(Reuters) – Adidas reported strong first-quarter performance on Tuesday, driven by growth particularly in Europe and China while North America was a weak point, with retailers still carrying too much inventory.
The German sports equipment manufacturer is in full recovery after the setbacks linked to the end of its partnership with the rapper and stylist Ye.
Since then, the group has enjoyed great success with its classic shoe models, such as the Samba and Gazelle. Footwear revenue increased 13% during the quarter.
In Europe, Adidas sales increased by 14%. Growth in China was 8%.
In the United States, like other retailers, Adidas had to deal with excess inventory which led it to reduce its prices.
Revenue in North America, its second largest market, fell 4% year-on-year to 1.12 billion euros. However, this is an improvement compared to a drop of more than 20% recorded during the last quarter of 2023.
Overall, “much healthier” inventory levels and lower supply costs helped push Adidas’ gross margin up 6.4 percentage points to 51.2%.
(Written by Linda Pasquini and Helen Reid; French version Dimitri Rhodes, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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