Adidas goes barefoot

Adidas is going barefoot. The world's second-largest athletic company unveiled its first "barefoot" training shoe last Tuesday, which is designed to mimic the experience of exercising barefoot while providing the protection, traction and durability of a shoe.

The Adipure Trainer, which is a cross between a glove for the feet and a traditional shoe, hits United States (US) stores in November priced at US$90.

The barefoot shoe is part of a strategy by adidas, which is based in Germany, to expand into the US where rival Nike dominates. Adidas joins a list of athletic makers trying to tap into the small but burgeoning US market of fanatical runners and gym-goers who swear by shoes designed with as little material between the wearer and the ground as possible.

Fast-growing category

The athletic shoe and clothing business has been fairly resilient during the US economic downturn, but it is an industry that thrives almost entirely on new products. When it comes to shoes, the latest and greatest captures the US customer. While barefoot shoes make up a tiny fraction of the US$22 billion American athletic-shoe industry, it is one of the fast-growing categories. Sales have more than doubled in the past year to roughly US$750 million, according to SportsOneSource.

Nike, the world's biggest athletic company, holds roughly 65 per cent of the market and appeals to barefoot loyalists and mainstream exercise enthusiasts alike with the traditional running-shoe look of its 'Free' line. Vibram has about 10 per cent of the market with its Five-Finger shoe, which encases each toe separately and has come to define the style. Other big companies such as Merrell, Fila, Saucony, Asics and New Balance also have their own barefoot or so-called minimalist offerings.

The growing US barefoot market is an important one for Adidas. The company runs a close race with Nike globally, but the gap is much wider in North America.

In their most recent fiscal years, Nike generated US$7.58 billion in revenue in North America. Adidas, meanwhile, had roughly US$4.05 billion in revenue. Nike holds 48.2 per cent of the market share in US, while Adidas comes in at a distant second with 11.7 per cent.

- AP