Word: tunite
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...field, though, Adidas has scored with product innovation, and after all, it's the boots that boost the bottom line. In March the company launched the +F-50 Tunit, a soccer shoe that allows players to mix and match three different components--the main body, or upper; the insole; and the cleats, or studs--to adapt to different playing conditions. (Most serious players buy several pairs of soccer shoes for that purpose.) Want a red, lightweight boot for playing on a soft surface? Use a wrench to replace the short studs with long ones, slide in a lighter sock liner...
...early returns are positive. In the U.S., Adidas' soccer-footwear sales are up 23% over last year. Globally, Adidas "has production problems right now, demand [for the Tunit] is so high," says Klaus Filbry, head of soccer for Adidas America. A starter kit, including one set of uppers, an insole and three sets of studs, costs $170, but the real revenue potential for Adidas, and retailers, lies in the add-ons: $80 for each extra upper and $40 for an additional insole. Adidas is about to launch 32 new uppers, with the colors and imprints of each World Cup nation...
Although the Tunit should help Adidas, some investors fear that getting a much larger shoe to fit could distract the company from pressing the advantage in soccer: its $3.8 billion purchase of Reebok, the struggling Canton, Mass., sporting-goods company. Although the merger helps Adidas gain market share and nudge closer to Nike overall, right now it's a drag on earnings: Reebok's orders declined 22% in the fourth quarter of 2005 owing to weak products and anxiety about Adidas' strategy for the brand. "Mind boggling," says John Shanley, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group...
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