Adidas is a multinational corporation, headquartered in Germany. The company is known for designing and manufacturing high-quality clothing, shoes, and accessories. Its innovation and reliability has made the company the second largest manufacturer of sportswear in the world. Adolf Dassler started the company and later, his brother, Rudolf, joined him. The company made its first innovation when it replaced metal spikes in athletic footwear by rubber and canvas. The company has a vast portfolio, extending from sports clothing and footwear to bags, eyewear, watches, etc. (Lebron, 2010). The company employs around 50,000 employees and also incorporates 170 subsidiaries.

The company employs a vast differentiation strategy. With its corporate strategy focusing on innovation, the company also makes consistent efforts on improving its product line to stay ahead in the competition. The company also strives for investing in potential markets and employing a unique channel approach. The company has a supply chain that maintains a high response rate with the customers by making a quick response to the market changes. The company recently centralized its Excellency and Sales Strategy team so that the company can effectively manage global markets. The company offers high competition because of its multi-brand portfolio. This further helped the company to create an international sales function which, in turn, managed commercial activities of the company. The company also dwelled upon dividing its global sales function- the plan that company implemented later. Retail and wholesale became the two critical elements of the global sales function.

Adidas also strengthened its presence by embracing e-commerce. This helped Adidas to reach and attract more customers. Adidas has a corporate culture that encourages employees to be more innovative. This has supported the company to design products that are highly innovative as well as highly reliable. The company has successfully maintained sustainability by satiating the concerns of employees as well as shareholder’s interest.

A business model is often looked upon as a plan that businesses employ for their successful operations (Seelos, 2010). Adidas has been emphasizing upon innovate products to satiate the needs of their customers. The company, in the past few years, has been less focused upon endorsing their products while at the same time, developing and advancing their product line to suit the specific needs of consumers, mostly athletes. The company has also been improving its infrastructure so that they can produce products at a faster rate. They have also streamlined the global range of their products to reduce the complexity. To complement the decrease in complexity, the company moved further and harmonized the above market services and consolidated their warehouse base. The supply chain has also been encouraged by innovating models, and as a result, the response rate with the customers has been increased immensely. This strategy was highly successful in attracting investors from all over the globe and easily persuaded many of them into buying Adidas’ common stock.

Adidas has three product categories. The products in the first category are shoes, perfume, and eyewear (Mahdi, Abbas & Mazar3, 2015). The product in the second category includes vintage clothing and superstar sneakers. The third category of products includes belts, bags, style caps, and handbags. Adidas launches its products at high prices. Adidas uses market skimming strategy to price its products. The company’s price is generally dependent upon color and looks. For example, the price of white color shoes is generally higher than other color shoes, given their same quality. The company is also focused on providing the best shopping experience to its customers by customizing its products according to the needs of its customers (Piller, Lindgens & Steiner, 2012). Due to high prices, the company only focuses on individuals who are in the higher income bracket.

The current cost of the company is defined as the cost that is incurred by the company to generate a certain amount of the revenue. It is also known as the cost of revenue. The current costs of the company for the years 2015, 2016 were 8748000000 and 9912000000 Euros respectively. The projected costs of the company were predicted on the basis of the percentage change. The projected costs for the year 2017 was 15175680000 Euros.

Nevertheless, the projected costs for years ahead of 2017 are mentioned in the pro-forma financial statements.

This is a measurement system that measures the margin of safety by identifying the number of units that are to be sold in order to cover the expenses regarding variable and fixed costs (Catanzaro, 2016). In simple words, it provides insights on when a business will start earning profit. The main purpose of carrying out a break-even analysis is to find out the minimum amount of sales that will make a business eligible to earn some profit.

There are different ways to calculate the break-even; however, the method that I am employing uses contribution margin. Contribution margin is equal to the difference between the selling price of the product and the variable cost that is related to the product (Tambrino, 2001). Now, based on the market research, I have assumed the selling price to be €100 and the variable cost associated with each product to be €75.

Therefore, contribution margin = selling price – variable cost

= €100-€75

=€25.

Calculation of break-even point

Break-even point can be calculated in different ways; however, the method that I have employed uses total fixed costs and contribution margin. Now, from the financial statements of Adidas, I took the fixed costs as €7296000000.

Now, the break-even point is calculated as the ratio between total fixed costs and contribution margin.

