HQ Adidas

Identifying problems

There is a rapid growth of the company so HQ CEO must take a decision to create enough space.

Currently the headquarters is located in a village (Herzogenaurach) in Germany.
Population: 15 000 people

PROBLEMS
Nearest airport: 30 miles away, few internationals flights

For international flights Frankfurt airport: 200 km away[pic 1]

Nearest University: is in Erlangen, 30 km away

Major competitors PUMA located in the same area

Difficulties to adapt with the lifestyle for foreigners because Herzogenaurach is more a village than a cosmopolitan city

50% of the employees are German, the other half are foreigners

Average number of years that foreigners remain at HQ : 3.5 years
They are not being able to retain their employees for more than 3 or 4 years.

Identifying Decision Criteria & analyzing alternatives

Option 1: Expand the current headquarters building
they could expand the current building, but I don’t think that is a good idea.
Cons:
Considering the fact that the current localization is far away from the international airport and universities, which might be the source of the low average number that foreigners remain in the company. It is hard to recruit qualified, English speaking employees in Herzogenaurach.

Pros: They could stay in the same building as their subsidiary and maintain a good and strong relationship. There is a great atmosphere among the employees that could still be maintain by expanding the current headquarters building.

Option 2: Build a new headquarters building
Cons: The cons for this option are the same as the first one. The localization will remain far away from the airport, and universities. And it will still be difficult for the foreigners to adapt (lifestyle). It can be boring for them to live in a small city (no life after work)
Pros: They could buy ‘’a land at a relatively cheap price’’. The localization might be perfect for the German that lives and works there.

Option 3: Locate the HQ in Germany

By locating their Headquarters in a big city in Germany will probably solve the problems
Pros
- Maintain German identity
- Good localization: next to an international airport, several universities
- More access to qualified personnel (attract and retain qualified and diverse workforce)
Cons
-Expensive
-Some of the German employees would not want to move to another city

The fourth options for them is to locate the headquarter in a Big city in Europe. By choosing that options there are pros and cons.  
In a positive view, they could get lower taxes than in Germany, also It could be easier for them to attract and retain more qualified and English speaking employees.

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