Adidas says that its local mindset approach is the key to being globally successful as it reports its latest results, but has warned of tariff-fuelled cost rises of up to €200m.
“Our vision is to hire, develop and retain the best people to run our business in the different markets, to be close to the consumer and the local culture and have the right products and the relevant marketing for each market,” said Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden.
“We will not be number one in all markets, but our local leaders should have that ambition and identify what is necessary in terms of products, marketing, organisation and resources to achieve this. We in global management must then set the priorities and allocate the resources to the different markets accordingly. We feel the current global growth and the success in markets like Greater China, South Korea or Japan prove that our strategy works and that we are moving in the right direction.”
It came as Adidas warned about the impact of tariffs on its business. The company reported sales up 14% for the Adidas brand in the first half of 2025 and operating profit up by 70% to €1.2bn. Ecommerce sales increased by 9% in the second quarter, and by 13% in the first half, amid an ongoing focus on full-price propositions and on top of more than 30% growth in the prior-year quarter, the company reported.
Caution over tariffs and inflation risk
“The year has started great for us and normally we would now be very bullish in our outlook for the full year,” said Gulden. “We feel the volatility and uncertainty in the world does not make this prudent. We still do not know what the final tariffs in the US will be. We have already had a negative impact in the double-digit euro millions in Q2 and the latest indications are tariffs will directly increase the cost of our products for the US by up to €200m during the rest of the year,” he said.
Gulden warned that the sports brand was also cautious about how consumers would react. “We do not know what the indirect impact on consumer demand will be should all these tariffs cause major inflation. I have seen that many companies have either removed their outlook fully or reduced it dramatically. We have decided to stay with our initial outlook for the full year and a guidance for an operating profit of between €1.7bn and €1.8bn. We currently feel confident to deliver it, but of course, this might change.”
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