French-born Robert Louis-Dreyfus in four years has parlayed shrewd marketing, cost-cutting and bold acquisitions to transform failing shoemaker Adidas AG into the biggest rival to Nike Inc.
Adidas’ estimated $1.35 billion purchase Tuesday of French ski and sporting goods maker Salomon SA, analysts said, is the latest coup for the 51-year-old former advertising executive as he takes on Nike in the $16.4 billion global athletic shoe market.
“This has turned into a modern war between Adidas and Nike. And Dreyfus relishes it,” said Thomas Joekel, an analyst at Bank Julius Baer AG in Frankfurt.
It’s a war that few expected when Dreyfus in 1993 left the helm of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi PLC to become chief executive of struggling Adidas, which in that year cleared only $7.9 million in net income.
Under Dreyfus, Adidas has revived quickly, posting earnings improvements the last three years. Cost-cutting played a major role as Adidas continued to ship manufacturing jobs to Asia.
Dreyfus, who often presides over corporate meetings in jeans and a polo shirt, has rebuilt Adidas, analysts said, by beating Nike at its own game, securing high-profile sponsorships and agreements with the New York Yankees baseball team, Notre Dame football and the 1998 World Cup soccer tournament.
Tuesday’s purchase of Salomon, which will give the renamed Adidas-Salomon $5.1 billion in annual sales, puts the ambitious Dreyfus closer to taking on Nike, with $9.19 billion in sales.
