Chapter 231 is so awesome!

In an Audi car returning to London from Southampton, Marcus Baumann stared out the side window with a frown on his face.

He had just visited Southampton's Staplewood training base but left shocked.

There, he saw a product that amazed him.

Virtual reality helmet!

This is not a very new technology, it has been around for many years.

There are even many companies and products that are already applying this technology.

But that's just a very basic use.

Over the years, venture capitalists have invested an unknown amount of money in this field, but there has been little progress.

It is an opportunity to make mass-produced products and to see this technology being used so skillfully. So far, this is the only company in the world that has this capability.

But what really amazed Marcus Bowman was the amazing idea mentioned by Southampton's marketing director Sun Yue, which was to build a virtual training center.

This is absolutely a brilliant and great idea.

If successful, it will completely change the world of football!

Why is Barcelona's Dream Team III so great? Why is it so good?

Mentioning Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and others, they only touched the surface.

The core is that every player on this team has extremely solid basic skills.

In other words, the technical skills of every player on this team are higher than those of other teams.

The virtual training center proposed by Southampton will transform the training of technical geniuses into a product that can be operated on an assembly line and mass-produced.

If realized, it will undoubtedly make a greater contribution than Barcelona's Dream Team III!

This will completely change football and even the entire sports world!

Because it can be applied to football, it can also be applied to basketball, rugby, volleyball, F1...

For sports equipment providers like Adidas, this system is not what they want.

What Marcus Bowman values ​​is the big data and analysis results behind this system.

In order to collect data and analysis results in this regard, Adidas even helped build a new training center for Ajax, which was officially opened in May this year.

But compared with the prospects outlined by Southampton, Ajax is child's play.

At the same time, the virtual reality helmet has greatly shortened Adidas' product research and development design cycle.

Today's sports equipment is updated too quickly, with the life cycle of a product being three months. For giants like Adidas and Nike, more investment is needed in R&D and design.

If the R&D and design cycle can be significantly shortened, the benefits to Adidas will be staggering.

"Jack, what do you think?"

Marcus Bauman let out a long breath and asked Jack who was driving in the front seat.

"We shouldn't miss such an opportunity." Jack's tone was very firm.

"Oh?" Marcus Bauman sounded a little confused, but nodded.

Jack saw this scene in the rearview mirror.

"I heard that Bert Hoyet from Nike also came to visit the Staplewood training base yesterday, and he rushed back to the United States overnight. It seems that he is also very interested."

Marcus Bauman felt threatened. "How could I not be tempted?"

What Southampton can now offer is more than just market share and influence in the UK.

More importantly, the technology and capabilities they now possess will be of great help to Nike and Adidas.

For such a giant, a one percent improvement means hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

Not to mention, this is not just a matter of a few percent.

"Actually, Southampton's approach is quite unfair." Jack in the front row suddenly said with a wry smile.

"They first asked Nike to visit, and then asked us to visit. Maybe tomorrow they will ask Puma, Warrior Sports and other brands to visit. It is obvious that they want us to fight to the death, and then they will maximize the profits."

Marcus Bauman also smiled bitterly, "What else can we do?"

Business competition is so realistic and cruel.

Southampton does have such chips now, so they can do this.

Conversely, if there is an opportunity in the future, won't Adidas do the same?

Not to mention that Southampton now has such an attractive idea, even if it doesn’t, now, who between Nike and Adidas is willing to let go easily and miss out on the Great Saint?

"Yeah, even if we know it, what can we do?" Jack smiled bitterly and helplessly.

He is just so awesome and so arrogant, you just can't do anything to him!

Sometimes when I think about it, it’s really not that simple.

A team from the English Championship League, but it acts more arrogantly than Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Unfortunately, even giants like Nike and Adidas have to admit defeat.

No wonder the Saints players and fans also followed suit!

…………

…………

Nike headquarters in Portland, USA.

Bert Hoyet did not expect that the news he brought back from Europe would not only surprise Phil McCartney, vice president of Nike's athletic business unit, but would also directly alarm Nike's CEO Mark Parker.

"Southampton?" Mark Parker is a slightly fat middle-aged man with a stubble on his face.

"I know this team. It has become famous in the United States in recent times."

Suddenly, Mark Parker asked with a smile: "What is the relationship between Psy and Yoona and Southampton?"

This is also the question that many Americans have.

Psy is extremely popular in the United States.

Some even say that he is the most famous Chinese in the world. In the past year or so, almost no one does not know Psy.

Bert Hoyte smiled bitterly and explained the relationship between Psy, Yoona and Southampton.

In the final analysis, it's just a matter of one sentence.

