Adidas set for Olympic boost after sales rise

Adidas set for Olympic boost after sales rise

Annual revenues have climbed closer to the £500m mark at the UK arm of sportswear brand Adidas, which is headquartered in Stockport.

The rise comes after group chief executive Herbert Hainer predicted a record year for the business following a strong showing at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He has also set the German-owned group a global sales target of €17bn by 2015.

Adidas UK Ltd, which is based in Hazel Grove and employs more than 1,100 staff, reported sales of £487.7m in the year to 31 December 2011, up by almost 4 per cent compared with the £470m a year earlier.

There was a strong rise in profits. Operating profit increased by 59.3 per cent to £23.3m, up from £14.6m in 2010, while final profit after tax was up from £10.8m to £16.9m.

Writing in the company’s annual report, the directors of Adidas UK said the growth was achieved despite the “difficult economic climate” that has been facing all businesses in the UK and globally.

They added: “We have maintained good relationships with our customers and continued to develop our business with them. We continue to place new product and marketing initiatives into the UK.”

At the Olympics and Paralympics, Adidas kitted out more than 80,000 ‘Games Makers’ with products, supplied kit for 3,000 athletes and worked with 11 National Olympic Committees, including Team GB.

Hainer added that the build up to the Games spurred demand for Adidas products, with sales in the UK up 24 per cent during the first six months of 2012. Olympic licence product sales in the UK were up 250 per cent compared with Beijing 2008.

“It translates into record Olympic merchandise sales and a record year for the Adidas Group in the UK,” said Hainer. “This clearly sets the stage for us to achieve market leadership in the UK by 2015.”

Adidas’ brand marketing efforts at the Games centred on its ‘Take the Stage’ campaign, led by the likes of Yohan Blake, Laura Trott, David Beckham and Haile Gebrselassie.

The strong performance of Adidas UK comes as Hainer this week revealed that global sales are on track to hit €17bn by 2015 despite a poor performance by its Reebok brand. Overall sales at Reebok slumped 26 per cent in the second quarter of the year.