Adidas Amps Up Customer Focus With Subscription Boxes For Women

PORTLAND, United States — Global sports retailer Adidas have announced the launch of Avenue A, a quarterly subscription service delivering seasonal looks directly to female customers.

As part of an aggressive five-year strategy to reignite sales after a failure to respond quickly enough to consumer demands, the apparel giant is targeting women with a business model that has proven popular in the retail space, thanks to the success of companies like Birchbox.

“[Women] is a good business for us right now but we’re not where we need to be,” said Eric Liedtke, Head of Global Brands at Adidas at a recent investor day, recognising the strong influence that women now have over purchasing decisions.

“She’s the chief purchasing officer in the household. She’s 80 per cent of all athletic purchases. Obviously she’s 100 per cent for herself, 67 per cent for men and 91 per cent for kids. We have to be talking stronger [to women] than we are and have to be winning more of her heart and mind than we have been.”

Priced at $150, each box will contain premium running and training products, curated by fashion-forward trendsetters and trainers, with the first shipment created in collaboration with Madonna’s personal trainer and Adidas global ambassador Nicole Winhoffer.

Hoping the introduction of Avenue A will improve the customer shopping experience as well as boost the brand’s female community, the spring 2016 edition of the box will include PureBOOST X, the recently launched running shoe designed specifically for women.

“PureBOOST X is a great example of the huge focus we have on the versatile female athlete,” said Kelly Olmstead, Senior Director of Adidas Brand Activation.

“Our brand is listening to what women truly want, and that is product designed specifically for her combined with unique, customized experiences. Avenue A helps us deliver that in one convenient and inspiring package. The best part is, this is only the beginning,” said Olmstead.

With the recent launch of PureBOOST X, the female-focused “I’m Here to Create” film series, and now Avenue A, Adidas is more focused on female athletes than ever before, but they’re not alone.

Nike is also refocusing attention on the women’s segment. Ploughing resources into a new line of athletic gear for women, which it has proclaimed to be the best collection it has ever developed, the global sports giant believes that by targeting female consumers, it has the potential to grow revenues from the segment to above $7 billion by 2017, representing 20% of its overall revenue.

Women’s sports apparel is now an important driver of revenue growth for athletic brands and retailers and the industry leaders aren’t about to be left behind.