On June 15, local time, Adidas filed an infringement lawsuit against Nike in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Adidas accused Nike of infringing on nine of its patents in various fields such as sports shoes and mobile applications.
Adidas sued Nike for specific matters. The shoes were from 2003, and not many people use the app now. The last patent is also available in many apps. /中Xiruan-Intellectual Property
But what Adidas is suing is old news. Both the upper technology and the app are things that happened in the early years of the two companies. Now it seems like they are looking for trouble. The two giants
have always had a lot of grievances, and this is not the first lawsuit. It is obvious that this is a dispute over their commercial interests. The giants want to use legal means to attack each other and expand their markets. But can such a painless lawsuit really make waves? This is more like a show of love, and in the end both parties win traffic and attention.
However, the competition between the giants must be inextricable. The two are addicted to fighting each other, but they don't know that a secret crisis is brewing between them. It’s time to wake up, Nike and Adidas.
Sues come and go, and both sides suffer.
In fact, it is common for sports brands to "learn from each other". The mainstream aesthetics and experience of shoes and clothing in the market have long been fixed, and the same type of product design will always be similar. Just like in the early stage of domestic production, many e-commerce shoes have the shadow of Nike.
The most obvious thing is the style of Li Ning shoes. Li Ning Skyline series casual shoes and Nike Air Force 1 casual shoes, the two shoes cannot be said to be very similar, they can only be said to be exactly the same.
both use the same color combination, and the distribution of upper lines is also very similar. Perhaps the biggest difference is the color of the soles.
Although Adidas and Nike’s global sports brand market share today has shrunk compared to the past few years, they are still among the best in the world. Nike ranks first in the 2021 global sports brand market value rankings with 1,742.8 billion yuan, while Adidas ranks second with 450.5 billion yuan.
Since the turn of the millennium, lawsuits between the two companies accusing each other of plagiarism and infringement have emerged one after another, but no results have been achieved.
The most classic thing is that Adidas sued Nike's upper technology FlyKnit in 2020 for copying its Primeknit, but failed; then Nike backhandedly sued Adidas's Primeknit for copying its FlyKnit in December 2021 - I will take your lawsuit back to me. You, the whole show is the same, no matter what the result is, at least both of them have won attention.
’s repeated prosecution is nothing more than to protect its own technical barriers and suppress its opponents’ competitive products and market share. The design of shoes and clothing products is meant to tolerate and learn from each other. If you have to compare every penny, it will inevitably lead to the opposite.
Adidas previously released its financial report for the first quarter of 2022. Its net sales in Europe increased by 0.6%, but in Greater China they fell by 35% year-on-year. The overall performance is still in decline.
According to Futu.com, Nike’s net profit fell by 3.66% in the third quarter of 2022, and another 5% in Greater China. Although it is not as "Waterloo" as Adidas, it still seems weak.
Business competition is always endless. /Visual China
Obviously, behind the competition between the giants, neither side has an advantage, and there is even one side that is slowly being at a disadvantage. Under such circumstances, the two are still unwilling to give up. It can be seen that business competition is either life-and-death or both sides suffer losses.
However, the two companies have been fighting for a long time. They have won and lost many times. Today's lawsuit looks more like a premeditated marketing plan, but secretly the two have already won.
has been arguing back and forth, and
has been criticized for a long time. The two have been arguing back and forth, but there has never been a real contest and discussion in essence. This essence refers to the core technologies of the two companies. Technology is the core competitiveness, but the core of the two companies seems to have been stagnant for many years.
In the early years, both companies achieved great success in marketing.
For example, Adidas has relied on the clothing of many Olympic champions to gain popularity. Nike, on the other hand, relied on signing the basketball god Jordan and has since become a phenomenal brand. Coupled with the hunger marketing and affordable luxury products that the two have mastered over the years, they have long become a weapon for people to compare themselves to vanity.
Nike took a fancy to Jordan's potential early on, and after signing him, his market value continued to skyrocket.
But what makes them really move is the texture-exploding technology under their feet. Nike's air cushion and Adidas' "popcorn" soles are well-known sports shoe technologies around the world: no air cushion is not Nike, and buying Adidas requires popcorn.
Nike basically made its fortune with air cushions, which are more elastic and more durable than foam cotton and rubber soles. It is the trump card technology of Nike company . Almost most of Nike shoe products are equipped with air cushions.
Adidas released the “Boost” running shoes in 2013, which became an epoch-making product upon its release. The principle is to foam a physical material called "TPU" like popcorn, which means pouring carbon dioxide or nitrogen into a small amount of material, causing it to expand to more than ten times its original size. This process is often called supercritical technology, and the production process is non-toxic, harmless, and environmentally friendly. The "popcorn" midsole material produced by
has the same texture as ordinary foam, is softer and more elastic than ordinary foam soles, and is not affected by low temperatures. It is still soft and comfortable in winter, which is where the term "feeling like stepping on shit" comes from.
