Running is a global focus for Adidas; locally, we want to help Cape Town achieve International Major Marathon status

The 2024 and 2025 counts show the relative stability of brand market share.

Tom Brown is senior brand director at Adidas. He answered our questions.

Is Adidas targeting technical running internationally, or is this mainly in SA?
Technical running is a proud cornerstone of the adidas business internationally and we constantly endeavour to develop the best products and work with the best athletes and events. Last year, adidas shoes accounted for more marathon major podium places than any other shoe brand in the world and the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo is considered the lightest elite shoe available. We strive to invite South African runners to find the right shoe in our broad range offering and take their running experience to the next level.

I understand the strategy included giveaways of shoes and vouchers at the Cape Town marathon last year. Will that be repeated this year?
Yes, it will be. The campaign you refer to is ‘Run for Africa’ – a key initiative as we partner with Cape Town Marathon in our shared passion to bring Africa its first major. (Of the over 800 marathons worldwide each year, 6 have the status of ‘World Marathon Major’ – Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, London Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon and New York City Marathon)

A KPI (Key Performance Indicator) for achieving major status relates to the number of finishers of the marathon so we will again be rewarding anyone who starts and finishes in adidas footwear. This will be the 3rd consecutive year we have run the campaign.

What is Adidas’s strategy with regard to supplying technical running shoe specialist retailers? Is that a growth market or will Adidas concentrate on its own retail stores and online sales?
We remain open-minded in considering partnerships with retailers who seek to best meet consumer needs in all categories we offer. We respect the role that specialist retailers play across fashion and sport and as such will always look to have a presence where there is a compelling reason. Our own retail stores can offer the broadest and best selection of our range so are vitally important. However Technical running shoe specialists typically provide a level of service and insight that broader retail doors might not. We are actively exploring a few new exciting opportunities to partner.