Therefore BE= €7296000000/€25

BE= 291840000 units

This reflects the fact that the company has to sell 291840000 units annually, in order to reach the break-even point. In other words, when the company’s amount of sales is beyond 291840000 units, the company will start earning some profits. This is also to say that the number of monthly sales should be 24320000 units.

Pro-forma is often looked upon as a method with the help of which the calculation regarding the financial results are executed (Dilla, Janvrin & Jeffrey, 2014). It includes hypothetical conditions and a few assumptions about events that might occur in future, or it also reflects the impact of events that might have occurred in the past. Pro-forma financial statements for Adidas is given below, and it includes various assumptions which are also listed.

Income Statement

From the break-even analysis part, we found out that 24320000 units must be sold monthly to equate revenue with the expense. The number of units sold per year was increased by (10-20) percent. Revenue for years 2017-2021 has been formulated accordingly. From the latest financial statements of Adidas it was found out that, for all the years, the cost of revenue was around 50 percent and therefore, for the upcoming years, the cost of revenue is taken as 52 percent of the revenue.

Operating expenses were also calculated by adding R&D and SG&A costs. R&D was assumed to be 0.8 percent of the revenue, and for all the subsequent years, the research and development costs were also assumed to be 0.8 percent of the revenue. SG&A costs were assumed to be 30 percent of the total revenue, and for all the subsequent years, it was also assumed to be 30 percent of the revenue.

Later, operating income was calculated by subtracting total operating expenses from the gross profit. Provision for income taxes was assumed to be 40 percent of the operating expenses. Later, net income was calculated by subtracting provision for income taxes from the operating income.

 

INCOME STATEMENT

 
 
 
 
 
 

Fiscal year ends in December
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

USD
 
 
 
 
 

Units Sold (monthly)
34320000
41184000
45302400
49832640
54815904

Revenue (Annualy)
41184000000
49420800000
54362880000
59799168000
65779084800

Cost of revenue
21415680000
25698816000
28268697600
31095567360
34205124096

Gross profit (A)
19768320000
23721984000
26094182400
28703600640
31573960704

 
 
 
 
 
 

Operating expenses
 
 
 
 
 

Research and development
329472000
395366400
434903040
478393344
526232678

Sales, General and administrative
12355200000
14826240000
16308864000
17939750400
19733725440

Total operating expenses (B)
12684672000
15221606400
16743767040
18418143744
20259958118

 
 
 
 
 
 

Operating income (A-B)
7083648000
8500377600
9350415360
10285456896
11314002586

(-) Provision for income taxes
2833459200
3400151040
3740166144
4114182758
4525601034

Net income
4250188800
5100226560
5610249216
6171274138
6788401551

 

Balance Sheet

Cash and cash equivalents and receivables were assumed to be 11 percent of the revenue, and for the subsequent years, they were also assumed to 11 percent of the revenue. Inventories were assumed to be 16 percent of the revenue, and for the subsequent years, they were also assumed to be 16 percent of the revenue. Total current assets were calculated by adding cash and cash equivalents, receivables, and inventories. Total fixed assets were calculated by subtracting depreciation from the sum of the building, equipment, and other assets. Later, total assets were calculated by adding total current assets and total fixed assets.

Short-term debt was assumed to be 4 percent of the revenue, and for all the subsequent years, they were also assumed to be 4 percent of the revenue. Accounts payables were assumed to be 12 percent of the revenue, and for all the subsequent years, they were also assumed to be 12 percent of the revenue. Total current liabilities were calculated by adding short-term debt and accounts payable. Assumptions were also made when the long-term debt was assumed to be 8 percent of the revenue, and for all the subsequent years, they were also assumed to be 8 percent of the revenue. It became the total current non-current liabilities. Later, total liabilities were calculated by adding total current liabilities and total non-current liabilities. Total stockholder’s equity was also calculated by subtracting total liabilities from total assets.

BALANCE SHEET

Fiscal year ends in December
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

USD
 
 
 
 
 

Assets

Current assets
 
 
 
 
 

Cash and cash equivalents
4530240000
5436288000
5979916800
6577908480
7235699328

Receivables
4530240000
5436288000
5979916800
6577908480
7235699328

Inventories
6589440000
7907328000
8698060800
9567866880
10524653568

Total current assets (A)
15649920000
18779904000
20657894400
22723683840
24996052224

 
 
 
 
 
 

Building
2242000000
2466200000
2712820000
2984102000
3282512200

Equipment
2425000000
50000
50000
50000
50000

Other assets
242500000
278875000
320706250
368812188
424134016

Depreciation
245475000
137256250
151678813
167648209
185334811

Total Fixed assets (B)
4664025000
2607868750
2881897438
3185315978
3521361405

 
 
