Adidas Sells Reebok to Authentic Brands

Adidas has agreed to offer Reebok to Genuine Brand names Group for up to $two.five billion after investing a lot more than a decade trying to transform about the sneaker and sportswear brand name.

Adidas had introduced in December it was discovering a achievable sale of Reebok, which it acquired for $3.eight billion in 2006 to bulk up its company and contend much better with sneaker large Nike.

Nevertheless, as CNBC stories, “Reebok has limped along as Adidas’ have main company grew, prompting tension from buyers to dump the lagging brand name.”

With the sale, Reebok will sign up for the escalating retail empire of Genuine Brand names, which has previously snapped up ailing manufacturers these kinds of as Brooks Brothers, Aeropostale, and Permanently 21 and is planning for an IPO.

“We’ve had our sights established on Reebok for lots of yrs, and we’re energized to at last deliver this iconic brand name into the fold. Reebok not only retains a special position in the minds and hearts of consumers about the world, but the brand name also has expansive international distribution,” Genuine Brand names CEO Jamie Salter mentioned in a information release.

Reebok is regarded for producing the first spiked running shoe and the first athletic shoe built particularly for women of all ages.

“After Kasper Rorsted took above as Adidas CEO in 2016, he released a turnaround program which aided Reebok return to profitability, but its performance ongoing to lag that of the main Adidas brand name, and it was then hit by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Reuters reported.

Adidas reported previous week that Reebok created a internet first-50 % achieve of sixty eight million euros in contrast to a internet loss of 69 million in the first 50 % of 2020.

“While Adidas did manage to restore Reebok to profitability, it was significantly much less successful in constructing a brand name that was ready to steal share and capture the hearts and minds of consumers,” mentioned Neil Saunders, managing director of consultancy GlobalData.

“Part of the challenge was a lack of clarity about what Adidas preferred Reebok to be,” he extra. “As a final result, it was neither viewed as the go-to brand name for sporting industry experts nor for those people wanting for athleisure trend and style.”

Graphic by portfolio from Pixabay

AdidasAuthentic Brand names Group, Reebok, retail, sportswear