Glasses on the run Newsletter #66

Hi,

I hope you are all well.

What was interesting in the business of running

Adidas's 2024 Q4 and year-end results were better than expected. It reported revenues of € 23.68 billion - an 11% to the year before. Footwear was the leading business line with shoes across numerous categories with a total of 17%. Wholesale grew 14%, while DTC grew 11%, led by the brand's the own retail stores. Europe grew 19%, while North America declined 2%. Adidas managed to successfully sell all the remaining Yeezy inventory (Adidas, CNBC). Adidas has also signed a multi-year kit contract with Liverpool FC to replace Nike this summer (The Athletic).

At the same time, fellow German brand, and Adidas competitor - Puma - grew its revenues by 4.4% year-on-year. Footwear makes up 54% of the total sales, followed by Apparel with 32%, and Accessories with 14%. DTC grew by 16.6%, but still makes up only 28% of the total (Puma).

Also, following the news that Salomon has reached $1 billion in shoe sales that I mentioned last time, here is a bit more behind that achievement and how things may shape up going forward (Front Office Sports). And here is one of the innovations Salomon has just launched - a Boost like mid-sole (Gear Patrol).

Finally, Saucony launched a new run campaign 'Run As One' (Sports Illustrated). And a curious case in which Strava banned a user for uploading to the platform a run they did in North Korea (DC Rainmaker).

As always, thank you for reading,

Momchil