[cheque]

Am I alone in thinking that this may not be a good thing? 

From what I understand (which may be wrong I accept) the rock shoe business is not the most low over head, high profit scheme, so surely all that will happen with a big industrial monolith (like adidas) in the market is prices will likely go up and quality down in an effort to increase profits? 

Also have other mainstream brands not tried to break this market and given up?  Reebok springs to mind, so what does adidas have which reebok didn't, probably shoes being north of £110 now helps I suppose.

 

I can't see it being positive really. I've only recently realised (from the rarity of climbing-related posts on their Facebook page) that climbing shoes are actually only a small part of Five Ten's concerns and will therefore be a miniscule blip on Adidas’s radar.

I recently read piles of 90s climbing magazines and learnt that Adidas put a lot into outdoor stuff in the 90s, when they sponsored John Dunne, made weird approach shoes etc. they pulled the plug on it all as it wasn’t making enough money. It could easily happen again, possibly taking Five Ten with it, I imagine.

I read the Supertopo thread about this yesterday and they raised the issue of resoling. Supplying your main selling point in a raw form so independent businesses can profit from extending the life of products you’ve already sold sounds very much like what small companies run by climbers do and nothing like what multinational megacorps run by ‘the man’ do to me.

It’s probably good news for climbers sponsored by Five Ten, though- it seems to me that there’s quite a difference between most sponsorship deals and those of big rich companies (The North Face, over-caffeinated sugary drink company, er…) so hopefully this means a few more climbers will be able to have career closer to being a pro athlete.

Like everyone else I’ll be delighted if it means rudimentary quality control and sizing consistency are introduced, of course.

Disclaimer- I know virtually nothing about businesses and money and stuff.

[SA Chris]

The other concern may be that Adidas may try to broaden their climbing shoe market by trying to get their existing loyal customer base into climbing.......

[slackline]

I guess whether its  depends on whether Five Ten will be fully integrated into Adidas or run as an owned company (much the same way as BMW bought Mini, probably a fancy name for this but I know dick all about business management and such like as I've forgotten all my GCSE Business Studies).

I suspect that it will be the later as as has been pointed out their past attempts to break into the area weren't that successful.  By buying an established and respected company they're already known to their potential market and don't have to compete so fiercely.

[Stubbs]

From the press release it sounds like they are loking to use 5.10's reputation and market placement to make it easier for them to sell Adidas clothing specific to the sports that 5.10 supply to (climbing MTB, etc.).  I think this would only work if they didn't mess up 5.10's reputation.  I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens... if it all goes wrong I guess Cole can just leave and set up 5.14 shoes!

[andy popp]

Exactly, above all else Adidas have bought a brand (with a certain amount of specialist knowledge behind it) which they will hope to leverage with their greater marketing (and R&D) clout allied with presumably high quality ops management (logistics, QC etc.) The climbing market per se is probably not the lure so much as the potential for cross marketing. Such acquisition are much the most effective way of entering niche markets close to but somewhat differentiated to core business.

But its a tricky strategy to pull off. Some big companies are brilliant at it. Unilever, for example, have a superb track going back decades of acquiring smaller brands and working them well without killing off what made them good in the first place. Others stuff it up time and again and end up divesting again a couple of years later. If you'll excuse the business BS integrating acquisitions is a core strategic competence in its own right - no idea if Adidas have it. Its interesting that some of the 'contingent payments' are dependent on Five Ten achieving certain perfomance goals. Adidas are hedging their bets.

[Johnny Brown]

I did some access work at Proctor & Gamble once. The factory produced the top three best-selling brands of washing powder. If the brand dropped out of the top three they sold it and bought the one that had ousted it.

[lukeyboy]

I quite like the description of Five Ten as a "family owned company", at the bottom of an announcement that it has just been sold to one of the world's largest sports companies

[andy popp]

Family firms don't have to be small. Germany for example has many very large family firms; BMW, the Bertelsmann Group and for a long time Adidas

[lukeyboy]

Ah. Yes. Fair point.

[Oldmanmatt]

Still, there's a difference between the family (Ma & Pa) and "da Family" (cosa nostra, concrete shoes and sleeping with da' fishes). Unfortunately most large companies seem to fall into the latter category...

[Nibile]

Five Ten ideas + German attitude = the world is a better place.
IMHO.

[mrjonathanr]

What if it's German ideas and 5.10 attitude? 

[cheque]

More details

"We're not cheapening the brand, it's going to stay a high-end specialty brand," he says. According to Cole, Five Ten will continue to manufacture its rock and approach shoes, like the Guide Tennie, in its U.S. factory in Redlands, California. In an email, adidas spokesperson Katja Schreiber confirmed that it planned to keep the Five Ten brand intact. Cole will remain in charge, but will now report to adidas Outdoor's Senior Vice President Rolf Reinschmidt.

Five Ten will, however, likely cut the number of models of climbing shoes it offers. "[Adidas] didn't think we had enough bike shoes, maybe too many of certain kinds of rock shoes.

[dave]

Adidas seeing sense there then, the current range of shoes is ridiculous. About 20 of their boots could be binned in favour of about half a dozen bangers.

In an almost unrelated note, Outside have got a pair of adidas approach shoes in I noticed yesterday.

[Nibile]

What if it's German ideas and 5.10 attitude? 

[mrjonathanr]

 

Actually Italian manufacturers aren't too bad: I used to have Sportivas, those Glowacz things and then Kendos for many years, they were great. Now it's Scarpa Spectros and Magos. The rubber's duff, but I like the colours.

[Nibile]

that's hilarious!!!
I didn't want to mean that Solutions are a result of a bad idea and bad attitude, I meant that if they take German ideas and 5.10 attitude I'll only be using Solutions in the future!!!
(after stocking as many Dragons and Team as I can).

[tomtom]

I hope that integrating the back office side isn't the business equivalent of the Human Centipede.. :/

[Jaspersharpe]

Not sure what this bit means "We will also keep Five Ten as an independent brand, integrated primarily on the back-office side, with a clear focus to create synergies wherever possible."

It's bollocks. £500 please.

[tomtom]

Not sure what this bit means "We will also keep Five Ten as an independent brand, integrated primarily on the back-office side, with a clear focus to create synergies wherever possible."

It's bollocks. £500 please.

I thought I could smell the hand of LSF industries involved in this take over...

[SA Chris]

Just looking for my corporate bullshit bingo card.

several white spaces

is a new one to me.

[dave]

I'm excited about the new "synergies" - wondering if thats an edging boot or a smearing boot.

[fried]

I imagine a edging boot would be better for climbing up the brickwork of Carphone Warehouse.

[lagerstarfish]

Just looking for my corporate bullshit bingo card.

several white spaces

is a new one to me.

Yeah ... me also. I can see it being useful.
Colleague: What are you making of the Italian debt crisis?
Me: Sorry, can't help ... I have several white-spaces across my knowledge architecture.

fool

"white spaces" is supposed to be used as though it refers to an objective lack of substance/data rather than a personal failing

you know, like a bit of the map that represents undiscovered land - well, undiscovered by the culture of the map maker - which isn't actually.. that.. um... objective... - unless you are only talking to people who use the same map maker as you and your pals - in which case they really will... well, you get the idea

I may have made up the above rambling based on cynicism and a basic distorted understanding of language

[tomtom]

That's a crap explanation Lagers.. -£500.09 please..