“Platform A” at Station F, is the world’s largest start-up campus located in Paris.
While the ring of the shot fired by Foot Locker resounds around the sneaker industry with the recent investment into start-up GOAT Group, adidas follows Nike and Foot Locker into the waters of the start-up ocean via an incubator styled set up in Paris.
What unites adidas and Station F is our Open Source mindset, which is at the heart of our strategy. We know that we don’t have all the answers ourselves and working closely with diverse entrepreneurs at Station F allows us to combine our sports expertise and authority of a global brand with the agility of start-ups. At Station F we are surrounded by like-minded players who are all driven by making progress and together we focus on delivering the best digital innovation in sport.
Foot Locker has a completely different approach in tackling the battle for sneaker supremacy. The retailer lacks ownership and while the company has the ability to adapt and adjust to the changing trends in footwear, ultimately as brands become more DTC, Foot Locker’s investment strategy is based on reaching the consumer with what I beleive is an emphasis on private label via digital experiences.
In my upcoming book I discuss that brands will have to become media companies to compete with Nike. adidas hasn’t sat back and watched as their alignment with Station F offers the company an incubator where they can grow their investments as opposed to coming in and figuring out how to leverage an investment. This is a much more important and grassroots approach that allows for more control during the growth process of the start-ups. When you consider the type of companies adidas has added to their agile start-up system when I wrote in my upcoming book that brands will have to become media companies, it becomes evident that adidas understands this:
The selected start-ups include “Overtime” – a sports network for the digital generation (US, NY), “Hero” – a live shopping service that connects online shoppers with store associates (UK, London/US, NY) and “Running Care” – a digital coach that helps runners to prevent and treat running injuries (France, Lille)
You can look for information like this everywhere on sneaker sites and you won’t find it, but the idea that adidas is adding “Overtime” takes me to the Pac Pro league which is the start-up football league that adidas is sponsoring. This also means that adidas can look at launching media for their Gauntlet series. Last year Under Armour featured their grassroots basketball tournament on Facebook. Overtime brings any sports media associated with the Three Stripes in house. It’s exactly what I’ve been discussing. What’s even more important is the list of the other start-ups:
Blue Bite, SneakerCrypt, Storr, WOM, YEAY, eyecandylab, Radius8, Stuffstr, Vekia, and Neurun
adidas is building a collective of interactive digital companies that support almost every aspect of its business. They are doing so inside of their walls. In contrast to both Foot Locker and Nike who are incorporating assets that have to be integrated from the outside in.
I keep saying this, but this is the most exciting time in the history of sneaker culture.
Info on some of Nike’s investments are below:
Nike is investing in tech to reinforce their dominance in building their Consumer Direct Offense. Nike has invested in software for the back end as well as technology to improve their supply chain and warehouses:
NIKE, Inc. Acquires Invertex As A Solution for the Home Becoming the Dressing Room