INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Moscow: In a World Cup brimming with upsets, Nike Inc looks on track to defeat soccer juggernaut and archrival Adidas AG in the closely
watched jersey sponsorship battle.The Nike swoosh decorates the outfits of Brazil, France and England, the sides in the quarter-finals most
favoured by betting websites to win the World Cup, plus Croatia.Top German sports brand Adidas has Belgium, Russia and Sweden in the
quarter-finals, with the group of eight rounded out by Uruguay, sponsored by Puma.The combined accomplishments of Nike-sponsored teams in
Russia mark a major success for the U.S
sports apparel maker as it pushes to increase global soccer-related sales that reached more than $2 billion in fiscal 2018."While Adidas
dominates the European leagues and the U.S
professional league, certainly any market share that Nike can pick up in a nontraditional U.S
sport can only bode well for the stock price and brand," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa,
Oklahoma.Sports brands typically sell the bulk of their fan merchandise ahead of the World Cup, but a team's success on the field can
generate extra demand for gear emblazoned with its emblems and colours, especially if its progress is unexpected.Nike kitted out more teams
than Adidas for the first time in Brazil in 2014
Adidas fought back this year, sponsoring 12 of the 32 participating teams, including strong early contenders Germany and Spain, along with
host Russia.Nike supplied shirts for 10 countries this year.The tournament took a disastrous turn for Adidas last Wednesday, with the
unexpected elimination of 2014 champion Germany
Shares of Adidas, Germany's team sponsor, fell 2.7 percent in the following session.In 2014, Germany accounted for a third of Adidas'
roughly 9 million team jersey sales, Wedbush analyst Christopher Svezia wrote in a recent client note, with an incremental 10 percent of
those sales resulting from Germany's tournament victory.Over the weekend, high-profile Adidas-sponsored teams Argentina and Spain were
Likewise, Mexico lost to Nike-sponsored Brazil on Monday.Heading into this year's World Cup, Adidas downplayed the sporting event's
potential effect on sales, pointing to Russia's tepid economy.But the World Cup remains a major marketing opportunity for Adidas, which is
one of seven FIFA partners and the supplier of the World Cup match ball since 1970.As well as team jerseys, sponsorship of top individual
players is critical for the promotion of soccer shoes
Ahead of the World Cup, Nike expected 60 percent of players heading to Russia to use its footwear.Since the start of the World Cup on June
14, Nike's stock is up almost 3 percent, helped mostly by a strong quarterly report and sales outlook last Thursday
Adidas has lost about 5 percent.© Thomson Reuters 2018(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent
staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
