The Battle between Shoe Companies

The Battle Between Shoe Companies

Jack Wendelberger

Mr.Reuter

Economics B2

28 Feb 2017

The Battle Between Shoe Companies

In a generation of hipsters and sneaker heads the shoe brands are trying to get everyone on their side coming out with the “newest thing of this age” but it’s all just noise to break the bank and someone’s opportunity costs. Nike and Adidas have always been going head to head for the top name in the sneaker game but both have their own positive and negative externalities. When it comes to it there are the two things that split them apart, that is comfort vs. style.

Lately the shoe game has been on fire with Nike and Adidas taking the spotlight, in the past Adidas was really never big in the releasing in their shoes and was a traditional shoe company, making the their name for comfort and affordability. Lately they have started to go past that and start to make shoes that cost a pretty penny. In the past year Adidas has released the Yeezy’s, NMD’s (seen to the right), and ultra boosts. When it comes to these three shoes they have their positives more than negatives but it comes at a cost, these shoes are over $100, when it comes to the Yeezy’s they can reach a price of $400 and sometimes higher. When it comes to opportunity costs why would anyone want to buy a pair of shoes that are so expensive, well Adidas is well known for comfort, while Nike is known for their style, so your opportunity cost as a consumer comes to style vs comfort along with cost. According to Steve Joseph, “Adidas shoes are generally cheaper by 6 to 1” (Joseph). This comes with the less, older laid back styles of Adidas. Adidas is a old fashion but comfortable shoe line while Nike takes out the competition with their Jordan lineup (seen to the right) and with their high styles in Roshe and Janoski while Adidas is playing catch up with Nike.

Wrapping back to style vs comfort and away from price, Adidas has started to put in cloud foam insoles, an insole that features soft, lightweight cushioning while incorporating a sleek cut and a sturdy outsole (Simpson). Adidas has taken the upper edge when it comes to comfort and is now starting to move towards style with the shoes that are mentioned above. So Adidas’s positive and negative externalities is that they are comfortable to wear but they may not look as cool as the consumer would like. When it comes to Nike it’s the opposite. Theirs is that they have style down but when it comes to comfort they start to slack.

Simpson, Pierce. “adidas Introduces Innovative Cloudfoam Technology”, http:// www.nicekicks.com/adidas-introduces-innovative-cloudfoam- technology/. 24 March 2016.

Leach, Alec. “Nike vs. adidas: Who Owns the Market?”, http://wwwhighsnobiety.com/2015/ 11/09/nike-adidas-market-shares/. 9 Nov 2015.

Joseph, Steve. “What are the general differences between Nike and Adidas shoe products?” https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-general-differences-between-Nike-and-Adidas-shoe-products. 15 Sep.

Share this post