Reebok and Nike losers in US consumer satisfaction stakes
Athletic shoes were one of only a few product categories to register a marked decline in the latest quarterly American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) – the main bellweather for consumer satisfaction in the US.
Produced through a partnership between the University of Michigan Business School, the American Society for Quality and the CFI Group, the index overall was largely unchanged year on year, dropping by only 0.6 of a point to 80.3, where an index of 100 represents complete consumer satisfaction among the survey sample and a score of 0 none at all.
Of the eight main non-durable manufacturing sectors, the lowest joint score was registered by tobacco and athletic shoes, which both registered an index of 76, with the latter category falling three points year-on-year.
Commenting on the athletic footwear score, Professor Claes Fornell Director, National Quality Research Center, University of Michigan Business School said: "Both Nike and Reebok expend significant resources on endorsement and licensing contracts toward sports leagues and sports stars. Reebok recently signed a10-year exclusive contract for supplying the NFL and WNBA with uniforms and other apparel. Nike has endorsement contracts with such superstars as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
"Both companies attempt to drive revenue and market share this way. Their efforts on customer retention and customer satisfaction are perhaps less pronounced. Smaller competitors appear to do a better job here and Nike is now down 10% from its all-time high in 1994. Reebok is down 9% from its highest mark in 1995. Both suffer from deterioration in customer retention. This may be offset from new customers entering the market, primarily from younger age groups. Nevertheless, it leaves both companies vulnerable to changes in population growth in the age brackets they compete in."
