Adidas Strengths Essays

Adidas Strengths Essays Adidas Strengths Paper Adidas Strengths Paper Strengths -Strong success in Europe -High-performance products -Recent selling of subsidiary â€Å"dog† SalomonWeaknesses -American athletes endorsed by adidas are not as popular as Nike’s -Nike gaining ground on European soccer market -Public dissent over use of sweatshops Opportunities -Acquisition of Reebok -Growing strength in golf industry through TaylorMade and recent acquisition of Maxfli -Growing revenue from opening of own retail storesThreats -Foreign exchange rates will result in loss of actual profits As mentioned on their website adidas has been a leader in Europe for years and have been able to become comfortable there. Another strength is that adidas-Salomon produces high-performance shoes. They have been able to attract hardcore athletes as customers due to efficiently made shoes (adidas. com). adidas recently announced that it will be selling its Salomon brand to Amer Sports Corporation for $624 million. Salomon was originally acquired by the adidas Group in 1997 when it paid $1. 4 billion for Salomon and its subsidiaries, including golf brand TaylorMade and cycling brand Mavic. The sale will include the brands and subsidiaries Salomon, Mavic, Bonfire, Arc’Teryk, and Cliche. Herbert Hainer, adidas-Salomon Chairman and CEO, stated that â€Å"Salomon has been a great member of our group. However, we have decided that now is the time to focus even more on our core strength in the athletic footwear and apparel market as well as the growing golf category† (Bloomberg). This move will allow adidas to rid itself of the recently slumping Salomon brand, which posted a 1 percent drop in revenue along with a 74 percent drop in operating profit in 2004. The sharp decrease in operating profit is due to recent restructuring that reduced French production of Salomon products from 55 to 35 percent with new production aking place in Romania and China. News of the sale spiked adidas’ shares up 9. 2 percent, reaching its highest point in six years, while Amer Sports shares gained 7. 6 percent. A major weakness of the adidas brand is that they are currently third in the American market for athletic footwear sales. Another weakness is adidas’ recent fall in the soccer shoe market. Nike took over first place in the European soccer shoe market with its success of the Air Zoom Total 90. adidas’ final weakness that must be mentioned is their use of sweatshops. There were allegations of inhumane conditions in adidas’ Asian factories in 2000. However, adidas-Salomon maintained that they were trying to fix the conditions. adidas has a huge opportunity on its horizon. The acquisition of Reebok should allow adidas to have greater access to the American market, where Reebok is currently second in the athletic footwear industry. Another opportunity for adidas-Salomon is the possible expansion of their TaylorMade brand. Although adidas is currently selling the Salomon brand for nearly half of what it paid for it in 1997, the deal does not include the golf brand TaylorMade. TaylorMade-adidas golf has a strong hold on the golf industry and was ranked as the number one driver on the United States and European PGA tours (adidas-Salomon. com). TaylorMade holds 7. 5 percent of the market share for golf balls and adidas increased its opportunities in 2002 by acquiring golf-ball maker Maxfli from the Dunlop Slazenger Group. Finally, adidas can expect to see revenue increases due to their newly implemented and recently successful own-retail activities. These include concept stores, factory outlets, Internet sales, and parts of Asian markets.

