Adidas bullish on Sachin deal

One of world's leading maker of sports apparel, shoes and fitness instruments, Adidas, was confident that it would be able to retain former Indian cricket captain Sachin Tendulkar as its brand ambassador, despite disagreements with Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) and its rival Nike over the latter's use of Sachin Tendulkar's images for endorsements while he was not playing for the country.

At a press conference in Kolkata, Hartwin Fedderson, marketing director of Adidas India, said, "Sachin Tendulkar has a huge fan following and an enormous brand recall. Moreover, whenever Adidas would associate with a game it would sign on a brand ambassador who is synonymous with the game. The brand fit with Tendulkar, cricket and Adidas is very well figured and so we would retain Tendulkar."

The Adidas - BCCI - Nike row was in wake of BCCI granting Nike sponsorship and licensing rights to carry trademarks of Tendulkar only while playing for the country.

Tendulkar, on the other hand, has been the brand ambassador for Adidas since 1997.

Adidas had claimed that it was the exclusive rights holder to use the name of Tendulkar as well as personal profiles of the cricket star.

Adidas in a statement to Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) recently said that Tendulkar's as well as its own rights have been violated by Nike who had attempted to deceive the public by indicating "Sachin's brand name was with them."

In a statement presented to the bench, Adidas had said that Nike, in 2006, launched its cricket range comprising T-shirts featuring Sachin Tendulkar's name and jersey number.

At the same time, BCCI has a five-year contract with Nike only for the team on-field uniform and had granted Nike only sponsorship and licensing rights.

Hartwin today inaugurated in Kolkata Adidas' first SP2 format store in India.

The SP2 was a large format store which would stock a broader range of Adidas' athletic and trendy range of footwear, apparel and accessories.

The store also showcases the brand in an international design and features an exclusive women's section with products that offer a fusion of performance and style.