Adidas, who dropped to 3rd place in the sneaker wars in 2014 behind Nike and Under Armor, was called “out of touch” by their retailers. They immediately embarked on an aggressive push to regain the market.

Adidas created a plan by empowering their US design teams. The strategy was focused on designing for American trends and the speed of their product cycle. Their research showed that color was a major factor on how US customers chose their products. By focusing on this emotional connection, Adidas released sneakers with a bolder color palette and designs.

By connecting design and operations together, Adidas was able to get design-driven products into the stores within 45 days instead of the standard 12-18 months.

Adidas’ 2015 first quarter sales and profit exceeded estimates. They presented an 11% growth on its core gear, running shoes and casual sneakers. Published on June 22, 2015 on complex.com’s “The Best Sneakers of 2015 (So Far)” Adidas had three sneakers in the list. All three had bold colors and designs.