Adidas Stumbles on the Path to Running-Shoe Perfection
The German shoemaker is shutting down its “Speedfactory” reshoring project because it got ahead of itself on shoe customization.
It’s gotta be the shoes.
Photographer: Alex Grimm/Getty Images
In just four years, Adidas AG, the German sporting goods manufacturer, has realized that its highly automated “Speedfactories” in Germany and the U.S. weren’t a great idea and it’s best to keep making athletic shoes in Asia. That doesn’t mean, however, that the whole idea of “reshoring” production to be closer to customers is wrong.
The first Speedfactory, a joint project with plastics specialist Oechsler AG, was set up in the small Bavarian city of Ansbach in 2015. It was meant to use 3D printing and robotics, and no manual labor, to shorten the delivery time to European consumers. Last year, a second one opened in Atlanta. The company’s rationale was clear: It makes some 90% of its shoes in Asia, but less than a third of its sales originate there.