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Adidas will create city-specific sneakers for London on October 19 and Paris in the following week, Bloomberg reports.

The athletic apparel retailer will roll out more localized designs for Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, and Shanghai throughout 2018. Adidas will use its Speedfactory — its factory that uses robots to manufacture sneakers — to create these city-specific options.

Adidas’ Speedfactory could be a differentiator for the company, as it may reduce markdowns, bolster sales, and prevent design leaks to its competitors.

The Speedfactory reduces the time and number of sneakers required to manufacture a design, which may allow Adidas to sell more sneakers at full price. Typically, retailers must begin the design process about a year before production, and make the sneakers in batches of about 50,000 to 100,000 pairs. However, the Speedfactory enables Adidas to shorten its manufacturing time from months to one day, and reduce its batches to as little as 500 pairs. This helps ensure that Adidas can accurately meet demand, limiting excess stock that would end up being marked down.

Typically, retailers must begin the design process about a year before production, and make the sneakers in batches of about 50,000 to 100,000 pairs. However, the Speedfactory enables Adidas to shorten its manufacturing time from months to one day, and reduce its batches to as little as 500 pairs. This helps ensure that Adidas can accurately meet demand, limiting excess stock that would end up being marked down. Being able to customize small batches of shoes may lead to more sales. To develop its city-specific designs, Adidas is utilizing data from local customers to see how they use their shoes. For example, it rains more frequently in London, and customers often use their sneakers to run to or from work, so Adidas created shoes that are reflective and more waterproof than its typical designs. This customization will likely spur sales in these cities by helping the company meet the specific needs of the customers in each area.

To develop its city-specific designs, Adidas is utilizing data from local customers to see how they use their shoes. For example, it rains more frequently in London, and customers often use their sneakers to run to or from work, so Adidas created shoes that are reflective and more waterproof than its typical designs. This customization will likely spur sales in these cities by helping the company meet the specific needs of the customers in each area. The Speedfactory lets Adidas keep manufacturing in-house, making it less likely that designs will be seen by competitors. This will be especially important as Adidas has been putting near-field communication (NFC) chips in some of its products, which it plans to use to collect data on metrics like fit and performance. As it collects more proprietary data, it will be crucial for the company to keep its designs in-house to retain a competitive advantage for its most cutting-edge products.

However, automation in manufacturing is becoming more common, so Adidas may not have an edge for long. Nike works with a company that uses static electricity to assemble shoes and works at a pace 20 times faster than an assembly worker, for example. Meanwhile, both New Balance and Under Armour have been utilizing 3D printing for parts of the soles in sneakers. As these companies fight to gain an edge with automation technology, it will likely catch on in other retail segments, and eventually become commonplace across the industry. This could shift the landscape of retail, as the adoption of automation could mean shorter fashion cycles and more customization in apparel.

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