A Wren Says

“Trust me, Nike isn’t worried about [Under Armour/Lululemon/Athleta/any other athletic brand other than Adidas]” I hear that phrase all too often. A regular person who doesn’t work for the brand will declare that Nike doesn’t have any competitors. They are too big. They are too successful. The small brands aren’t even on their radar. When I hear that, I am thankful they don’t work for Nike, because clearly they are fools. You might think that’s harsh. If you do, maybe you need to reconsider how you analyze the competitors for your own brand.

Meanwhile, Nike is sending out trademark infringement suits to Bape, trying to court college athletic partnerships away from Under Armour, and working to create female forward lines that rival the yoga-centric strategies of Lululemon. Nike is well aware that other companies, small as they might be in comparison, can eat away at its market share and impact its bottom line. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t bother continuing to innovate and reach out to new markets.

Your competitors are all the businesses that offer similar products to what you offer and are trying to reach similar groups that you are trying to reach. You can choose not worry about these other companies. You can choose to remain blissfully ignorant and keep doing what you’re doing. You don’t have to worry about other companies until you do. And by then, you are too late. You already too far behind to make the changes necessary. I beg you, if you are keen to grown your business, take a true and honest look at who your competitors are. And don’t foolishly think you have none.