News
Messi’s boot set for July arrival T
he adidas F50 adiZero football boot, as worn by Lionel Messi in the World Cup in
an exclusive colour scheme of Chameleon Purple, White and Electricity, is set for retail delivery on July 12. adidas says
the F50 adiZero is the lightest football boot ever made, weighing 165 grams per foot, up to an 81
⁄2
size, and the boot originally arrived at retail in May in colours of Sun/Black and Sun/Black/Collegiate Gold. These models are being worn by a host of World Cup players, including England’s Jermain Defoe, Spain’s David Villa, Salomon Kalou of the Ivory Coast and American Jozy Altidore. The boot comes with an RRP of £125, and it is
made with what adidas calls a ‘SprintSkin’ single- layer polyurethane upper, and a ‘Sprint Frame’ outsole, which is modelled on sprinting spikes. Thermo polyurethane bands are designed to provide stability to the top of the boot, while a
triangular stud configuration is intended to boost acceleration and support from below. “I am amazed at how light the new F50 is,”
says Messi, the Argentina and Barcelona playmaker. “I can barely feel them on my feet. Speed on the pitch is
a really important part of
my game and wearing the world’s lightest boot will hopefully make me
faster and
enhance my performance
during the most important games
of the year.” “Players like Lionel Messi consistently told us
they wanted boots that would enable them to be faster,” adds Aubrey Dolan, senior product manager for adidas Football. “Players wanted to be first to the ball, so we decided the best way forward was to make a lightweight product which could be used at the highest level.”
www.adidas.com
Intersport prepares for Q1 show
I
ntersport is expecting its next trade event, for 2011, Quarter 1, to be the biggest
buying show the group has ever staged in the UK. The Q1 show takes place at the group’s UK headquarters at Cranmore Park, Solihull, on June 30-July 1. With a broad focus on ‘Footwear and textiles’,
Intersport will also be introducing its own lines in table tennis, fitness, darts, running shoes and apparel, alongside the offerings of 41 suppliers. At the time of writing, 80 of Intersport’s 84- strong membership had confirmed their attendance. “The show comes at a particularly important
moment for the Intersport brand in the UK,” says Barry Mellis, Intersport’s UK general manager. “It is a time when our membership has increased dramatically, since the recent integration with Allied Partners, and with members still joining. It is also a time when Intersport has invested much more heavily in consumer advertising and marketing, in co-operation with our leading suppliers, to raise our own brand profile and increase consumer recognition.” Adds Susan Herbert, Intersport’s marketing and
communications manager: “This is my first show and I am particularly pleased to have arrived at the launch of a new and ambitious sales and marketing strategy that, I believe, will give us much greater market penetration and help build our reputation as a leading consumer brand here in the UK.” Exhibiting brands include adidas, Asics, K-Swiss,
Nike, Puma, Reebok, Speedo, Umbro, Under Armour and Unicorn.
www.intersport.com
Sky high: Sport 2000’s flagship store in Landsberg, Germany
New branding for Sport 2000 E
uropean retail buying group Sport 2000 International has reported that 430 of its
member stores have now adopted the group’s new logo that was introduced last year. At the group’s recent General Assembly in
Munich, managing director Wolfgang Schnellbugel also reported that despite slow
8 SGB SPORT JUNE 2010
trading conditions across the industry, Sport 2000 could report an accumulated sales growth of 1.29% last year. Sport 2000’s membership covers a total of 3,500 sports retail stores across 26 countries, including the Sports Direct chain, with an annual turnover of over €5 billion.
www.sport2000international.com
Back to basics: Former England manager Graham Taylor has called for more investment into grass roots football from the professional game. Speaking at the recent Grass Roots Football LIVE event at the NEC, at the Precision Training Fitness and Conditioning Zone, Taylor said: “Where did David Beckham and Wayne Rooney start? It was at grass roots level. It is very expensive to run a junior team ... the Premier league has had a major effect on what the kids of today expect from their teams."
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