Adidas is outplaying Nike in the global sportswear competition

{"text":[[{"start":4.2,"text":"Adidas, sponsor of defending champion Argentina, is not the clear favourite at this football World Cup. As usual, the German sportswear giant is up against old rival Nike. But the financial face-off is closer than it has been in a long time."}],[{"start":19.95,"text":"Just look at the number of teams sporting Adidas’s three-stripe logo on their sleeves. The company’s total of 14 out of 48 compares with 12 for Nike — which includes likely winner France — and 11 for third-placed Puma. In 2022’s World Cup, Adidas notched up seven teams and Nike 13."}],[{"start":38.55,"text":"Whoever hoists the trophy, the tournament looks like proof of Adidas’s resurgence. Last year, the gap between Adidas’s operating profit and Nike’s shrunk to its smallest in 25 years. While Nike’s revenue is still about a third bigger than that of Adidas, the match momentum is finally with the German side under the leadership of Bjørn Gulden, formerly of Puma."}],[{"start":61.8,"text":"Nike’s troubles play a large part in that switchover. Even though the US maker of the famed swoosh reported better than expected sales and earnings on Tuesday, the company lowered its near-term sales forecast, and chief financial officer Matt Friend warned it had been a struggle to sell products at full price."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":80.15,"text":"Shares in both Adidas and Nike have slumped as investors worry the trainer trend is losing speed. That increases the relative appeal of less sports-focused ranges. Japanese peer Asics recently carved out lifestyle brand Onitsuka Tiger into a separate subsidiary, distinguishing it from the group’s running shoes. Adidas, with its ubiquitous Sambas and Spezials, can at least claim products with a similar cachet."}],[{"start":107.35000000000001,"text":"China, where regional tweaks within Adidas’s Originals brand have proved a hit, also sets the two apart. Analysts expect the German group’s Greater China sales to grow 13 per cent in quarterly financials due on July 30, according to FactSet. Nike’s Greater China sales, on the other hand, fell 17 per cent year on year in its latest three-month period, excluding currency movements."}],[{"start":131.15,"text":"The World Cup should add a tangible boost: about half of all the tournament’s viewers plan to buy team merchandise, according to a Citigroup survey conducted earlier this year. Adidas expects a lift from the event equivalent to about 4 per cent of sales in each of two quarters. "}],[{"start":147.5,"text":"Despite this, Adidas is still priced like an underdog. It is trading at 23 times earnings for the past 12 months, versus 27 times for Nike according to FactSet. That should further burnish its appeal. In World Cup terms, if Nike and Adidas were once England vs Panama in 2018 (6-1), they’re now England vs Panama in 2026 (2-0). Same winner, but the gap is closing."}],[{"start":180.9,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783060276_2514.mp3"}