At Metro Atlanta Plant, Adidas Looks To Speed Up Production
A new Adidas plant set to open next year in Cherokee County is an early indicator of a sea change in the way athletic shoes are being made.
First, there’s the technical end. At the so-called Adidas “Speedfactory,” sneakers will be made using computer manufacturing technologies meant to speed up production — a big deal in the sneaker game, according to sports analyst Matt Powell.
“The time it takes to bring a shoe to market is quite long — much longer than apparel — typically 18 months to two years,” he says.
And in a market where the expectation for new, new, new, is increasingly important, making shoes quickly, in close proximity to the consumer, matters.
This is the company’s second Speedfactory. The first is in its home base of Germany, and it plans to open more.
Powell says this doesn’t signal the ultimate end of the mass production of sneakers. But it is a major trend throughout the athletic shoe world, especially since Asian labor costs are on the rise. “Nike, Under Armour [and] Adidas are all working very hard on this. We’ll ultimately see every brand participating in this.”
No. 1 Nike recently opened a similar high-tech plant in Oregon.
The new Adidas plant will bring about 160 jobs to Georgia. It aims to produce 50,000 pairs of shoes in 2017.
Related
Top Stories
