" Reebok to Introduce Its Super Bowl Shoes," The Wall Street Journal, 1 February 2002: B3.
The Super Bowl is a huge event not only for sport fans, but also for firms. This year the NFL gave a right to 39 companies to produce goods related to the game. One of them is Reebok International, which obtained ten years contract with NFL in 2001. For Reebok, it is great opportunity to build its brand. According to the article, Reebok manufactured a special edition of sneakers related to the Super Bowl, which are sold through the sports retailers such as Foot Locker and Champs Sports since February 1. But, what makes those shoes so distinctive? So, Reebok produced only 2,002 pairs of those shoes, which has logos of the St. Louis Rams and the New England Patriots. Moreover, this is a first time that the Super Bowl was linked to the shoes. Another company mentioned in the article, producing goods for Super Bowl, is Hallmark Cards. The third firm the article refers to is VF, which along with Reebok will produce the "locker room T-shirts." .
2. "Collector" shoes- if the number of given good is limited, such as 2002 pairs of Reebok shoes, they are trophies to the owners of those goods. .
Break even- the level of business operations at which revenues and expired costs are equal.
3. Strategic alliance. The partnership of Reebok and NFL represents a strategic alliance between two powerful sports brands, which will generate long-term profitability and sales growth for both companies. The NFL has granted Reebok the exclusive rights to design and distribute all NFL replica jersey, headwear, footwear and gloves (Ch. 2 p42). .
Product line. Hallmark Cards has many production lines. One of them is Super Bowl line, which produces goods related to this event. Hallmark carries also other production lines, such as Gold Crown, Keepsake Ornaments, Maxine, Shoebox, Fresh Ink and others (Ch. 11 p344). .
II. Environment.
1. Competitive Environment- Competition between the companies producing the sports and fitness footwear and apparel is intense.