 
 
 
 

Total assets (A+B)
20313945000
21387772750
23539791838
25908999818
28517413629

 
 
 
 
 
 

Liabilities

 
 
 
 
 
 

Short-term debt
1647360000
1976832000
2174515200
2391966720
2631163392

Accounts payable
4942080000
5930496000
6523545600
7175900160
7893490176

Total current liabilities (A)
6589440000
7907328000
8698060800
9567866880
10524653568

 
 
 
 
 
 

Long-term debt
3335904000
4003084800
4403393280
4843732608
5328105869

Total non-current liabilities (B)
3335904000
4003084800
4403393280
4843732608
5328105869

 
 
 
 
 
 

Total liabilities (A+B)
9925344000
11910412800
13101454080
14411599488
15852759437

 
 
 
 
 
 

Stockholders’ equity

Total stockholders’ equity
10388601000
9477359950
10438337758
11497400330
12664654192

 

Cash Flows

Cash from operations was calculated by adding depreciation and profit after tax. Total source of cash was calculated by adding cash from financing and cash from operations. Later, the total change in working capital was calculated by subtracting accounts payable from the sum of inventory and accounts receivable. Values for total fixed assets, total financing and total use of funds are also mentioned in the pro-forma cash flow cash flow statements.

 

Cash Flow

Funds
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

Profit After Tax
10090080000
12108096000
13318905600
14650796160
16115875776

Depreciation
245475000
137256250
151678812.5
167648209.4
185334810.8

Cash from Operations
10335555000
12245352250
13470584413
14818444369
16301210587

 
 
 
 
 
 

Cash from Loan instrument
3335904000
4003084800
4403393280
4843732608
5328105869

Cash from Financing
3335904000
4003084800
4403393280
4843732608
5328105869

Total Source of cash
13671459000
16248437050
17873977693
19662176977
21629316456

 
 
 
 
 
 

Changes in Working Capital
 
 
 
 
 

Inventory
6589440000
7907328000
8698060800
9567866880
10524653568

Accounts Receivable
4530240000
5436288000
5979916800
6577908480
7235699328

Accounts Payable
4942080000
5930496000
6523545600
7175900160
7893490176

Total Change in Working Capital
6177600000
7413120000
8154432000
8969875200
9866862720

 
 
 
 
 
 

Acquisition of Fixed and other assets
 
 
 
 
 

Total Fixed Asset
4664025000
2607868750
2881897438
3185315978
3521361405

 
 
 
 
 
 

Repayment of financing
 
 
 
 
 

Dividend Payment
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Total Financing
3335904000
4003084800
4403393280
4843732608
5328105869

 
 
 
 
 
 

Total Use of Funds
10841625000
10020988750
11036329438
12155191178
13388224125

 

Key financials details

All the key ratios that are crucial to the company are listed in the table named Key Financial Details. Key financial details in this pro-forma statements include inventories, amount of sales (also known as the number of units sold), total asset, long-term debt, total liabilities etc.

 

Key Financial Details

 
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

Inventories
6589440000
7907328000
8698060800
9567866880
10524653568

Units sold (monthly)
24320000
29184000
32102400
35312640
38843904

Total Asset
20313945000
21387772750
23539791838
25908999818
28517413629

 
 
 
 
 
 

Long Term Debt
3335904000
4003084800
4403393280
4843732608
5328105869

Total Liabilities and Equity
9925344000
11910412800
13101454080
14411599488
15852759437

 
 
 
 
 
 

Revenue
41184000000
49420800000
54362880000
59799168000
65779084800

Margin
14414400000
17297280000
19027008000
20929708800
23022679680

 
 
 
 
 
 

Operating Expense
12684672000
15221606400
16743767040
18418143744
20259958118

 
 
 
 
 
 

Depreciation
245475000
137256250
151678812.5
167648209.4
185334810.8

Tax
4324320000
5189184000
5708102400
6278912640
6906803904

 
 
 
 
 
 

Profit After Tax
10090080000
12108096000
13318905600
14650796160
16115875776

 

This is the method by which a business determines its future sales. If companies predict their sales accurately, then it helps them to implement informed decisions and also helps them to predict both short and long term performances (West, 1994). Most companies forecast their sales by taking into account their data from past sales, economic trends and industry-wide comparisons.

