily associated with basketball and the NBA, while Adidas's focus is football and stars like France's Zinedine Zidane. In the Middle East, of course, hardly anyone follows the NBA, while almost everyone's a fan of the beautiful game.

Ellen van Meerendonk, at Adidas-Salomon in Dubai, insists that while the German brand is the clear market leader in the region, 'the competition in the Middle East does not differ from the competition we face on a global level. We consider Nike and Reebok to be our main competitors in the region.'

It's worth noting that the Adidas's emerging markets headquarters - covering a vast region stretching from Russia to Namibia - is in Dubai. By comparison, global leader Nike does not have a corporate presence in any Arab country. And unlike Nike and the rest of the competition, Adidas is working hard to cement its presence in the region.

In May, the company opened a large factory outlet/concept store in Abu Dhabi, adding to its two Adidas brand stores in the UAE, at Dubai's Deira City Center and Burjuman Shopping Center, as well as its factory outlet on Dubai's Airport Road. The Adidas network now includes more then 50 exclusive brand stores in the Middle East, including a Doha shop that opened in March.

'I like Adidas because they are comfortable and because I see them everywhere. Nike is more American, and I don't like New Balance because they're not sporty enough' says Fahad, a Dubai teen. 'But Adidas look very good, they're very young. I bought my last pair in the Adidas shop in the City Center mall.

'I also like that Adidas has these huge billboards here in Dubai with Muhammad Ali,' Fahad says. 'He's a good symbol here - because he's a Muslim, and he represents a Muslim who succeeded in life, rather than just being somebody who's good at sports.'

There are no reliable figures on the total value of the Middle East sneaker market, but there's no doubt that sales in the region represent a very thin slice of the global pie. But that may change, sooner rather than later, as the West grows older and the Arab world younger.

The Middle East has a huge youth demographic, with a very high percentage of the population under 14 years old: 42 percent in Saudi Arabia and Oman, for example, compared to just 21 percent in the United States. Average ages in the Middle East are 19 years in Oman, 18 in Saudi Arabia and 25 in Kuwait. By comparison, the average age in the United States is 36.

The Athlete's Foot's Corliss says this makes the region especially attractive for sports shoemakers, given that the target market for athletic footwear is 16-24-year-olds. The region's large youth market has the potential grow into an enormous consumer market for companies like Adidas, Nike and Reebok, which are watching the graying of Europe and the United States with great anxiety.

That's one of the reasons why Nike has begun to shift its marketing and endorsement spend away from American basketball stars. (The company's failure to find NBA stars with the athletic skill and personal magnetism of Michael Jordan is another reason for this shift. Kobe Bryant, one of Nike's highest-paid hopes for the future, is currently facing sexual assault charges; Vince Carter, another high-paid player in the Nike stable, continues to be sidelined by injuries.)

In 2002, Nike became the exclusive apparel provider for Manchester United, a clear sign of the company's ambition to attract young football fans. Nike also recently launched a high-profile campaign featuring Brazil's Ronaldo and Rivaldo, which should also help boost the brand's image in football markets like the Middle East.

But the swoosh still trails far behind the three stripes in the hearts and minds of football fans. 'We have a 60 percent share of football boots in America,' points out Jan Runau, an Adidas spokesman. 'Adidas always was and always will be the number one soccer brand.'

But while Nike and Adidas do battle on the playing field, other players - including Puma, Reebok and France's Coq Sportif - are focusing on style rather than substance, on good looks rather than a good fit. Reebok, for instance, has signed up rappers 50 Cent and Jay-Z as spokesmen, while Puma's branding efforts appear to have more to do with sex than sports.

It's hardly surprising, though, that the only sneaker company with a real presence in the region has come up with a brand strategy that fits. As Dubai teen Fahad points out, Adidas has got the best frontman for the Middle East: Muhammad Ali's high profile, religion, values and past athletic success make him a perfect symbol for the region.

'Tastes in the region are generally more conservative and thus differ from the United States and Europe,' says Ellen van Meerendonk, 'but you will still find very fashionable models and styles being sold as taste is also influenced through the media, the Internet and tourism.

'Weather, income, fashion and other regional factors all influence taste,' she says. 'For example, black leather shoes are not very popular within the region due to the climate, while light and flashy colors work well. Silver, gold and leather provide an advantage within the area, as they are perceived as more valuable. Of course, sandals and beach slides are also very popular.'

The global athletic footwear business, worth $15 billion annually and climbing, will get an added boost this summer with the Athens Olympics, which provide an unparalleled marketing opportunity. However, at least one major brand is unlikely to have much of a presence in Greece: unlike the other big-name brands, New Balance does not endorse celebrities or athletes to sell its products.

'We embrace the 'endorsed by no one' concept, which means all of our marketing investment is focused at the grassroots, everyday user,' says John O'Neil.

That seems an unlikely strategy for such a fashion-conscious market. And it's certainly one that won't be tested soon by Adidas or Nike, which spend hundreds of millions on celebrity endorsements and for whom image is everything.