Adidas realizes €1.2bn football sales

Sporting goods retail giant Adidas has generated sales of €1.2 billion of football products this year, up 30 percent from 2005. The group had originally predicted sales of €900 million. The company sold 15 million Match Ball 2006 footballs, compared with a mere 6 million during the World Cup in 2002. A record three million replica football jerseys were sold, including 1.5 million of which were of the German national team. During the World Cup in 2002, Adidas sold 1.5 million jerseys and 250,000 German jerseys. “Even before the games end, Adidas is already a clear World Cup winner. We exceeded all our football and business goals for the World Cup,� said Chairman Herbert Hainer, adding, “One trend confirmed at this year's World Cup is that fans are going to the games in the jersey of their team. Our products are scoring with consumers, and this success is translating into market share gains.�

During the first quarter of 2006, Adidas had a market share of 37 percent in the European market, 46 percent in the US market and 51 percent in the German market, thereby making it the market leader across the board.