In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Neelendra Singh, General Manager of Adidas India, emphasised the brand’s dedication to fostering inclusivity through grassroots programs and by partnering with prominent role models in the sports community.
He highlighted the equal treatment of both male and female athletes in their campaigns, aiming to create platforms where women athletes can shine.
With more than two-thirds of Adidas’s athlete partnerships in India being women, including powerful figures like Mirabai Chanu and Nikhat Zareen, the company is determined to give young girls the inspiration and access they need to pursue sports.
Singh noted that challenges like access, security, and social stigma have contributed to a significant dropout rate among young girls. However, Adidas is focused on using its global platform to tell the stories of Indian women athletes, encouraging the next generation to overcome barriers and succeed.
Through initiatives such as their partnership with the Indian Track Foundation to scout raw talent in tribal areas, Adidas invests in long-term change, providing opportunities for young girls to develop into elite athletes.
Below are the excerpts from the interview.
Q: What are some of the factors that have contributed to Adidas’s focus and attention in the country? How do you want to position today in the Indian market?
Singh: Distribution is key. I guess India is so huge that to reach the last fan or the last consumer, the distribution for our products has to be wide enough and therefore through a combination of our own stores, franchise stores, our own e-commerce website, our e-commerce partners like Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon and through partners like Shopperstop or Metro Shoes, we ensure that Adidas products at the right price point reach the right consumer in the right distribution. And that’s an important aspect because we would rather be where the consumer or wherever she is in the country.
The other aspect of this is getting the product right. As a global brand, we have the authority and the empowerment in India to make the right product for the right consumer. Our global range is huge. We make thousands of articles that benefit different consumers in different parts of the world and we bring those ranges to India.
Where it gets interesting is that for some part of our distribution and for some part of the middle class, we make in India and that’s the other aspect. So, we do a fair amount of localisation in India through our products. So, there are price points that might not be available in the global range but are made in India, designed in India and sometimes made in India for India. The final aspect of this is just getting the messaging right, using the right platforms of sport, and athletes so that we are relevant for the Indian consumer.
Partnership with BCCI is a good example of leveraging cricket to reach deep into India. Leveraging Indian athletes to tell global stories is another example of where the story or the campaign is global but the faces and the athletes we use are local. Once again through distribution product and marketing campaigns, we believe we have the best combination to reach the best consumer.
Q: For a sporting brand like Adidas when it comes to women in sports what is the current landscape if you can give us an understanding and how does Adidas want to tap into this space of women in sports in the country?
Singh: If you look at the core of sports, sport is equal, sport doesn’t distinguish between men and women. But as far as women are concerned globally both participation and the challenge, there are less women who participate into sport, there’s also a massive dropout rate, there are twice as many girls at the age of 14 who drop out versus boys, and variety of reasons, sometimes access, security, cost, social stigma, lack of let’s say role models, so all of this I guess contributes to lesser women, relatively speaking, reaching the top. From a brand perspective, like I said, it’s equal for us, so whenever we partner with teams like BCCI or Arsenal or Manchester United or any rugby team or football team, we work both with the men’s and the women’s team, I think that’s our responsibility to bring the same weight to both the genders as far as partnerships are concerned. I still think it is early days in India, we believe the platform of Adidas is fantastic to bring some great stories from Indian women athletes to be able to inspire the next generation of consumers.
We recently launched the ODI jersey with Harmanpreet. The women’s team will also wear it before the men’s team.
Q: How is Adidas encouraging more and more participation of women in sports through some of your grassroots programs or something that you have in mind going forward?
Singh: I think more than two-thirds of our athlete partnerships in India are women. So, more than two-thirds are women and some really strong athletes like Meerabai Chanu, Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain, etc. So, at this level we believe when we partner with them and through their stories we are able to inspire somebody in the country.
Q: So, representation of women as your ambassadors also plays a huge role in encouraging?
Singh: Yes, it plays a huge role. One of the factors a lot of young girls drop out of sports is that they don’t see credible role models. We believe as Mirabai or Nikhat tell their stories through the platform that Adidas provides, they are, I’m sure, inspiring somebody to take on sports because their stories are very similar. Their stories are about breaking barriers, their stories are about perseverance and reaching the best they could. So, and therefore, we get very excited when we provide that platform to our elite women athletes. That’s one level. The other level is grassroots. Through our CSR initiatives, we have a couple of partners. One partner that comes to my mind is the Indian Track Foundation. So, the Indian Track Foundation has a mission of scouting raw talent in tribal India, mostly girls, who they believe can eventually become elite athletes. And then after scouting them, there’s a regimen or years of physical training, nutrition, education, and family support. And we believe that’s a classic case of someone who’s passionate about scouting raw talent and then bringing them along, and their families along, so that they win medals. Their stories are no doubt extraordinary, but the output is also exciting. I might not have the full data, but those kids eventually over years of training have won hundreds of gold medals, silver medals, bronzes in national and district level games.
Watch the accompanying video for the entire conversation.
