The German sportswear giant may be getting rid of its Reebok brand since 2006.
Rumors about a possible sale have appeared on the Web more than once. It all started in 2016, when Kasper Rorsted, who took over as CEO of Adidas, began closing some low-performing Reebok stores and allowed some licensing agreements to expire. And although Rorsted himself subsequently repeatedly denied the option of selling Reebok, in general, the public had the opinion that this brand (not profitable at that time) clearly did not enjoy special love from Adidas management.
After the brand finally regained profitability by early 2019, Rorsted said he hopes he can now drive sales growth with new shoe lines such as the CrossFit Nano and FloatRide Run. At the same time, he compared the management of the company to a parent who loves both of his children equally.
When the coronavirus pandemic began, Reebok suffered more than brand Adidas. While the German label's sales fell by 33% in the second quarter, Reebok's revenue dropped by 42%. As a result, the idea surfaced again to sell the once again unloved brand.
The German business publishing house Manager Magazin learned about this from a person close to the company who wished to remain anonymous. According to him, the process has already been launched, but is still at an early stage. Possible buyers include the American company VF Corp., which owns the Timberland and North Face brands, as well as the Chinese Anta International Group Holdings.
As for the cost, there are doubts that Rorsted will be able to ask for more than $ 2 billion for Reebok. For comparison, in 2006 this English brand was taken over for $3.8 billion.
Journalists contacted Adidas representatives, but they refused to disclose any details, saying that the company does not comment on market rumors.