The popular coconut shoes also use "popcorn" technology. /Visual China
But now Adidas’ “popcorn” technology has not been updated for several years, and Nike’s air cushions are used alternately with old ones. We are tired of existing technology, so they use old technology from the past to fool us.
Adidas’ flagship running shoe Ultra Boost has always looked similar from generation to generation, and many of Nike’s products have reused the age-old Air Sole air cushion. I don’t know if they want to save money to harvest a wave of leeks, or if they want to prove that the technology of that year is durable and practical.
fools consumers like this, who will pay for it? In the popular list of running shoes on the shopping app, Adidas Ultra Boost running shoes have been ranked outside the fifteenth place. Their weight, support, and midsole rigidity have been criticized. The
app and the app are both shoe identification and trading platforms. It is difficult to find Adidas on the popular list of running shoes. /Screenshot of the app that recognizes goods
Nike’s PG4 basketball shoes, which reused the “Air Sole” technology of the 1970s, were bombarded by major sneaker reviewers. Its midsole that was too soft and had no rigidity was jokingly called old man’s shoes by netizens.
In addition to the lack of innovation in technology, the marketing of the two companies is still the old routine. In the past, the two companies had enough power to market their products at high prices and low configuration, and consumers still flocked to them. But now, Nike no longer produces the legendary shoes of the Kobe Bryant series, and its new sneaker products are hard to describe.
Last year, Nike’s new GT Cut basketball shoes allowed shoe fans to regain the feeling of Nike’s magic shoes back then. However, before the GT Cut was sold out, Nike started to play the old tricks of controlling production and starving marketing. The price of GT Cut sneakers has skyrocketed. From the initial red and white color scheme that could be bought for 900 yuan, it rose to 5,000 yuan a pair during the Spring Festival.
A person with a good conscience will not cheat the poor. /Screenshot of the goods app
Forget about the hype of casual shoes and trendy shoes, a pair of actual basketball shoes must also be speculated, which will inevitably lose people's hearts. Star signature shoes are more expensive, and Nike's attitude towards star signature shoes has become increasingly arrogant.
Famous NBA Nike signed star Irving once criticized Nike. Without any participation from him in the design, Nike privately launched a new generation of Irving signature sneakers. Irving said that Nike designed and sold a new generation of sneakers in his name without his knowledge.
Irving has always been a player who pays attention to the design and configuration of sneakers. He doesn't want fans to just buy sneakers to play ball. Instead, he can feel the design details and care of the sneakers and feel that buying them is worth it.
But Nike has launched a new generation of Irving sneakers privately. No matter the design or configuration, it feels like the previous generation. Do you really treat the vast number of consumers as leeks?
NBA star Kyrie Irving blasted Nike on social media, saying it was launching a new generation of signature shoes without any involvement from him, and called on everyone not to buy them.
This approach is disrespectful to the contracted stars and is also casual and arrogant to consumers.
Another NBA Nike-signed star George even disdained to wear shoes signed by himself for Nike. George's signature shoe "PG4" is also one of the shoes that has been criticized by the entire Internet. It has to resist torsion but not torsion. The midsole has no rigidity and the midsole is too soft. Are you sure these are basketball shoes and not footwear for the elderly? It is very suitable for keeping healthy and walking. I am afraid that no matter how many feet you play, it will not be tiring enough.
The picture above is the "PG4" basketball shoes, and the picture below is the footwear for the elderly. Netizens added the Nike logo to and , and there was a surprising similarity.
Maybe Nike really wanted to make a casual shoe, but it had no choice but to put it in the wrong bag, and it was the signature shoe of an NBA star. How could a large enterprise make such a low-level mistake? Consumers must have "got it wrong".
As for Adidas’ “popcorn” technology, domestic manufacturers have already mastered the application of similar supercritical foaming technology and have continued to decentralize mid- to downstream products. Anta 's supercritical foaming technology "nitrogen" has been used in running shoes, sneakers and other line products, and mid- and downstream shoes are also blessed with "nitrogen".
Adidas is still using the old technology, replacing it with new skins, but not the medicine. Without solving the real problem of shoes themselves, it is not surprising that they are becoming increasingly unpopular in China.
The snipe and the clam are fighting, and other brands are benefiting.
In addition to the competition between the giants in recent years, other brands are also quietly rising.
In the past, NBA basketball shoes were exclusively Adidas and Nike, but now more and more other brands are appearing. You can even see Anta and competing against in this year's NBA Finals.