Since Adidas is an established company, it is easy to predict their sales on the basis of the available data. An accurate forecast allows companies and businesses to predict attainable future sales, allocate resource efficiently and to draft plan for future growth.

Results from the break-even analysis concluded that Adidas has to sell 291840000 units in a year to make the company eligible for earning profits. Therefore, for 2017, it was expected that the company would cross the break-even point by selling 34320000 products monthly.

I have assumed that the sales forecast for the subsequent years will increase by 10 to 12 percent annually. As a result, the monthly sales forecast for the next four years, starting from 2018, will be 41184000, 45302400, 49832640 and 54815904 respectively.

The complete sales forecast is also shown in the pro-forma financial statements.

From the available financial statements and the pro-forma financial statements, it can be said that Adidas is performing better every year and if the company continues to implement the innovative business model, it will carry on this performance. Nevertheless, the company is surrounded by considerable risks as the company incurs huge operating expenses that can change the performance track of the company.

If we calculate the company’s Return on Capital Employed ratio, which is the ratio between EBIT and capital employed, we will find out that Adidas had € 0.1 ROCE (Jayawardhana, 2016). This value of ROCE signifies that the company has less efficiency in the capital that is employed and investors always favor a stable and increasing value of ROCE. Therefore, the company should draft strategies to invest money prudently, and the company should also dwell upon selling off the unproductive assets. Also, the company should make wise investments on the productive assets such as vehicles for showrooms and sales, and equipment for their factory. In addition to their investment struggles and rising operating costs, the company is also facing few external and internal challenges. The company can incorporate an external approach to reducing the operating costs by improving their supply chain.

Adidas’ Supply Chain Structure

For big companies, the operating efficiency is dependent on their supply chain system (Joyce, 2006). The company, for several years, has been working with independent suppliers who manufacture the company’s product globally. The company has a multi-layered and global supply chain system that incorporates several types of business partners. Among these business partners, some are contacted directly, and some are indirectly contacted. This has created a complex supply chain structure for Adidas, and therefore, the company has to bear huge operating expenses to manage its supply chain. One thing that the company can do is to unify its supply chain by using fewer, however, bigger factories with larger order volumes.

Sourcing Strategy

Adidas should also focus on its sourcing strategy by balancing security with growth and flexibility. The major outsourcing countries for company’s products are China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey, and Thailand. The company should take initiatives for improving competitiveness and managing their cost-control system.

It is evident that a company’s success is defined by its understanding of the market trends. The company should be able to analyze the market and should identify its core capabilities to mitigate the risks that come along the way. The company should be well prepared to give a subtle response to the changing market trends. A company should streamline its business and should make sure that their success and their investments are in the same direction. Overall, the success of a company goes hand in hand with the strategies that the company follows.

Adidas has always been a company that challenges the market trends and streamlines its strategies accordingly. The main focus of Adidas has been on reducing the production costs and at the same time, expanding its market. The company has attracted a huge market share with its sports equipment; however, it has come at the cost of increased operating costs.

 

 

 

 

 

Catanzaro, T. (2016). Break Even Analysis. Journal Of Global Economics, 4(2).

Dilla, W., Janvrin, D., & Jeffrey, C. (2014). Pro forma accounting disclosures: The effect of reconciliations and financial reporting knowledge on nonprofessional investors’ judgments. Advances In Accounting, 30(1), 43-54.

Jayawardhana, A. (2016). Financial Performance Analysis of Adidas AG. European Journal Of Business And Management, 8(11).

Joyce, W. (2006). Accounting, purchasing and supply chain management. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 11(3), 202-207.

Lebron, W. (2010). Adidas Latest Shoes. SSRN Electronic Journal.

Mahdi, H., Abbas, M., & Mazar3, T. (2015). A Comparative Analysis of Strategies and Business Models of Nike, Inc. and Adidas Group with special reference to Competitive Advantage in the context of a Dynamic and Competitive Environment. International Journal Of Business Management And Economic Research, 6(3), 167-177.

Piller, F., Lindgens, E., & Steiner, F. (2012). Mass Customization at Adidas: Three Strategic Capabilities to Implement Mass Customization. SSRN Electronic Journal.

Seelos, C. (2010). Theorizing and Strategizing with Models: Generative Models of Business Models. SSRN Electronic Journal.

Tambrino, P. (2001). Contribution Margin Budgeting. Community College Journal Of Research And Practice, 25(1), 29-36.

West, D. (1994). Number of sales forecast methods and marketing management. Journal Of Forecasting, 13(4), 395-408.