ADIDAS CONSORTIUM INTERVIEW

The world seems like a much smaller place than it used to be, certainly now with the way that product is shared on a global level. Japan is still the most interesting places for shoes, would you agree?
In the past you could absorb something in Japan, launch it in another country and everyone would be excited by it. Now people buy something on the internet within 30 minutes of it being sold out in Tokyo. I think if you are just being yourself instead of chasing a trend, and you aren’t trying to create the WOW factor, you are just being true and honest. More consumers just want great product and they don’t want anything to be forced in their face like some concepts are.

We really like some of the Consortium sneakers, but in all honesty, we are a bit over the heavy themed pack. It was interesting for a while, but everyone has done Poker, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day etc. Do you really need concepts to sell shoes like that?
No, our formula with the Consortium will change as we see the need. When we did the conceptual range it was the most successful collection we have ever built at the top of our business in terms of selling. If you’re more authentic then you will hate the Poker Series and if you hate archive shoes, you would go towards concepts.

adidas has an amazing back catalogue, yet it feels like you’ve been a bit reluctant to let too many models out of the bag. Will we start seeing some more chestnuts for the old school Adidas collectors?
We have an enormous catalogue and our collections always have an element of a reissue or a re-interpretation. A lot of our competitors tend to pick less models and go with more depth – we are always reissuing new styles, and I would say there are always shoes that people would like us to reissue and that’s part of the beauty of our brand. Everybody knows something about our history and there is still a huge archive that hasn’t been released.