LITTLE ROCK — Adidas AG, the world’s second-biggest sporting-goods maker, said it expects record soccer sales of more than $2 billion this year, aided by the European championships in Ukraine and Poland.
“Adidas is leading the way at UEFA Euro 2012 in every respect — in terms of product sales, brand visibility and innovative strength,” Chief Executive Officer Herbert Hainer said Thursday at a news conference in Warsaw, Poland. “Adidas can already be sure of defending its title as the most successful football brand in Europe and the world.”
The forecast exceeds the previous record of $1.88 billion, set in 2010 when the last World Cup was held in South Africa. Soccer accounts for more than 17 percent of revenue at Herzogenaurach, Germany-based Adidas, which said in April that total sales will rise almost 10 percent this year, compared with an earlier goal for a midto high single-digit percentage gain.
Adidas is defending its soccer leadership against Nike Inc., which has a goal to surpass the company as the sport’s biggest brand and sponsored teams such as the Netherlands, Portugal, Croatia, Poland and France at this year’s tournament. Adidas controls about a third of a market it estimates is worth as much as $6.3 billion a year.
“There’s momentum with the Adidas brand in football at the moment, especially in footwear,” said Mark Josefson, an analyst at Silvia Quandt Research GmbH in Frankfurt. “Nike wanted to close the gap, but it has at best kept pace with Adidas or has probably fallen back. Football is associated with Adidas.”
Adidas said Thursday that it will be the soccer-market leader in Poland this year and “has come significantly closer” to becoming the biggest seller of sporting goods in the country by 2015. Sales of Adidas soccer products will double this year in Ukraine, where the company is the sport’s biggest brand, it said.
“I am very happy with the business development in Poland and Ukraine,” Hainer said.
Adidas stock is up 16 percent this year, among the best performers in Germany’s benchmark DAX Index.
Adidas is sponsoring six teams at the tournament, including favorites Spain and Germany. It is one of the 12 official sponsors of the event that also include Sony Corp. and Carlsberg A/S. Adidas provides the tournament’s official match ball, the Tango 12.
Adidas said it will sell more than 7 million Tango 12 balls this year and has already sold more than 1 million Germany jerseys, a record for a European championship.
Business, Pages 26 on 06/22/2012