The pandemic is keeping shoppers out of stores and out of the gym, and leading several brands, including Adidas, to withdraw their outlooks for the year after a brutal first quarter.
Unsurprisingly, the retailer’s first quarter declines were seen mostly in Greater China as well as in Japan and South Korea, as COVID-19 first spread in that region early in the year. That drove “currency-neutral sales of the adidas and Reebok brands in Asia-Pacific down by 45%,” with a 58% sales decline in Greater China alone. Outside of that region, before stores also closed elsewhere, the company recorded currency-neutral revenue growth of 8% for the first two months of the year. As stores shuttered, revenues took a hit overall in the quarter: in emerging markets by 11% and Europe 8%, with sales in Latin America flat, and up 1% in North America.
