Adidas' largest global*** in South China has closed its doors in just two years, and with more than 2,000 stores closed, it's clear that Adidas is currently experiencing an unprecedented crisis.
And all of this may have been self-inflicted.
At one time, Adidas was regarded as a representative of "fashion and fashion" by Chinese people, and its revenue soared like a rocket, with double-digit growth for 23 consecutive quarters, so fast that FIFA called it "a miracle".
Recalling that at the opening ceremony of the South China Global Store that year, the chairman of Adidas looked forward to the future with high spirits.
However, the cotton incident two years ago completely changed all that, not only angering the Chinese market, but also pushing Adidas into the abyss.
At that time, Adidas' high-profile boycott of cotton production in China's northwest region shocked domestic consumers.
For a while, angry Chinese people poured into the live broadcast room to demand an apology, and the celebrity spokespersons also terminated their contracts one after another.
However, Adidas didn't care about this, and the CEO at the time even said: "Most of them only have 7 seconds of memory".
The implication is that things will soon be forgotten.
However, this time the people did not compromise. According to its performance data, Adidas has achieved an "eight consecutive declines" in the quarter. After losing the Chinese market, Adidas soon lost its second position in the world.
Judging from the latest financial report data, the former sports brand giant is now faltering, with revenue of only 6 billion euros in the first three quarters of this year, a sharp drop of 77 billion yuan compared with 2021. And the market value is also 180 billion higher than the peak.
At the same time, domestic brands such as Li Ning, Hongxing Erke, and Timeshop ushered in a new round of craze, and they were sold out online and offline, and their sales far exceeded Adidas. Under the feedback of the domestic market, China has broken the situation of being occupied by foreign imports in various fields such as sportswear and biotechnology.
At the beginning of the year, in the face of difficulties, Adidas admitted its mistake, and the newly appointed CEO Björn Goulden visited China wearing a jacket emblazoned with the word "China" in an attempt to renew the old friendship.
In order to save the Greater China market as soon as possible, Adidas began to sell goods at low prices.
However, the discount didn't really solve Adidas' problem. In recent years, the consumption concept of young people has gradually changed, and they no longer think that foreign brands have more face. What's more, after the transfer of the industrial chain, people have complained about the quality of Adidas, "Hundreds of shoes are not as good as stalls, and they will be degummed in less than a day." ”
In the face of difficulties, the CEO of Adidas reluctantly said that they may face a loss of 5 billion yuan this year.
Eventually, they paid for their arrogance and rashness.