Adidas Invest Heavily In The Chinese Market, Open 1000 Stores And Expand Online Business

Adidas, a sporting goods giant in Germany, is investing heavily in the Chinese market. Its growth rate in the Chinese market is three times the global average growth rate. (Adidas)

It is reported that Adidas plans to open 1000 new stores and expand online business in China this year.

The value of China's casual wear market is expected to soar to $46 billion 360 million by 2023, according to data from Mintel, a market research firm.

Adidas currently has 2300 sales outlets in China, with the goal of doubling the number of cities to be sold in the future.

Online sales is the fastest growing channel in China, with a growth rate of over 50% in 2018 and a global growth rate of 36% over the same period.

Adidas chief executive Kasper R rsted recently said in an interview with Chinese media that the opportunities in the Chinese market were unbelievable.

He said that because China and North America accounted for half of the two markets in the global sporting goods market, Adidas's attention to the two markets is self-evident.

The company plans to enhance the communication with the millennials, and rely on endorsement of local endorser to achieve product differentiation competitive advantage.

According to Colin Currie, managing director of Adidas Asia Pacific, about 90% of consumers will understand their products through digital channels before shopping, so the company is strengthening the link between physical stores and online retailing.

In the last fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, adidas Group's net sales increased 3.3% to 21 billion 915 million euros compared with the same period last year, of which Asia Pacific net sales increased 14.9% to 7 billion 141 million euros, mainly driven by China's strong growth. The total paction volume in the entire Chinese market (including Mainland China, Hongkong and Taiwan) increased by 23% over the previous fiscal year, while the global growth rate was only 8% during the same period.

Author: Liu Jun