How to Get Job Offers †Not Just Interviews †With Your LinkedIn Profile

How to Get Job Offers – Not Just Interviews – With Your LinkedIn Profile Is Your LinkedIn Profile Getting You Job OFFERS? Last week, I spoke with a technology executive about working with us on his LinkedIn profile and resume. Upon investigation, I discovered that he was getting interviews for positions that interested him- but not job offers. At first glance, it might seem like the problem was his interviewing skills. After all, isn’t the job of the LinkedIn profile and resume to get an interview, and after that it’s up to you? Well, that’s partially true, and it’s certainly possible that this client could use some interview coaching. But a freaky fact of human nature suggests that something else could be at play. It’s called â€Å"impression formation† or â€Å"priming,† and it’s not to be overlooked or taken lightly. Do you think that if you’re getting interviews with your LinkedIn profile and resume you don’t have to worry about whether you need to change them? You might be wrong. A study of students’ perceptions of their professors, and how these perceptions can be formed, is a case in point. Consider these excerpts that illustrate how much our preconceived notions affect our experience of another person: †¦[I]n one of the earliest studies on impression formation, Kelley (1950) found that when students were told a guest lecturer was â€Å"very warm†, the central trait produced more favorable evaluations of the instructor than when students were told the guest lecturer was â€Å"rather cold†. In a more recent replication and extension of Kelley’s experiment, Widmeyer and Loy (1988) had students evaluate a lecture presented by a visiting professor. Prior to the lecture, students received background information about the instructor; some received information suggesting that the visiting professor was warm while others were presented with information that suggested the professor was cold. Analyses revealed that students perceived the visiting professor as a more effective teacher and more pleasant to have for class when he was described as a warm rather than a cold person. †¦Those who read the syllabus written in an unfriendly tone rated the hypothetical adjunct candidate as being colder than those who read the syllabus written in a friendly tone. †¦Those who received the syllabus written in a friendly tone rated the target as being warmer than those who read the syllabus that was written in an unfriendly tone. †¦Those who read the syllabus written in a friendly tone rated the instructor as being more motivated to teach the course. Harnish, Richard J. and K. Robert Bridges, Effect of syllabus tone: students’ perceptions of instructor and course Did you read that?!! Wow. Extrapolating to interviews, if the interviewer has a preconceived notion of the candidate as warm or friendly, it’s more likely he or she will experience the candidate as warm, and even as more motivated, in the interview! Conversely, if the interviewer thinks ahead of time that the candidate will be cold, it’s unlikely that the interview itself will change this impression. Interviewers Make Unconscious Conclusions You might be thinking, â€Å"But these were students being studied. They are young and impressionable! Surely an interviewer, who has more maturity and experience, would not be swayed as much by past judgments.† I’m afraid that’s not the case. In 2008 study, Williams and Bargh staged job interviews with study participants and found that if interviewers drank hot coffee before the interview, they would perceive the candidate as warm. Iced coffee? You guessed it. Cold candidate. Interviewers’ perceptions were also influenced, disturbingly, by the comfort of their seats and the weight of their notetaking folders. There are many conclusions that can be drawn from these studies, from â€Å"Make sure you have a warm hand when you shake hands with your interviewer† to â€Å"Don’t hire candidates based on interviews since your unconscious mind is ruling the decision. Use psychological testing instead.† The conclusion I want to draw, however, is about your LinkedIn profile. And maybe your resume too. Conveying Warmth with Your LinkedIn Profile and Resume You have a huge opportunity in your LinkedIn profile and resume to prime the pump for your job interview. People respond to warmth. So look for ways to appear warm! Show some of your personality in addition to showcasing your accomplishments. Even if you’re not as warm in person as you are in your job marketing collateral, chances are you’ll be seen as warmer than someone who doesn’t communicate warmth in their LinkedIn profile and resume. Here are some examples from profiles written by The Essay Expert. Note that while we generally encourage first person for LinkedIn summaries, warmth can come through in the third person as well. Also note that your photo is a huge way to convey warmth! LeeAnn Dance: My journalism background gave me the ability to distill a large amount of material and hone in on what’s true and important. I can pinpoint the real message that needs to be conveyed, creating a human story that moves and inspires an audience. Ted Schoonmaker: Ted knows that people hire people, not resumes. Companies are not just looking for a set of qualifications that match a job description. To ensure a complete match, Ted extensively interviews both companies and candidates to find out who they are and what they are looking for – as companies and as people. Ted is most fulfilled when helping people to grow professionally. His vision and ability to nurture relationships lead to long-term solutions and success. How warm are you in your LinkedIn profile and resume? Are you priming readers to perceive you the way you want to be seen? If not, consider a rewrite. If you want assistance, please consider our LinkedIn Profile Writing Services and Resume Writing Services. We’ll make sure you look great- and warm- online and on paper. Want to do it yourself? Don’t miss the latest version of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile. The e-book is fully updated for 2018 and available now!