Reebok: We Need To Think Clearly About The Position In China.

With change

Reporter: what is Reebok's position in the Chinese market after joining Adidas?

BillDoyle: at the beginning, when we bought Reebok, we didn't know very well. Almost two years ago, we had a clear strategy.

We do not want it to be a sports brand of all kinds. We have focused on the market of muscle tightening and exercise, and have made great success in the United States.

I now find that China's beauty and fitness products are already very mature. We hope that after the cooperation with Baosheng, we also launch many multi-functional products in this area, and we must have our characteristics, not only to reflect the price, but also to carry out differentiated operation on many functions.

Reporter: now

BillDoyle: the concept of muscle tightening and exercise didn't exist in the United States a year and a half ago, so it can be imagined that the promotion of such products in China will require more time to be fully understood.

According to our experience in Korea, the product has been successful in the past 9 months.

Reporter: why do we seldom see Reebok's advertisements in China and the activities related to spokesperson Yao Ming? It is hard for consumers to have a clear impression of Reebok.

BillDoyle: indeed, in the past 9 months, we have been reducing the intensity of TV advertising. The main reason is that we use this time to rethink clearly about the positioning of Reebok brand and how to push the product to the market in a better and faster way. We hope to make clear positioning of the business and products first, and then give the consumers the same signal to the consumers in advertising.

In the past, we have done a lot of marketing work, I think the past marketing and brand consistency is relatively low, so in the past 9 months we have been doing this thing, advertising investment is relatively small.

Reporter: Reebok has expanded the Chinese market in 2008. There is a saying that Reebok opened a store every two days in the Beijing Olympic Games and planned to open to 1300 in the next four years. Is that so?

BillDoyle: Generally speaking, we will not disclose the number of stores and specific financial data, but indeed, since the end of the Olympic Games, we have closed some stores and opened some shops. The key is that we want to grow business in a healthier and sustainable way.

With the cooperation with Baosheng, the number of our stores will increase in the coming months, and this will happen in the coming years.

It can be said that from the 3 quarter of next 2 quarters, Reebok will have a new face to better communicate with customers.

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Reporter: can you think that the strategic focus of Reebok in China has changed at this stage?

BillDoyle: there is a better way to describe our new strategy. We hope that the number of stores is not as good as possible. We must reflect and convey the new Reebok in a consistent way. It is the most effective way to open a shop in this way.

It is hoped that customers here will have a consistent understanding of brands no matter which Reebok store they enter.

Reporter: what areas of Reebok's existing stores are concentrated in China? Where will they be concentrated in the future? Will they go to the two or three tier cities?

BillDoyle: so far, we mainly focus on the first and two tier cities, focusing on the first tier cities. In the next five years, we plan to invest in two or three tier cities, but the key is to provide the right products for them.

So now our focus is on the one or two tier cities. After that, we will see how to make the layout again.

Reporter: do you think Reebok is too optimistic about China's sports market after the Beijing Olympics? Is it making up for it now?

BillDoyle: I was not responsible for the work during the Olympic Games. I only held this position almost a year ago.

Now, what I have to do is to change the way Reebok operates. When we do things, we must take into account the needs of our customers and partners. We hope to be closer to the customers and markets here, and to make the products go public at a faster speed.

In the past, our goods were on shelves for up to 12 to 18 months, and now we hope to reduce them to 12 months. The ultimate goal is 3 to 4 months.

Reporter: can you tell us about the number of stores in China 2008, 2009 and 2010 in Reebok?

BillDoyle: in 2009, there were about 300 companies, most of which were operated by Baosheng. So, as I just said, Baosheng is one of our main partners.

The number of stores will increase in the second half of 2010, but the specific figures are not very convenient to disclose. In the next five years, there will be a significant increase in the number of stores in China.

Reporter: is there any need for improvement in Reebok's market in China? Will distribution be concentrated in the hands of several large distributors, such as Baosheng, will this change?

BillDoyle: now our company's strategic focus is on products. With the strength of global R & D, we constantly introduce innovative products. This is our first priority.

The second key point is to further cooperate with Baosheng, which can make Reebok closer to the Chinese market through the joint design of such a form.

I am glad that you mentioned the problem of distributors. I want to point out that our cooperation with distributors will not be limited to Baosheng only. We will also cooperate with other distributors when we cooperate with Baosheng. We hope dealers will grow with us.

In the past, many foreign brands entered the Chinese market and came only in a licensed way, but the licensee did not care. We do not want to adopt such a way. We hope that customers can fully understand the brand DNA after coming in, and further cooperation with Baosheng is also to achieve this goal, so that Reebok's products can be completely ontological.

Let me make a conclusion.

Indeed, in the past year or so, Reebok's efforts in the Chinese market have weakened. During this time, we are mainly engaged in R & D.

Another thing we do now is to improve our business model and keep our customers closer.

Once we have the right product and complete the distributor's network layout, the next step is to enhance communication with customers.

After that, more customers come into our store. I hope that by then, they can really understand what Reebok brand can do for their daily life.