Domestic brands have been slowly rising in recent years. In April 2022, domestic brands have released their 2021 revenue. Anta, Li Ning , 361°, etc. have all reached new highs. At the same time, Anta strives to be the number one domestic sports brand, while Li Ning is firmly in second place.
data shows that in 2021, Anta's total revenue was 49.3 billion yuan; although Li Ning's revenue was less than half that of Anta, it also increased by more than 56% year-on-year; Xtep revenue exceeded the 10 billion mark for the first time, doubling compared to 2017; 361° has maintained a revenue of over 5 billion yuan for six consecutive years, and is only one step away from 6 billion yuan. /See financial report
Comparing the revenue scale of Nike China and Adidas China, Anta surpassed Adidas in one fell swoop and secured the second position in the domestic sports brand market. According to this growth rate, Anta is expected to surpass Nike China in 2022. The main reason for the rise of domestically produced
is that product capabilities are getting stronger and stronger. Domestic consumers have more choices, and products with higher cost performance will naturally be favored.
For example, Li Ning Weiwu and Nike Air Force are both sneakers. Li Ning’s design quality and configuration are not inferior to Nike’s, and are even better in some details.
There are visible differences between Li Ning and Nike. /knowledgeapp
In terms of upper materials, Li Ning uses multiple materials such as leather, musk leather, and suede to stitch the uppers together. Compared with the Air Force, only the leather uppers are more layered and have a better look and feel. On the midsole, Li-Ning uses soft elastic PU insole and soft elastic cotton material in the midsole to provide a more comfortable wearing experience. Nike Air Force is still the same Air Sole "zombie" air cushion that has remained unchanged for thousands of years. It will slowly become soft after being worn for a long time.
What's more important is that Weiwu can buy a pair for two to three hundred yuan, while the Air Force can easily buy a pair for six to seven hundred yuan, and some rare colors are even more expensive.
Not only that, domestic technology is also getting better and better. Li Ning’s “䨻” technology once ranked first in the Reddit basketball shoe section (the world’s authoritative basketball shoe list). Anta also has many products selected, which shows that the strength of domestic products is not only recognized by the Chinese people, but also "leveraged" abroad.
Li Ning’s “䨻” technology received a comprehensive evaluation score of 94 points, surpassing Nike’s ace air cushion “zoom” to rank first. /Reddit
Adidas’ “popcorn” technology is highly sought after by domestic sports brands and world sports brands, and they have been imitated and improved one after another. Li Ning’s “䨻” technology and Anta’s “nitrogen” technology are typical representatives.
Especially Li Ning's "䨻" material foams extremely violently, and you can even peel off the sole material easily with your bare hands.This effect of
also gives consumers the ultimate soft feeling. Li Ning officially claims that "䨻" can provide up to 80% energy feedback and reduce energy consumption by 27% during exercise. After official testing by Li Ning, its material is 50% better than traditional EVA material (ordinary rubber foam midsole) and will not harden at minus 40 degrees Celsius.
The data on paper looks tempting. /Li Ning official website screenshot
Ye Tian, a well-known sneaker review blogger, after testing Li Ning's Yushuai 13 basketball shoes, he also frankly admitted that the midsole of Li Ning's sneakers is better than Adidas. The editor of
also wanted to buy a pair of "䨻" to try, but seeing the price of thousands of yuan and the hot scene of selling out immediately, it was also difficult to find a "䨻". However, now Li Ning is also actively adjusting the industrial chain and increasing production. In the future, it will have "three" employees just around the corner.
Not only domestically, Japan's ASICS , and the United States' Under Armor are all making progress. The technical barriers of Nike and Adidas no longer have an absolute advantage, and their influence and market share are also threatened by other brands.
Although the two giants still account for most of the global sports brand market, they are not what they used to be, and their products are gradually becoming scarce. If we do not pursue development properly, our past glory may become a thing of the past.
But do they really not know their own shortcomings? Ordinary people can see this, let alone the giant companies themselves. "Pride and complacency are a terrible trap for us, and we dug this trap with our own hands." Lao She once said.
reference article:
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[3], during the financial reporting season, what did Adidas, Nike, Anta, and Li Ning hand over? answer sheet?丨Look at the financial report
[4]. Why is Adidas’ boost becoming less and less popular? Just for these 3 reasons | Running Research Institute
[5], domestic products should be self-reliant: Li Ning released three technologies
[6], supercritical foaming molding technology, the technological "killer" in the field of TPU shoe materials! ! ! | Zhongke Hobby Master
[7], comprehensive analysis of the development history of Nike air cushion , this small piece of inflatable plastic is a product of an era | More or less large and small
[8], Nike's air cushion Nike Zoom The difference between Adidas Boost midsole and Adidas | Crazy sportsman CRAZY
[9], the king of sports brands, Nike's arduous road to success, how to reach the top | A man without a story
[10], 50 years of love Kill each other! Adidas sues Nike: 9 patent infringements | Xiaoxiang Morning News
[11], are the two giants at odds? Adidas sues Nike: infringing as many as 9 patents | Zhongxiruan-Intellectual Property
