Adidas has decided to sell its American brand Reebok

German sportswear and footwear manufacturer Adidas has decided to sell its American brand Reebok, with which it wanted to compete more effectively with the American company Nike. Adidas said the decision was part of its new five-year strategy, details of which it will present next month.

Adidas bought the Reebok brand about $ 15 billion about 15 years ago (around $ 81 billion at the current exchange rate). However, Reebok's poor results have led to repeated calls from shareholders for the company to get rid of the brand.

Meanwhile, the German company has succeeded in consolidating the position of its main brand Adidas in the United States. Collaboration with celebrities such as rapper Kanye West and singer and actress Beyoncé contributed to this, Reuters reported.

Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted said, after careful consideration, we have come to the conclusion that the Reebok and Adidas brands can make much better use of their growth potential if they are not dependent on each other.

The company now intends to focus on strengthening the position of its main brand Adidas in the global sporting goods market.

Rorsted said, long-term growth opportunities are highly attractive in our industry, especially for iconic sports brands.

A Reuters source from the banking sector said that the value of Reebok could now be around one billion euros (approximately 26 billion CZK). Last year, Adidas reduced the book value of the brand by almost half to 842 million euros.

After joining the company in 2016, Rorsted took steps to help the Reebok brand restore profitability. However, Reebok's results continued to lag behind those of the main Adidas brand. Last year, they were also hit by the covid-19 pandemic.

Adidas could now offer Reebok shares on the stock exchange. It could also sell the brand to some investment companies or other large retailers of sporting goods, writes Reuters.