Topic: Wealth Management

Intense competition in U.S. sportswear market leaving Adidas behind

Investment CounsellorEvery Monday we feature “A Stock to Sell” as our daily post. With every stock we recommend as a sell, we give you a full explanation of why we advise against investing in the stock at this time.

Adidas AG (ADR) (symbol ADDYY on the U.S. over-the-counter market; www.adidas.com) together with its subsidiaries, develops, makes and markets athletic equipment and clothing worldwide.

The company operates through six segments: Wholesale, Retail, TaylorMade-Adidas Golf Company, Rockport, Reebok-CCM Hockey and Other Centrally Managed Brands.

Adidas was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany. It was known as Adidas-Salomon AG until 2006, when it shortened its name to Adidas AG. Its main listing is on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

The stock, which was as high as $50 in July, took a big drop at the beginning of August 2014, and fell to as low as $34. The decline came after the company cut its sales and profit forecast for this year, citing the risk of falling sales in Russia due to mounting tensions with the West over Ukraine. The shares have since recovered to about $40.


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Stock market advice: Activist investors show interest in buying a stake in Adidas

The company now expects a profit of about 650 million euros ($870 million U.S., or $2.08 per ADR) this year, down from its previous estimate of 830 million to 930 million euros. Adidas also estimates that its sales will grow at a “mid- to high-single-digit” rate, down from a “high-single-digit” rate.

Adidas earns a significant amount of its revenue in Russia. Moreover, it had planned to add more Adidas and Reebok stores in the country ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which is slated to take place there.

Adidas operates in a highly competitive market. For the first time, the company has now dropped to the No. 3 spot among sportswear brands in the U.S., behind major rivals Nike and Under Armour. Adidas will boost its marketing spending to regain market share, but whether—and how soon—that will be effective is uncertain.

Meanwhile, a group of activist investors and hedge funds are reportedly looking at buying a stake in the company to press its management to make sweeping changes. These moves could include removing CEO Herbert Hainer and setting up fitness brand Reebok and golf label TaylorMade as separate firms.

We don’t recommend Adidas AG’s ADRs. If you own the shares, we think you should sell.

Coming up Next

Tomorrow we tell you about the rising profits of one of Canada’s retail icons.

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