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While the German sportswear firm has been taking market share in
North America, its U.S. rival has been powering ahead in Europe,
helped by a strong showing by Nike-sponsored teams at the soccer
World Cup and its Phantom range launch.
Adidas shares, which have gained 12 percent in the last year,
were down 2.3 percent by 0954 GMT after it cut its 2018 target
for currency-neutral sales growth to between 8 to 9 percent from
"around 10 percent".
Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted has focused on improving
profitability at Adidas since he took over in 2016, by focusing
on growing in North America and Asia and pushing ecommerce,
where margins are higher than in stores.
Adidas said it now expects 2018 net income from continuing
operations to grow 16 to 20 percent, compared with previous
guidance of 13 to 17 percent.
After an earlier warning that western European sale were likely
to be flat in the second half, Adidas said the region's
currency-adjusted sales fell 1 percent in the third quarter.
Rorsted said Adidas had relied too much on shoes like its retro
Stan Smith and Superstar that have fallen out of fashion, and
not enough on sports performance gear.
"We are a sports company. We should have done a better job in
the sports channel," he told journalists.
NOT FAST ENOUGH
Adidas had also failed to react quickly enough to demand for its
new styles like Continental shoes, and had overpriced some
goods, all factors it is now addressing, Rorsted added.
Adidas continued to grow fast elsewhere, with sales up 16
percent in North America and by 15 percent in Asia-Pacific.
Ecommerce sales jumped 76 percent in the quarter and Adidas saw
the September launch of Yeezy Boost shoes designed by rapper
Kanye West drive traffic to its website, with sales and margins
of the new styles above its expectations.
Overall, Adidas said its third-quarter sales rose by a
currency-adjusted 8 percent to 5.873 billion euros ($6.75
billion), shy of analysts' average forecasts, while net profit
from continuing operations jumped 19 percent to 656 million
euros, beating consensus.
German rival Puma <PUMG.DE> raised its outlook for full-year
sales and operating profit last month as it reported strong
sales growth in the Americas and Asia and said its first
basketball shoe in 20 years had been well received.
($1 = 0.8705 euros)
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan and Emma Thomasson, Editing by Riham
Alkousaa/Sherry Jacob-Phillips/Alexander Smith)
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