Source: AFP
The amount Nike reportedly paid to lure the German soccer team away from longtime partner Adidas was “inexplicable,” the German sportswear giant’s chief executive Bjorn Gulden told AFP in an interview.
Defending the company’s decision not to enter a bidding war with its bitter US rivals, Gulden said the German sports outfit would continue to pursue major kit deals, including the France franchise, but only if the price was right .
News of the split with the German soccer team came at a bad time for Adidas, which had slipped to its first annual loss in more than three decades in 2023.
The German Football Association (DFB) said last month it would end its partnership of more than 70 years with Adidas, choosing Nike as its kit supplier from 2027.
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The DFB said the decision was made in the interests of the domestic game and grassroots football.
But the shock announcement, just weeks before Germany is due to host the 2024 European football championship, sparked an outcry from politicians who accused the DFB of a lack of patriotism.
“Nike won with, by all accounts, a huge offer,” Gulden said, referring to reports that the American giant will pay around 100 million euros ($106.5 million) a year in the deal that runs from 2027 to 2034. .
Source: AFP
“If the numbers are right about what Nike paid DFB, it’s inexplicable to us” on the back of Adidas’ own calculations, the Norwegian CEO said.
International football wasn’t everything, Gulden said, praising the “advertising impact” of Adidas’ partnerships with clubs such as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
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Demand for merchandising national kits or federations is “much lower than for clubs”, he added.
“We always try to invest where someone has the best advertising impact and can make the highest sales, and we will continue to do that.”
Hopes of Olympiakos
Therefore, in looking for other big deals for kits, Adidas will only pay what they think is reasonable, including France.
“We’re making offers where we’re interested at a price we think is right,” he said, stressing that “that’s not why we’re going there.”
Gulden, who took over Adidas in 2023, also outlined a plan to shift Adidas’ focus away from major industries such as football to a more comprehensive scope.
“As a sports romantic, I want to get back into a wider range of sports,” said Gulden, a former football player.
Athletics would be one area, he said, where Adidas would like to gain more visibility.
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“For me, it’s always about athleticism — the core of any kind of sport — no matter what he’s doing, whether it’s breakdancing or BMX or soccer or basketball, he has to be able to run or jump high,” he said.
Already, Adidas was making shoes that will be worn in 41 different events at the Paris Olympics starting in July, he said.
“I am confident that in four years, with few exceptions, we will have products for every type of sport,” added Gulden.
Usain Bolt lit up the track wearing a Puma kit, while Gulden was at the helm of local rival Adidas.
Lightning could strike twice for Gulden, he said, if Adidas athlete Noah Lyles takes gold in the 100 meters for the U.S. in Paris this summer.
Change of fortune
However, Olympic success was not likely to translate directly into sales.
“You don’t walk around wearing a weightlifting jersey or a track jersey,” Goulden said.
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“What often happens is that interest in sports grows in a given country and in the world as a whole.”
For Adidas, 2024 is already witnessing the start of a turnaround after a period marred by struggles.
The group raised its revenue and profit outlook for 2024 this week after a better-than-expected first quarter.
The brand was still “vibrant,” Gulden said, but needed “a little time” to fully recover after reporting an annual loss in 2023.
The decline was linked to poor sales in the United States and the end of a collaboration with rapper Kanye West.
Adidas distanced itself from the artist in late 2022 due to allegations of anti-Semitism.
Since then, she’s been slowly selling off her remaining inventory of Yeezy products from her highly lucrative collaboration with West.
Creative collaborations remained an area of interest for Adidas, Gulden said.
The outfit has worked with “a lot of designers,” Gulden said, and will “100 percent in the future work with people from the music, fashion and entertainment businesses.”
Source: AFP