Adidas aims to win back Chinese consumers with new strategy

Sporting goods manufacturer Adidas wants to address its problems in the Chinese market with a greater focus on local conditions.

The DAX-listed company is planning more "patriotic production lines" for the People's Republic of China, combining international design with traditional Chinese culture. By next year, Adidas wants to design at least 30% of the clothing sold in China locally, said Adrian Siu, the manager responsible for the country, to the Financial Times. Before the crisis, the share was in the low single-digit percentage range.

In addition, Adidas plans to expand its partnerships with Chinese athletes and move more of its production to China in order to be able to react faster to fashion trends. According to the FT, experts say this could drive up labour costs, seeing as labour costs are higher in China than in Vietnam, Indonesia or Cambodia.

In addition to high inflation and the abrupt end of its partnership with US rapper Kanye West, Adidas has recently been struggling with problems in China. Like its competitors Nike and Puma, the company has long suffered from the decline in consumption in the country, due to the Chinese government's strict Corona policy.

This has been compounded for some time by tensions between the Western world and China on the issue of human rights, which have already led to calls for boycotts of Western brands in the country. In addition, competition from Chinese clothing brands is growing. These problems in China mean that Adidas may be faced with an operating loss in the current year.