Sports apparel and footwear brand Adidas has expanded its partnership with athletic retailer Foot Locker, with a focus on product innovation, elevated experiences and deeper consumer connectivity, the companies said in a joint press release.
As part of the broadened collaboration, Foot Locker will become Adidas’ lead partner in basketball, accelerate so-called “energy” and “hype” launches, and develop and expand the brand in the women’s, kids’ and apparel sectors of the business, according to the release.
“Consumers will be at the heart of this … collaboration and will be able to experience the Adidas brand and its key product franchises, as well as new product innovations at Foot Locker…,” said Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted in the release.
The partnership aims to achieve more than $2 billion in retail sales by 2025 in North America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Asia-Pacific (APAC), a number that’s nearly triple 2021 retail sales levels. In 2022, Adidas is targeting up to 100 million euros (about $106 million) in new revenue because of its expanded partnership with Foot Locker, the release stated.
The partnership will allow Foot Locker to fast-track its push into apparel and gain customers, Foot Locker Chairman and CEO Richard A. Johnson said in the release.
In its 2022 first-quarter earnings report released Friday (May 6), Adidas said it expects its operating profit will be lower than it had previously projected because of supply chain disruptions, increased costs and store closures in China.
In the first quarter, Adidas’ operating profit fell 38% to 437 million euros (about $462 million), in large part because of strict policies in China related to the pandemic. Lockdowns in China “have led to a large number of store closures as well as strong traffic declines, even in parts of the country not directly impacted,” Adidas said in a press release.
In March, athletic apparel giant Nike issued a similar warning, saying its $2.1 billion in sales from Greater China last quarter — roughly 20% of its worldwide total — were down 8% for the three months ended Feb. 28 on a currency-neutral basis.
Read more: Nike, Uniqlo, LVMH and Other Big Brands Face Growing Challenges in China
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