adidas has announced that they’ll be opening a new footwear production site in the Atlanta area in 2017. The industry-defining, state-of-the-art facility, called adidas SPEEDFACTORY, will allow adidas to create product more quickly and closer to U.S. consumers.
“For years our industry has been playing by the same rules manufacturing product remotely in Asia,” said adidas Group Executive Board Member Eric Liedtke, responsible for Global Brands. “As the creator brand that challenges convention and looks to co-create the future with our consumers, we are obsessed with bringing all steps of the creation process home to America. We’re fueling design at the ground level of creativity in Brooklyn and reinventing manufacturing with the first adidas SPEEDFACTORY in Atlanta. This allows us to make product for the consumer, with the consumer, where the consumer lives in real time, unleashing unparalleled creativity and endless opportunities for customization in America.”
The first-of-its-kind business model advances adidas’ consumer-centric approach to product creation, allowing the brand to decentralize production and react faster to consumer needs. Equipped with cutting-edge manufacturing technologies, the U.S. factory enables adidas to create products in increasingly high volumes with advanced complexity in color, materials and sizes.
adidas is opening the door for unprecedented customization of high-performance products with unique fit, comfort and look. The U.S. facility allows adidas to source and produce locally, limiting long shipping distances and driving the brand’s commitment to sustainability.
“Speed is far more than a business strategy for us,” said adidas Group Executive Board Member Glenn Bennett, responsible for Global Operations. “Speed is all around us. It’s what athletes train for, and it’s essential to our consumers who live in a world of immediacy. With the first U.S.-based SPEEDFACTORY, we’re combining some of the world’s best technology and manufacturing processes to give our consumers access to constant newness. This is another big step in our ambition to become the world’s first true fast sports brand.”
Hoping this will lead to Yeezys becoming more available in 2017, as the Atlanta factory will be more than 74,000-square-foot in space. The entire area is expected to be fully functional to target production of 50,000 pairs of footwear next year.
In the mid-term, adidas aims to produce half a million pairs of shoes for running and other categories. The U.S. SPEEDFACTORY will create around 160 jobs.
