2005年NPR美国国家公共电台八月-Adidas to Acquire Reebok in Billion-Dolla

There's a big deal today in the world of sneakers. Germany's Adidas is buying Massachusetts-based Reebok, in an athletic¹ shoe pairing valued at nearly 4 billion dollars. The acquisition should give Adidas added attraction, in its race with industry giant Nike. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Long before Nike sold its first waffle soled running shoe, Adidas was the world leader in sporting goods. Reebok enjoyed its own heyday² during the aerobics³ craze in the 1980s. For more than a decade, though, the two companies have been eating Nike's dust, with just over 11 billion dollars in combined sales last year to Nike's 14 billion. Adidas chairman Herbert Hainer said today, the acquisition of Reebok should help both companies pick up their pace and finally catch up to their swoosh bearing competitor.

This is a perfect fit for both of the companies, because it is so complementary and I definitely think it is a milestone⁴ in the industry.

The merger⁵ combines Adidas' strength in Europe with Reebok's presence in the big US market. Reebok pitchman Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets should also help the combined company in China, as the sporting world looks forward to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The companies say the merger will not result in any significant job cuts. Reebok will maintain its headquarters in Massachusetts. And founder⁶ Paul Fireman will stay on for now, as CEO of the Reebok brand. Fireman says Adidas and Reebok will keep their separate stables of athletic and celebrity⁷ endorsers⁸, and retain their distinct brand identities.

Remember consumers have different personalities⁹. And therefore (they have a look) they look at the brands slightly different, so I think it is a race that's not necessarily gonna be one or the other, it's gonna be together we are gonna have both work out to do our best for both of our brands to exist.

The two brands' different personalities are on display at this big five sporting goods store in San Diego,where sales woman Diner Yang says the shoes appeal to very different customers.

Adidas they have like that old school look to women, so not everybody is into that. So Reebok is like a better-looking shoe .It's more like casual. It's great for anything basically. Anything.

Adidas’ executives today praised Reebok's strategy of offering hip-hop casual shoes aimed at fashion-conscious consumers. Eric York Staler who heads the market strategy firm, the Volby Partners, says today's deal will allow Adidas to go after that same fashion market without the risk of alienating¹⁰ its more serious athletic customers.

Now actually Adidas can do exactly what they always did, namely, emphasize performance through technology, and then use the Reebok brand in that fashion or entertainment sort of direction to capture an important segment of the market.

The Adidas-Reebok combination comes at a time when Nike is under new management since the retirement¹¹ of Phil Knight¹² as CEO last year. Chief analyst¹³ Marshal Cohen of the market research firm NPD Group says today's deal will force the markets leader to take notice.

In the past they really just kind of stay in the front, and like anyone running a good race, you just stay focused on the finish line. Today this really changes everything. And now Nike has got to really look around every once in a while at the competition.

For Adidas, though, managing a stable of diverse brands will be no easy task. Earlier this year, Adidas announced plans to unload the French sporting goods company Salomon for 590 million dollars. That's less than half what Adidas paid for the company 8 years ago. Scott Horsley, NPR news, San Diego.

1 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

2 heyday   

n.全盛时期，青春期

参考例句：

• The 19th century was the heyday of steam railways.19世纪是蒸汽机车鼎盛的时代。
• She was a great singer in her heyday.她在自己的黄金时代是个了不起的歌唱家。

3 aerobics   

n.健身操，健美操，韵律操

参考例句：

• Doing aerobics is a good way to improve one's health.做有氧健身操是改善健康状况的一个好方法。
• Aren't you going to the aerobics class this morning?今天上午你不是去上有氧运动课吗？

4 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

5 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

8 endorsers   

n.背书人，转让人( endorser的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We hereby agree with the drawers, endorsers and bona fide holders of drafts. 我行在此向汇票的出票人，背书人及合法持有人表示同意。 来自辞典例句
• Marketing experts say celebrity endorsers can increase sales, and improve the company's image. 销售专家说名人支持者能为公司增加销售量，并改善公司的形象。 来自互联网

9 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

10 alienating   

v.使疏远( alienate的现在分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• The phenomena of alienation are widespread. Sports are also alienating. 异化现象普遍存在，体育运动也不例外。 来自互联网
• How can you appeal to them without alienating the mainstream crowd? 你是怎么在不疏忽主流玩家的情况下吸引住他们呢？ 来自互联网

11 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

12 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

13 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。