Editorial: Adidas has blown its reputation

Adidas has blown it.
The sports giant has battled a wave of negative publicity over the cost of its Rugby World Cup All Black jerseys and I am amazed its bosses have let this controversy spiral out of control.
I would have thought with all its money and power, the company would have been able to afford the best when it comes to public relations advisers.
I thought these advisers would have been steering company chiefs towards doing whatever it takes to make the publicity go away. Screaming at them, even. Clearly not.
The company's u-turn yesterday in allowing New Zealanders access to cheap jerseys on two overseas websites is, as self-confessed Bay rugby nut Dean Griffin says on page 3 today, too little too late.
The damage to the brand here cannot be underestimated. It must be huge. Adidas will emerge from this public relations disaster looking like a greedy, money-grabbing, arrogant corporate.
I watched in amazement on Wednesday night as its Australasian chief Greg Kerr and country manager David Huggett fronted on Close Up and Campbell Live.
At first, I thought they were going to announce a lowering of the wholesale price so stores here could sell the jerseys at a much cheaper price. Imagine that. They would have appeared the good guys and really turned this to their advantage.
Instead they tried to be a pair of spin doctors. Their apologies sounded hollow. Overall, I thought their comments came across rather wooden. It looked like they were out of their depth.
Mr Huggett has said that, on reflection, he'd have handled the issue differently and reconsider their strategy. Strategy? Sorry, Mr Huggett. I can't see how you could have avoided this other than lowering your wholesale price and leaving website sales alone.
Yesterday, it emerged things got further out of control when adidas cancelled a glitzy party planned for last night to celebrate the All Blacks.
What should have been a big occasion for all involved had been wiped from the rugby calendar.
The sad thing about this is that with less than a month to go, everyone's full focus should be on the All Blacks winning the World Cup and New Zealand putting on the best show in the world.
Yes, adidas has apologised and allowed internet sales to resume, but it still refuses to lower its wholesale price.
Of course, we don't know what the profit margins here are but I wonder if the cost of adidas taking a hit on these items would have been cheaper in the long run compared to the damage its brand has suffered.