*New! Adidas Badminton

[yan.v]

It seems like Addidas is postponing the launching date.
Today is 2/28 and the website shows it still has 14 days to go.
http://racketsportsusa.com/

Products will only be available at the start of April in the US, and not before the summer in Canada.

[kwun]

It seems like Addidas is postponing the launching date.
Today is 2/28 and the website shows it still has 14 days to go.
http://racketsportsusa.com/

that's only for the US/Canada. other countries will have different launch dates.

[Maklike Tier]

i am a bit surprised that the precision 88 design seems to be popular. do you guys really prefer this design vs the Adidas style shown in the other rackets?

I'm not surprised at all. Clean minimalism is a very post-modern Western phenomena (with a few exceptions of course) and from my observations, it's not really a taste that's well developed - look at the success or lack thereof of the Head/Wilson/Babolat similar designs.

What Adidas is doing, is hedging their bets. They're using their traditional design language on a number of rackets, but also using more asian-focussed design on others. After 6-12 months, my guess is that they'll reassess and use sales information to inform the next generation of models/specs.

[gundamzaku]

I'm not surprised at all. Clean minimalism is a very post-modern Western phenomena (with a few exceptions of course) and from my observations, it's not really a taste that's well developed - look at the success or lack thereof of the Head/Wilson/Babolat similar designs.

What Adidas is doing, is hedging their bets. They're using their traditional design language on a number of rackets, but also using more asian-focussed design on others. After 6-12 months, my guess is that they'll reassess and use sales information to inform the next generation of models/specs.

very interesting business tactics! i'm definitely falling for it for sure!!!

[Maklike Tier]

This is why badminton is so fascinating from a design perspective. Invented by the English, popular in Scandinavia, uber popular in SE Asia and the sub-continent, growing in places like the US and Australia on the back of 1st gen immigrants and ex-pats.....so you have this really interesting clash of aesthetics and symbology going on.

[kwun]

I'm not surprised at all. Clean minimalism is a very post-modern Western phenomena (with a few exceptions of course) and from my observations, it's not really a taste that's well developed - look at the success or lack thereof of the Head/Wilson/Babolat similar designs.

is their lack of success due to the design? Wilson/Babolat have similar designs in their tennis range (in fact, their badminton range borrow that design) and they are hugely popular. that means that perhaps their success has little to do with the design and perhaps their marketing or simply just they don't play as well.

[j4ckie]

All I can say is that the Head rackets I tried really weren't worth the money. True, they were definitely cheaper than other companies, but they felt so dull and powerless that I wouldn't have paid anything at all for them. Wilson is really not any cheaper than Yonex here, so I guess most people don't see a reason to buy their stuff, and Babolat rackets are a rather common sight actually (being 20-30% cheaper than Yonex and performing just as well imop).

[Maklike Tier]

is their lack of success due to the design? Wilson/Babolat have similar designs in their tennis range (in fact, their badminton range borrow that design) and they are hugely popular. that means that perhaps their success has little to do with the design and perhaps their marketing or simply just they don't play as well.

Seriously Kwun? That's the most flawed logic ever! If ANY company thinks that just because they make one stringed racket from another sport that they'll be a raging success in badminton, they're doomed to failure.

For starters, Tennis is a very Euro-centric sport, badminton isn't. Secondly, you have all the cultural design values that are pervasive in Asia that just don't exist in Europe. You have the perception (baggage) of being an interloper/newcommer in the market and not a stalwart/innovator. Consumers bring a cynicism if you just scale down graphics and technology from another racket sport (The problem with Wilson).

Marketing absolutely plays a part, but design is the driver to both the playability and the emotional quotient the customer brings to party. (first impressions count) Without good design, appropriate design - you have nothing.

[Maklike Tier]

All I can say is that the Head rackets I tried really weren't worth the money. True, they were definitely cheaper than other companies, but they felt so dull and powerless that I wouldn't have paid anything at all for them. Wilson is really not any cheaper than Yonex here, so I guess most people don't see a reason to buy their stuff, and Babolat rackets are a rather common sight actually (being 20-30% cheaper than Yonex and performing just as well imop).

Babolat are European....you live in Europe......

Hugely different to trying to sell the Babolat brand/design language in China or Malaysia.

[cobalt]

----snip---
Marketing absolutely plays a part, but design is the driver to both the playability and the emotional quotient the customer brings to party. (first impressions count) Without good design, appropriate design - you have nothing.

Not that I disagree with you on this, but just to stir the pot a bit... you may recognise this one...
"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."

[Tornoni]

Products will only be available at the start of April in the US, and not before the summer in Canada.

I know different markets have different dates.

The initial first launch date for the first market (US) on the website is March 1st.
I checked on 2/27, it showed 2 more days and I checked on this morning, it showed 14 more days.

[yan.v]

I know different markets have different dates.

The initial first launch date for the first market (US) on the website is March 1st.
I checked on 2/27, it showed 2 more days and I checked on this morning, it showed 14 more days.

I think it will be a launch date to present products and demos, I'm not sure that products will be available on that date, unless something has changed

[Maklike Tier]

Not that I disagree with you on this, but just to stir the pot a bit... you may recognise this one...
"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."

You mean aside from it's DNA?



There's always a chance something will be successful and the powers-that-be can't completely explain why, but that's the exception rather than the rule. The idea is to minimise the chance factor and optimise the x-factor and what you can control, and hopefully at the end of the day the millions of bucks Adidas has thrown into the melting pot will magically multiply

I still think they need to sponsor the Korean team, but I'm not sure how you'd even facilitate such a thing considering their seemingly strong ties to Victor. It's not like China giving Yonex the middle finger and going with LiNing.

[dbswansea]

Anyone have an idea on the UK launch date?

[Sgt_Strider]

I'm not surprised at all. Clean minimalism is a very post-modern Western phenomena (with a few exceptions of course) and from my observations, it's not really a taste that's well developed - look at the success or lack thereof of the Head/Wilson/Babolat similar designs.

What Adidas is doing, is hedging their bets. They're using their traditional design language on a number of rackets, but also using more asian-focussed design on others. After 6-12 months, my guess is that they'll reassess and use sales information to inform the next generation of models/specs.

I think you're right. Growing up here in the west, I actually prefer a clean minimalistic industrial design. That's why I don't like the Precision 88's aesthetics.

[paroxysmal]

^^^ Yes. Even I opened the website with excitement yesterday and found to countdown timer to be set to 14 days!

[Mendell]

Babolat play pretty well, but the design of some of their rackets isn't the most polarizing... Their lack of success might also come from the lack of crazy BP some people absolutely want.