Yep, their women's double who got into the finals of malaysia open (Masutomo & Takahashi) are wearing mizuno shoes
Yesterday evening the head of Adidas Badminton and I had a 2+ hours phone call talking about Adidas badminton and badminton in general. I have asked many questions regarding Adidas and their plans on entering the badminton market. I am delighted to learn that they are very much crazy about badminton as we are and will be, in all aspects, committed to promoting badminton, and committed in doing the proper job with their product line. Obviously there are many details in a 2 hours convo and also there are many info that are still confidential. I will pour through my notes and will post summaries over the next few days.
haha. well, you will hear from me all about them when they become declassified. in the meanwhile though, i must keep my word and to maintain my credibility.
I met the adidas reps here this week and they didn't even know adidas was launching a badminton line, so they told me it would probably not launch anytime soon in Canada. However, I did contact adidas badminton personally, and it seems that they are ready to launch soon in the US and are working on distribution for Canada. I was glad to hear that! We'll be hearing from them very soon
So, if I ask about Yonex products and your opinion, that should be ok ? So, should I continue to buy Aerosensa 40 & 50 or not ?
Probably until July at the latest. Otoh, Malaysia has a habit of 'blocking' certain products, so maybe you'll have to wait longer or order from abroad - many Malaysian shopkeepers also feel that getting certain brands isn't worth it when they're not much cheaper than Yonex. The inconsistent taxes might play a role in that, as different products may be taxed differently (a friend wanted to get the Galaxy S3 when he was in Malaysia, expecting it to be cheaper than here - instead, it was more expensive as taxes on it seem to be rather high.).
JUST FOR MALAYSIAN BADDY PLAYERS and TAX-PAYERS: Please keep all your SPORTS EQUIPMENT purchase receipts, it is TAX-DEDUCATBLE when you make your annual submission in a few months time !!
Racquets and shuttles ... shoes probably ... not much, if I am not mistaken RM300 or RM500 ... better than nothing ...
The first part of our conversation covered the background of Adidas Badminton. Firstly, Adidas Badminton is being launched through a world wide licensee, a company called KWCC. KWCC has been the licensee for Adidas combat sport for the past 10 yrs. They have a close relationship with Adidas. Many of you have asked the “why” question. Why did Adidas decides to take on badminton. The answer is simple, the people who are leading KWCC are sports and badminton people and they are passionate about badminton. When they are looking to expand their market, it was natural for them to pick badminton. With some amount of convincing to Adidas, they were given the support to work on Adidas Badminton. I sat down with the CEO of KWCC, Christophe, over the phone and we chatted for a long time, not only about Adidas, but also about badminton in general. Throughout the whole conversation, I didn’t feel like i was chatting with someone who is sitting way up there in the CEO chair preaching their product, but instead I feel like I am chatting just another one of you guys here in BC. Someone who is passionate about badminton, enjoy watching and talking about badminton just like we do here 24 hours a days. The conversation was open and while there are of course some marketing speak, the information I was given was very down to earth. They have been working on Adidas for the past 2 years. I have seen their complete catalog that includes everything in their first launch. While the details of which is still confidential (and understandably so), I think it will be OK to say that I am very impressed by their first foray into the market, and certainly showed that they have been working very hard and done the proper research into the market. Let’s take a break at this point, and I will continue to talk about what sort of stuff Adidas Badminton have planned for the future.
Is this probably the post with the most LIKES in the history of BC? Good to know that you had a close relationship with the head of adidas badminton.. Camping here to learn more things about adidas badminton soon
Kwun, Can you at least share with us when we can purchase Adidas badminton shoes in the US? Or I'll be forced to buy them from a HK retailer?
I'm not sure I can give details about when it will be released in the US, but from what I could get, you will not need to buy them from HK and the launch is planned to be soon. Not super soon, but soon.
yeah. it will be within months. the launch will be staggered between countries. from various non-official sources i gather, the launch in HK will be in Feb/March time frame, and it will be later for the US/Canada.