Adidas wants to win back Chinese consumers with a new strategy

The sporting goods manufacturer Adidas wants to address its problems in the Chinese market with a greater focus on local conditions. The company is planning more patriotic product lines for the People's Republic, combining international design with traditional Chinese culture. By next year, Adidas wants to design at least 30 per cent of the clothes sold in China locally, said Adrian Siu, the manager in charge of the country, to the Financial Times (FT) newspaper. Before the crisis, the share was in the low single-digit percentage range.

On top of that, Adidas plans to expand its partnerships with Chinese athletes and move more of its production to China to respond more quickly to fashion trends. But experts say this could drive up labour costs, according to the FT. Labour costs are higher in China than in Vietnam, Indonesia or Cambodia.

Adidas has recently been struggling with problems in China, in addition to high inflation and the abrupt end of its cooperation with US rapper Kanye West. The company, like its competitors Nike and Puma, had long suffered from the Chinese government's strict Corona policy, which weighed on consumption. This has been compounded for some time by tensions between the Western world and China on the issue of human rights, which have already led to calls for boycotts of Western brands in the country. In addition, competition from Chinese clothing brands is growing. Not least because of the problems in China, Adidas is threatened with an operating loss in the current year. (DPA)