Adidas to ‘double down’ on US sports business

Sportswear giant Adidas is attempting to turn its attention to the US sports market after its sales took a hit following a series of partnership terminations.

Speaking in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the company’s North America president, Rupert Campbell, said: “We want to double down on all of the things that are US-centric, particularly around sport.”

Last year, Adidas was forced to end its footwear partnership with Kanye West’s Yeezy after pressure from the general public mounted following the rapper-turned-designer’s controversial remarks about the Jewish community.

Yeezy impact

While the brand was able to strike up a 500 million dollar deal with West to sell its remaining Yeezy stock, the company still lost 600 million dollars in sales in Q4 of 2022.

It was later revealed that its collaboration with Beyoncé for the singer’s Ivy Park line was also set to come to an end due to underperforming sales, with the contract reportedly expiring at the end of this year.

Campbell told the WSJ that Adidas would continue its celebrity partnerships, but sports was now the ultimate focus for the US business, for which he singled out basketball as an “opportunity”.

A similar move is also to be made in China, where the brand is further planning to release more patriotic product lines that combine international design with traditional culture.

According to the Adidas manager in charge of the country, Adrian Siu, who spoke to the Financial Times last week, the company is planning to expand partnerships with Chinese athletes and move more production to China in order to respond quicker to trends.