In 2006, Adidas spent US$3.8 billion to acquire Reebok, the American sports brand ranked third in the world at the time, hoping to strengthen its strength to compete with Nike. But after the acquisition, Reebok’s performance was mediocre.
After 15 years of being together, Adidas and Reebok have not escaped the fate of “breaking up”.
In the early morning of August 13, 2021, Beijing time, Adidas announced that it had reached a final agreement with Authentic Brands Group (hereinafter referred to as ABG) to invest 2.1 billion euros (approximately US$2.5 billion). ) total price for sale Reebok.
It is also worth noting that the latest financial report data shows that Adidas’ sales in the second quarter of Greater China fell by 16%. In addition, in the 2021 Fortune Global 500 list released on August 2, Adidas, which has been on the list for three consecutive years, fell off the list.
After 15 years together, Adidas and Reebok “break up”
Public information shows that Reebok was founded in 1895 and has gone through hundreds of years. It was once the third largest sports brand in the world. Its main products include sports shoes, sportswear, fitness apparel, etc. The 1980s were Reebok’s highlight moment. In 1982, Reebok was keenly aware of the huge potential of the women’s sports shoe market, and immediately launched the Freestyle, a women’s health dance sports shoe, which became a best-selling product worldwide. This year, Reebok’s sales increased 100 times from US$1.5 million in 1981 to US$150 million, and it went public.
Picture source: Photo by reporter Liu Ling (data map)
In 2006, Adidas acquired the company for US$3.8 billion Reebok to help it compete with Nike.
In 2016, Reebok launched the “Muscle Up” transformation plan in order to improve its sales prospects. It wasn’t until 2018 that Reebok turned a profit. Although the business has grown, Reebok’s revenue is not conspicuous in Adidas’ overall revenue.
Some media statistics claim that the revenue contributed by the Reebok brand to the Adidas Group has been gradually declining since the acquisition. In 2007, a quarter of Adidas’ total retail sales came from Reebok. But by the second quarter of 2020, Reebok accounted for only 6.4% of Adidas’ total sales.
Since October 2020, there have been frequent reports about Adidas planning to sell Reebok. Subsequently, the Adidas Group officially issued a statement saying that it was evaluating strategic options for Reebok’s future direction.
As early as May this year, there was news that Adidas was bidding to sell the Reebok brand. Anta and Li Ning may bid. South Korea’s Fila and the United States’ Wolverine are also considered possible by the market. Bidders, financial investors such as TPG and Apollo may also join the fray. At that time, the market expected Reebok to sell only about 1 billion euros (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars).
Picture source: Photo by Zhu Wanping, a reporter from China Daily (data map)
ABG is an American brand management company that focuses on acquisitions Well-known companies that unfortunately went bankrupt. After acquiring at a low price, the former will reverse the brand’s poor performance through repackaging, repositioning, cooperative licensing, category expansion, internal reorganization, etc.
In the past 11 years, ABG has accumulated more than 30 brands, including well-known brands such as Forever 21, Brooks Brothers, Aeropostale, etc., which are sold in approximately 6,000 physical stores. Sale. The company submitted its IPO application last month.
ABG said in a statement that Reebok will retain its Boston headquarters and continue to operate in North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Russia, adding that during the transition During this period, we will work closely with Adidas.
ABG Chairman and CEO Jamie Salter said: “We have been following Reebok for many years and are delighted to finally bring this iconic brand to our portfolio.”
Adidas Greater China revenue fell 16%
August 5, 2021 , Adidas released its first half and second quarter performance reports for 2021. The report shows that Adidas’ revenue in the first half of the year was US$12.144 billion, a year-on-year increase of 40%. Reebok’s related performance is no longer included in Adidas’ financial report.
In this performance, the group’s revenue increased by 52% year-on-year, of which revenue growth in North America was 87%, and revenue in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) was 99%. %, Latin America grew at 230%, and the Asia-Pacific region grew at only 66%. Among them, Greater China was the only region with negative revenue growth for Adidas in the second quarter, with revenue falling 16% year-on-year.
The situation of another international giant, Nike, has not improved either. From March 31 to May 31 this year, Nike’s sales in Greater China were US$1.9 billion, which did not meet the expectations of US$2.2 billion.
Correspondingly, the performance of domestic sports brands has increased significantly.
On August 13, Li Ning Company released its semi-annual report for fiscal year 2021. The financial report shows that revenue in the first half of the year reached 10.197 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 65%; net profit grew even faster, a year-on-year increase of 187%, reaching 1.96 billion yuan.
Look at another one�� Domestic brand Anta. In the first half of this year, the retail sales of Anta’s main brand increased by 35%-40% year-on-year. The retail sales of FILA brand products increased by 50%-55% year-on-year. The retail sales of other brand products increased by 90%-95%. %.
Xtep’s performance is also improving rapidly. It is expected that net profit will grow by no less than 65% in the first half of this year, and retail sales will grow at around 40%-45% year-on-year. However, this craze has not spread to 361 Degrees. In the second quarter of this year, its expected retail sales growth rate is between 15% and 20% year-on-year, which is not too fast. </p
