Nike and Adidas have an ongoing battle for footwear supremacy. Nike is the larger business overall and the market leader in the global sports footwear industry with revenues from footwear of over $24.2 billion in 2018, compared to Adidas footwear revenue of $15 billion. These figures include not only Nike and Adidas branded footwear but also Converse (owned by Nike) and Reebok (owned by Adidas). Nike might be the bigger company but through sponsorship and an improving cool factor, Adidas is closing the gap. Since 2015 Adidas footwear has been growing at an average rate of 17.6 per cent whereas Nike footwear has been growing at an average rate of 6.8 per cent.

Nike’s market capitalization is more than double that of Adidas. Adidas has been demonstrating a stronger share price performance in 2019 whereas Nike has been growing in line with industry performance.

Adidas has adopted a marketing approach which focuses more on street wear sneakers through cooler collaborations with music and celebrity influencers as compared to Nike’s more sports-focused approach. Clearly with the athleisure trend moving sportswear from the gym to the office Adidas is betting that it can take even more of the market with this approach.