Adidas sees strong rebound sales for 2021

Germany’s sportswear brand Adidas forecast a strong rebound in 2021 sales, with its Asian and Latin American stores doing the heavy lifting as it braces for costs associated with divesting the Reebok brand.

Adidas is set to present its five-year strategy on Wednesday, which includes the sales outlook for 2021.

The company’s sales for the final quarter of 2020 improved a currency-neutral 1% to 5.55 billion euros ($6.59 billion), while its operating profit slightly declined to 225 million euros, ahead of the 5.47 billion and 202 million euros predicted by analysts.

Despite having half of its stores closed in Europe for October-December, Adidas online sales spike 43%.

Since 95% of its stores have reopened, Adidas projects sales growth at a mid-to high-teens rate on a currency-neutral basis in 2021, going up by up to 30% in greater China, the rest of Asia, and Latin America. Part of its new strategy is making China a separate market from the rest of Asia.

Adidas reported it also anticipates around 250 million euros less to the operating profit level and 200 million to net income due to expenditures to make Reebok a stand-alone company, with a third of that in 2022.