The top two biggest sports brands of the decade, Adidas and Nike, are both represented in Longfellow, with loyal fans each claiming their favorite is the best. Technavio, a global market research company, has run the numbers to see who wins the battle for the top of the clothing chain, but Longfellow students want to put in their votes as well.

Eighth grader Matthew Gordon claims Nike is the top chain. “It is a bigger name brand and puts its products out there more,” he said. Advertisement is a big factor that contributes to the people’s overall knowledge of the brand. Through the Longfellow Middle School hallways, the Nike product is often used among teens.

Nike was officially introduced as Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964 and became the brand it is today. The founders of Nike, Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, introduced their first retail store in 1966, and the brand finally went public in 1978 as Nike, INC.

Eighth grader Chase Braden claims that Adidas is better because “It is more comfortable and less expensive” The global trend of Ultraboost from Adidas is recorded as the most comfortable shoe in 2019. “BOOST” was incorporated in 2013 by the Adidas running line. Not only was it trendy, but “the perfect running shoe.” As a result, many athletes started to wear this as their everyday shoe.

So what is all the fuss about “Boost”? Boost is a material made from thermoplastic polyurethane, a comfortable bouncy material that makes for the best running. Boost’s first commercial to the public was released in 2013, and the shoe was further perfected from there. Ultra Boost was released in 2015 and instantly blew up. The comfortable material and high quality got the attention of many.

Adidas made its first big appearance on August 18, 1949, announced by Germany to the public, then later exported to the U.S., where a different pronunciation was adopted. The big brand started in a small town in Germany called Bavaria; their mission was to give athletes a good experience while using their equipment. When Adidas first partnered up with the FIFA World Cup, they got some major attention from the public. 

Nike, on the other hand, made one specific shoe that is not a sports shoe but purely for trend. The Nike Air Force 1 was the biggest trend globally in 2020 and arguably the best selling shoe in Nikes’ history. Mostly worn by people between ages 12-30, people are more interested in Nike because of this new hit shoe.

As far as sportswear, both brands continue to make comfortable, good quality, affordable clothes with the shoes slick design makes the shoe more comfortable. 

In Matthew’s opinion, Nike is more expensive than Adidas because they have a more popular product; therefore, they can sell their product at a higher price. Nike shoes usually go between $100-$160, and Adidas go for $80-$130, so Adidas wins in the more affordable range.

The CEO and founder of Mallzee Insights, Cally Russell, states in his article that Nike’s total revenue from their footwear was $24.2 billion in 2018 VS Adidas, which has 15 billion. That does, in fact, mean Nike has more sales. Therefore, it is more well-known and liked by many more people.