"They have the same boss. Psy and Yoona were made famous by Southampton's boss."

Mark Parker immediately laughed. "Their new single, "The Howl of the Fox", beat Justin Bieber in the United States and is very popular among young people."

Perhaps seeing that Bert Hoyet was a little confused, Phil McCartney on the side explained.

"Adidas has always been interested in working with Psy and Yoona and hopes to invite them to endorse their products. We have also been observing Psy and Yoona recently. Their influence on the youth group is unparalleled!"

Now Bert Hoyet understood.

Haven’t you seen the data from Youtu.com?

In the age group of ten to thirty years old, it is Psy and Yoona’s home turf!

"What do you think of Southampton?" asked Mark Parker.

Bert Hoyet thought for a moment, "I have mentioned this question several times to Cash Harris, a famous investment expert in the City of London. His answer to me, as well as my own observations, show that the prospects of this team are beyond doubt."

Neither Mark Parker nor Phil McCartney interrupted, allowing him to continue.

"This is a very different team, they are completely different from those traditional teams."

Mark Parker immediately became interested. "What's the difference?"

"The simplest thing is, no matter if it's football, basketball, or rugby, when clubs in these fields introduce star players, they will do their best to hold a grand press conference and invite media from all over the world to attend."

"What's the problem?" Phil McCartney asked confusedly.

This is his professional field.

"In addition to attending press conferences required by the English Football Association, Southampton conducted almost all of their press conferences on WeChat and the Internet, including the press conferences for the introduction of stars such as Ibrahimovic and Neymar on WeChat."

Mark Parker smiled. "It's interesting, but holding a press conference on the Internet doesn't mean anything."

Can holding a press conference on the Internet mean that this football club is Internet-aware?

The term "Internet" is indeed very new, but who can say that they fully understand the meaning of this word?

Who can give an accurate definition of the so-called Internet thinking?

"Also, this team believes in the three no principles: they will not bring in players who don't want to play for them, they will not retain players who want to leave, and they will not use anyone who is unwilling to give their all for Southampton."

Mark Parker was slightly stunned, then he burst out laughing, "Weird, freak!"

"They didn't just talk. On the first day Yang Huan took over Southampton, he fired head coach Alan Pardew and announced on the spot that anyone who wanted to leave could do so freely. As a result, several players left at once, resulting in a loss of several million pounds. This is also unprecedented in the field of football."

Mark Parker and Phil McCartney looked at each other and both felt that this team was indeed unique.

"When Barcelona decided to sell Ibrahimovic, we had no way to stop him. The Swede almost went to AC Milan, which is owned by Adidas. Fortunately, Southampton, who were in the English League One at the time, stepped in, which indirectly helped us."

If we look at Ibrahimovic's resume, Ajax belongs to the Adidas camp, which is where he made his debut.

Since he became famous, from Juventus to Inter Milan to Barcelona, ​​the sponsor of these three teams is Nike.

Nike also played a certain role behind these three transfers.

"This time, Southampton's marketing director Sun Yue promised me personally that Southampton would bring in another superstar player this summer."

"Who?" Mark Parker suddenly became curious.

When we were in League One, we were able to sign Ibrahimovic. Who should we sign when we are promoted to the Championship?

"Drogba!"

"Drogba?" Mark Parker was a little shocked.

Before becoming the top executive, Nike's CEO was vice president of the sports division and is very familiar with the sports field, especially football.

This habit and interest continued after he became CEO.

Nike has always attached great importance to the development of football, which is Nike's weakness.

"This is impossible!" Phil McCartney found it unbelievable.

Unless Chelsea is stupid, how could they sell their main center forward to a Championship team?

"I also thought it was impossible at first, but I received news that Chelsea's top management had informed Drogba's agent and asked them to report to Southampton for the new season, but Drogba's agent rejected it on the spot."

Mark Parker and Phil McCartney were both dumbfounded.

What this represents is self-evident.

With Ibrahimovic and Neymar, if Drogba comes, plus powerful stars such as Neuer and Vidal, Southampton's lineup will be very competitive not only in the Championship, but even in the Premier League.

For this reason alone, Nike cannot ignore it.

What's more, Nike has always been at a disadvantage in the development of football, especially in technology research and development, losing to Adidas.

If Southampton's virtual training system and analysis center can really play a role, as long as the data and analysis results are shared, it will greatly make up for Nike's shortcomings in this regard.

This sponsorship is undoubtedly a great thing for Nike, killing two birds with one stone.

Suddenly, Bert Hoyet and Phil McCartney both looked at Mark Parker.

The bearded man in jeans and shirt hesitated for a moment and then made a prompt decision.

"Sign it, sign it before Adidas does!"