Adidas expects its key Chinese market to sustain a recovery this year, in a boost for the world’s second-largest sportswear brand as it struggles with a slowdown in the US.The German company said on Wednesday that Chinese sales were expected to grow at a double-digit rate this year, after surging by 37 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023.
That growth is expected to cushion the impact of challenging trading in the US, and comes after sinking Chinese sales helped push Adidas into a deep crisis in 2022.
Reporting full-year results on Wednesday, Adidas said annual sales in China rose 8 per cent year on year, adjusted for currency swings. Until 2019, the country had been the most important driver of growth and profits, but sales collapsed between 2020 and 2022 amid protracted lockdowns and calls to boycott western brands over their stance on Xinjiang cotton.