The Sportswear Giant Surpasses Expectations with Third-Quarter Sales Boost
Adidas, the German sportswear giant, has once again surpassed its own expectations and outperformed its rivals with a sales growth of 10 percent, as reported in a currency-neutral basis, in Q3 of this year. The sales figures for the period from July to September reached 6.44 billion euros, compared with 5.99 billion euros from the same period last year.
“The third quarter was a very strong quarter for us and again better than expected,” Adidas’ Chief Executive Officer Bjørn Gulden stated. “This shows the strength of the Adidas brand and is a result of the great job our people are doing in all markets and all functions.”
Adidas, in mid-October, had already raised its year’s guidance due to its Q3 results, which were officially announced on Tuesday. Instead of the mid-single-digit rate growth, the company expects to hit a ballpark figure of a 10 percent annual growth, which is the third time the brand has raised its guidance in 2024.
The net sales of Adidas, over the first nine months of the year, equated to 17.72 billion euros, whereas the previous year in the same period, the company had sales of 16.62 billion euros.
Also, the sportswear brand reported a significant increase in its Q3 operating profit of 2024 to 598 million euros. Adidas anticipates its yearly operating profit to be 1.2 billion euros in place of the original 1 billion euros expectation.
In regional terms, Europe, being Adidas’ home market, brought in 2.15 billion euros, which marks an increase of 18 percent in currency-neutral terms in Q3. However, in North America, sales fell by 7 percent to 1.36 billion euros.
Adidas attributes this decline in North America to the “significantly smaller Yeezy business.” Regardless of the decrease in Yeezy business, the brand said, “excluding Yeezy, revenues in North America increased versus the prior year.”
The termination of Adidas’ collaboration with the musician Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has adversely affected Adidas’ finances, but this trying phase should be over this year. The remaining stock of Yeezy has fetched 200 million euros for Adidas in the third quarter. Furthermore, the Yeezy line is expected to yield another 50 million euros in the last quarter of the year.
On a brighter note, Adidas’ revenues have seen growth in other markets. In Japan and South Korea, there was an 18 percent sales growth to 361 million euros. Sales also went up in Greater China, with a total of 946 million euros, marking a growth of 9 percent.
The brand saw a similar pattern of growth in the Emerging Markets with a 16 percent increase in sales to 910 million euros and Latin America, which experienced a sales growth of 28.4 percent to 677 million euros.
The CEO particularly applauded the company’s product mix. Gulden stated that the “double-digit growth in both Lifestyle and Performance shows the currently good ‘balance’ in our business.” He also stated that the brand’s current popularity provides an “opportunity to connect with a new generation of consumers both in lifestyle and performance.”
Lastly, sales of Adidas footwear have surged by 14 percent while apparel saw a 5 percent rise and accessories grew 10 percent. The company’s retro footwear models including Samba, Gazelle, Campus, and Speziale are still trending globally, contributing to the Lifestyle segment’s double-digit sales growth over the quarter.