Adidas limits damage thanks to e-commerce

Thanks to strong online growth, Adidas was able to limit the loss of sales to 7% in the third quarter. Exchange rate effects weighed heavily on the results. Concerning its fourth quarter, the company remains very cautious.

Fewer customers

In its previous third quarter, turnover at Adidas fell by 3% at constant exchange rates to 5.96 billion euros. Although the majority of the shops remained open, there were significantly fewer visitors. On a currency-neutral basis, Adidas lost 2.5% and sister brand Reebok saw its revenue drop by 7.2%. In absolute figures, the loss of revenue amounted to 6.7% and 12.3%. Online sales provided a windfall: e-commerce grew by no less than 51% over the past three months.

In relative terms, Reebok continues to do much worse than Adidas. Last month rumours were already circulating that Reebok was to be put up for sale, but so far the German sportswear giant has refrained from commenting on this. Adidas acquired Reebok in 2005, but never managed to get the brand back on track.
 

As the coronavirus has been spreading strongly again in recent weeks and a (semi)-lockdown has been installed in several countries, Adidas remains very cautious for the rest of the year. The company therefore expects a slight decrease in turnover again in the fourth quarter. The operating profit should land between 100 and 200 million euros.