Реферат: Reebok International Essay Research Paper Reebok International

It can be concluded that Reebok International’s trend in stock prices does not necessarily reflect the company’s net profit and gross margin but reflect progress in earnings per share and revenues. As Reebok International stock prices increase from year to year, company earnings per share upsurge, as well. Since earnings per share are based on the average number of common equivalent shares outstanding; the decrease in earnings per share favor stockholders, as a result of the company repurchasing 23%

$17 mill. in shares. Future investors would be therefore, investing into a moderate priced stock (in this point in time) at a low price hoping to sell high in a so called promising future.

III. Current Topics

With the write up of an article by Marcia Vickers; she proclaims that Reebok International Ltd. is focused, after tripping over its laces. The article summarizes the fact that management under Paul B. Fireman (Reebok’s founder and chief executive) in the past has been unresponsive to shareholders but, current actions has caused the company to see the light. “He has been criticized at times as arrogant, unresponsive and a reason for Reebok’s high management turnover.” (Vickers 3)

Reebok has had the longtime reputation for making quality shoes in the past but, it currently has achieved the unrespectable label of being a laggard. Reebok International Ltd., once controlled 33 % of the athletic-shoe market while its current competitor, Nike

only controlled 20% of the market share during the late 80’s. Ever since, the company took its eyes off the prize and tried to exploit a risk in the retail industry; the company has headed downhill ever since, trying to recuperate. “The country’s largest pension

fund, the California Public Employees Retirement System, named it to its annual ‘top 10 financial laggards’.” (Vickers 3) Nike, Reebok’s archrival in the athletic-shoe market currently reigns above and beyond the rest of its competitors in the 90’s, including

Reebok.

If you were to evaluate the success of Reebok during last winter based on its goals which include: igniting a passion to win, to do the extraordinary, and to capture the consumer’s heart and mind; you would conclude that Reebok was a defective company that lacked marketing skills. The company has been selling a women’s shoe named the incubus which, had a demonic marketing flap attached to it. “Trouble was, as an Arizona newspaper reader pointed out, an incubus is an evil spirit that in medieval times was

thought to prey on sleeping women, having sex with them.” (Vickers 3) As a result, you could conclude that Reebok has definitely ignited a passion to fail, to do the unordinary, and to lose the consumer’s heart and mind.

Fortunately, future prospects do look rewarding based on the fact that the company has focused less on retail products, which have less staying power with consumers compared to sporting goods. Reebok has recently hired a new President/C.E.O. Carl Yankowski of Sony-marketing two months ago. Coincidentally, Reebok has restructured its marketing plan three times within the past two months. As a result of Reebok’s new technologies, an increase in company back orders (which predict growth in sales) happened for the first time since 1994 in 1996. This has been promising for two reasons. The first reason is the DMX Series 2000 sneakers, which is designed to increase internal airflow to cushion and stabilize the feet. The second reason is that, the new products are being advertised by top-tier celebrity endorsers like, Allen Iverson of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. “The Iverson-endorsed shoe, ‘The Question’ (his nickname is ‘The Answer’), met with such great demand that much of the inventory

sold out when the shoe made its debut last month.” (Vickers 3)

IV. Conclusion

In conclusion, investing into Reebok International Ltd. at this point in time would be a risky decision based on the fact that; financial activity remained motionless for the last fiscal year while stock prices gradually descend. Annual high and low stock

figures escalated while net profit declined from 1994 to 1997. According to the analysis of the stock tracking, the daily close for the provided weeks closed at around $16 per share. As a result, the average investor would be paying a decent price for the stock

while looking forward to reaping a decent profit in the future. Therefore, I would commend buying into Reebok International Ltd.; if you are a risk taker! I also feel that, if an effective marketing plan does go into execution along with the continuous promotion for the new products such as the Question under the control of Carl Yankowski, purchasing this stock will be a prosperous acquisition within two years.

Works Cited

(1)…, “After tripping on its laces, Reebok focused again.” New York Times (Late New York Edition). 2 March ‘97. p.3 Sec. 3.

(2)…, “New York Stock Exchange.” Wall Street Journal. 31 Oct. ‘97 . p.C6

(3)…, “New York Stock Exchange.” Wall Street Journal. 7 Nov. ‘97 . p.C3

(4)…, “New York Stock Exchange.” Wall Street Journal. 14 Nov. ‘97 . p.C6

(5)…, “New York Stock Exchange.” Wall Street Journal. 14 Nov. ‘97 . p.C6

(6)…,”Financial Data.”http://www.reebok.com/company/ annual96-97/financial. ( 7 Feb. 1999)

(7)…, “About Reebok” http://www.reebok.com/company/ 100html. ( 9 Nov. 1999)