China, get your game on: Adidas is bringing Linsanity to you very soon.
The German sports apparel company plans to roll out the New York Knicks phenom''s jersey across its network of 6,700 stores in China and expects they''ll be a hot-selling item, Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer said in an interview.
Mr. Hainer, who called Jeremy Lin ''no doubt a great athlete,'' said the company looks for fresh talent like his.
Lin''s ascent to basketball stardom was so unexpected that there was little merchandise associated with him anywhere in the world. Big sportswear brands are now trying to catch up.
Adidas, the world''s second-largest sports apparel company by revenue, has a licensing agreement with the NBA in China which allows it to capitalize on Lin''s star power. It and its peers would surely develop even more, but Lin is still under contract with Nike for another year.
Last week, sneaker freaks and Lin fans were giddy over rumors that Nike was developing a new sneaker for the Chinese-American star, and photos circulated online of a blue-and-orange shoe with ''Lin'' on the back. The photos later proved to be false.
Nike brought Lin on a two-city promotional tour in Taiwan when the California native first turned pro in 2010. But the company said on Tuesday that there were no product launches involving Lin to be announced at the time.
Adidas'' Mr. Hainer would not say if Adidas is in talks with Lin either.
But Chinese sports apparel companies are looking to toss their hats into the ring to capitalize on Lin''s unlikely ascent. Peak Sport Products, which has more than 7,600 stores across China, sent executives to the U.S. to meet with Lin about endorsements, according to a report in the state-owned China Daily. The report also said that Qiaodan Sports, based in China''s Fujian province, is eyeing Mr. Lin for sponsorship deals.
For now, the jerseys will have to do. David Shoemaker, the NBA''s head of China operations, told China Real Time last week that it was ''doing everything possible'' to meet ''furious'' demand for Lin merchandise.
Meanwhile, back in the U.S., Lin jerseys and shirts have been a hit. Modell''s Sporting Goods, a retailer based in New York, said it has sold around 10,000 jerseys and T-shirts in the past week alone and has orders for more than 160,000 in the coming days.
请中国做好准备，阿迪达斯(Adidas AG)很快就会让你们也染上“林来疯”的。
阿迪达斯首席执行长海纳(Herbert Hainer)在一次采访中说，这家德国运动服装品牌计划在中国的6,700家门店推出纽约尼克斯队(New York Knicks)近期爆红的球员林书豪的球衣，他预计该商品将热卖。
相关报道海纳认为，林书豪毫无疑问是一个了不起的球员。他说，公司一直在寻找像他这样崭露头角的青年才俊。
林书豪一夜爆红成为篮球明星的过程太过出乎意料，世界上任何地方几乎都没有跟他有关的商品。各大运动装备品牌现在正在努力填补这一空白。
按营收计算，阿迪达斯是全球第二大运动服装制造商，与美国职业篮球联赛(NBA)签订了授权协议，该协议使阿迪达斯能够在中国利用林书豪的明星效应获利。阿迪达斯和其同类品牌毫无疑问会进一步开发林书豪的商业价值，不过，林书豪和耐克(Nike)的合同还有一年才到期。
上周，运动鞋发烧友和林书豪的球迷着实兴奋了一阵，因为有传言说，耐克要为这位美籍华人新星推出一款新的运动鞋。一只蓝色和橘色相间、后部印有“Lin”字样的运动鞋图片曾在网上流传，不过后来这些照片被证明是伪造的。
当林书豪在2010年成为职业选手时，耐克带着这个在加州长大的篮球运动员参加了在台湾的两个城市举行的宣传活动。但是该公司周二说，目前没有发布与林书豪有关产品的计划。
海纳也没有透露阿迪达斯是否在和林书豪进行谈判。
但是中国的运动服装品牌正在寻求利用林书豪突然之间爆红的机会碰碰运气。根据中国官方媒体《中国日报》(China Daily)的一篇报道，在中国拥有超过7,600家门店的匹克体育用品有限公司(Peak Sport Products Co.)已经派高管前往美国同林书豪见面商谈代言事宜。报道还说，中国福建省的乔丹体育(Qiaodan Sports)正在计划同林书豪商谈赞助方面的交易。
目前看来，在中国能买到的也就只有林书豪的球衣了。NBA中国首席执行长舒德伟(David Shoemaker)上周接受《中国实时报》采访时说，NBA中国正在尽一切可能满足对与林书豪有关商品的狂热需求。
与此同时，在美国国内，林书豪的球衣和T恤已经成了畅销商品。纽约的零售商Modell''s Sporting Goods说，仅在过去的一周，该店就已经卖出了大约1万件这种球衣和T恤，该店已经又预定了16万件以供在未来几天销售。
