German sportswear giant Adidas announced on March 7 total revenues for the year 2022 grew just 1 percent, reflecting increases in all market segments except for Greater China.
SEE ALSO: Puma CEO to lead Adidas next year
In Greater China, revenues declined 36 percent compared to the prior year level in 2021.
Likewise, Greater China took a massive hit in the fourth quarter, with a 50 percent decline revenues due to the “challenging market environment, company-specific challenges as well as significant inventory takebacks weighed on the company’s top-line development in the quarter,” said the company in its earnings update.
Elsewhere, sales in Asia-Pacific grew 4 percent in 2022.
In 2023, Adidas said its expects revenues to decline at a high-single-digit rate as macroeconomic challenges and geopolitical tensions persist.
“2023 will be a transition year to build the base for 2024 and 2025. We need to reduce inventories and lower discounts. We can then start to build a profitable business again in 2024. adidas has all the ingredients to be successful. But we need to put our focus back on our core: product, consumers, retail partners, and athletes,” said Bjørn Gulden, CEO of Adidas.
“We will work on strengthening our people and the adidas culture. Motivated people and a strong adidas culture are the most important factors to build a unique adidas business model again. A business model built to focus on serving our consumer through both wholesale and DTC, that balances global direction with local needs, that is fast and agile, and of course, always invests in sports and culture to keep building credibility and brand heat. Adidas is a fantastic brand, a fantastic company with great infrastructure and great talented people. We will bring it back to be the best sports brand in the world once again.”