Adidas posts first loss in 30 years and warns on US

German sportswear giant Adidas posted its first annual loss in more than 30 years on Wednesday and warned sales in North America would fall again as sportswear retailers in the U.S. struggle with high inventories.

Adidas has been battling to right itself after it cut ties with Kanye West in October 2022, suspending sales of the highly profitable Yeezy sneaker line.

In CEO Bjorn Gulden’s first year in the role, he resumed sales of Yeezy sneakers to clear remaining stock while seeking to boost popular products like Samba and Gazelle shoes, and improve relationships with retailers. Shares in Adidas have staged a recovery, outperforming Nike and Puma since he took over.

“Although by far not good enough, 2023 ended better than what I had expected at the beginning of the year,” Gulden said.

Adidas shares were trading flat as of 1115 GMT.

This year North America will continue to be weak with Adidas expecting sales to fall by around 5% this year.

via Reuters