"..."
By evening, the Adidas team, led by Luca, had been in a state of bewilderment ever since they left Kyle's manor.
Even the consistently sharp and arguably ruthless Felix Luca was completely baffled at this moment.
Basketball, soccer, football, tennis, swimming, rowing, diving... Asia, South America, North America, Europe... even the remote and underdeveloped African market—as a sporting goods giant, Adidas possessed comprehensive information channels. They were able to identify "talented" athletes to a large extent before they officially made it big, allowing them to finalize endorsement and sponsorship contracts. These "talents" would then contribute to Adidas's global product sales.
"How could he refuse so resolutely?!"
"I don't deny that you, Kyle Page, are very rich—no one in the World can deny that—but... setting everything else aside, the fact that Adidas has excellent cooperative relationships with sports departments and official agencies in various countries and regions worldwide should be enough to attract any sporting goods company!"
"Doesn't the development of Under Armour need these things?"
Felix Luca thought about it over and over until his head felt like it was about to explode.
Without a strong network of connections, even if you discover and unearth a talented athlete, it is difficult to sign endorsement and sponsorship contracts.
After all, the sports departments of many regions and countries would be the first to jump out and object.
Nike and Adidas have operated for decades to build their comprehensive channels and networks. This is something that makes countless emerging sports brands feel despair!
"Mr. Luca, does Kyle Page not want to grow and expand Under Armour?" asked an elite member of the Adidas team.
Luca remained silent~
Another team member questioned: "As far as I know, Under Armour has very few 'talent' scouts across North America. How do they find these sports talents and subsequently sign endorsement and sponsorship contracts? You must know that an endorsement from a famous athlete can significantly boost sales of sporting goods. Under Armour simply does not possess these global information channels!"
He was utterly perplexed.
In fact, everyone in the entire team was very confused.
Advertising!
The sports brand industry itself is very dependent on advertising and promotion. Endorsements from big-name athletes, as well as a large number of endorsements and sponsorship contracts from ordinary athletes, basically determine the upper and lower limits of a sports brand.
"Sigh~"
Luca sighed: "To be honest, this is the first time in my many years in this industry that I've found a situation so difficult to handle."
He simply couldn't understand what Kyle was thinking.
Information channels, exposure, networks in various countries and regions, cooperation with sports departments... these things basically determine the value of a sports brand.
You say, the technological content of the product itself?
Stop joking, those things are mostly just for show!
Indeed, as the senior vice president of Adidas, Luca knew very well that the vast majority of the so-called technological content in products was just marketing fluff; it wasn't nearly as important as the advertisements claimed.
The products produced by sports brands, much like luxury goods, are essentially the result of promotion and marketing.
"What on earth is going on?"
Luca continued to be bewildered~
...Meanwhile.
Nike had also made a decision: support the acquisition of Under Armour!
"Fantastic!"
"The head office really showed some guts this time. They said they'd decide within three days, but I never expected they'd finalize the acquisition decision after just one day!"
The members of the Nike branch in Baltimore were all overjoyed.
senior vice president Mark Parker had a slight smile on his face: "I knew the head office wouldn't be able to stay calm after investigating some of the information on Under Armour."
There was no choice; Under Armour's development... was just too rapid!
Across the U.S., there were plenty of sports brands currently larger than Under Armour, but... in terms of growth speed over the last few years, Under Armour could be seen as standing entirely alone at the top.
This speed of rising was terrifying!
"It's not much now, but what I value is Under Armour's future!"
This was the opinion given by Nike's head office.
$190 million!
This was the upper limit price set by Nike's head office for the acquisition of Under Armour.
"Under Armour's current valuation is only just over 100 million. The price Adidas offers won't exceed $140 million at most, while our starting price is $190 million. Even if Kyle Page is a billionaire, I don't believe he won't be tempted," senior vice president Mark Parker judged in his heart.
However!
The next morning, Mark Parker was bewildered!
The members of Nike's Baltimore branch were also bewildered!
A group of senior executives and shareholders at Nike's headquarters were all dumbfounded.
[After an initial offer of $140 million, Adidas made a second offer of $170 million.]
[Adidas gave up on the acquisition and instead wanted to buy a stake in Under Armour. At a sky-high valuation of $200 million for Under Armour, they offered $50 million, wanting only 25% of the shares.]
Each offer was more tempting than the last!
If other sporting goods brands in the outside World learned of these two proposals, they would absolutely be green with envy.
But the result?
Kyle refused without hesitation, leaving no room for negotiation whatsoever!
"Is Kyle Page crazy?!"
"Does he not know that without comprehensive athlete information channels and the long-term support of official sports departments in various countries and regions, it will be difficult for Under Armour to develop at all?"
"Even an offer from Adidas based on a total valuation of $200 million was rejected. Our upper limit is only $190 million—that's completely useless!"
Many people's faces flushed with embarrassment.
Wasn't it so? Kyle didn't even look twice at $200 million, let alone Nike's $190 million!
"Teacher, are we still going to Under Armour?" Smith Jo looked at his teacher, Mark Parker.
Everyone else present couldn't help but focus their gaze on Mark Parker as well.
Mark Parker: "..."
Hey, hey, hey, don't look at me like that?
It's very embarrassing, okay!
In fact, while Mark Parker felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, he was also somewhat relieved. Fortunately, they had only sent a letter to Under Armour saying they wanted to acquire it without directly stating a price; otherwise, things would be extremely awkward right now.
"Ahem~ Smith, act as if the acquisition of Under Armour never happened, understand?"
While Parker was advising them, he quietly and inconspicuously tossed the acquisition plan in his hand into the trash can.
Utterly embarrassing~
...Just Do It!
"This is Nike's external slogan and manifesto."
Nothing Is Impossible!
"This is Adidas's slogan and manifesto."
Kyle looked at Zack Snyder and the others and said, "Our Under Armour slogan is 'We must protect this house.' This is our Warrior's manifesto."
After speaking, Kyle gave Under Armour's president, Planck, a file.
Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James, Sharapova,... "We don't have a global information collection channel for athletes, but the people in this file are those we need to focus on. Under Armour's development in terms of promotion will depend on these people," Kyle said mysteriously.
These future sports giants were, at most, slightly famous now; many had not even entered professional leagues. For example, LeBron James was still in high school, Sharapova had just entered middle school, and so on. Even if they couldn't sign professional athlete endorsement contracts yet, signing sponsorship contracts ahead of time was certainly possible.
"I don't have a talent information collection channel, but I'm a transmigrator! I know who these future giants are!" Kyle thought to himself.
Planck: "..."