Adidas announced that Martin Shankland, its global operations executive, will step down after nearly 30 years with the company. His responsibilities will be transferred to CFO Harm Ohlmeyer and Senior Vice President of Sourcing Hoa Ly. This change marks the latest in a series of leadership shifts that began in late 2022 when Bjorn Gulden was appointed CEO, replacing Kasper Rorsted. Other notable departures include Arthur Hoeld, Brian Grevy, Amanda Rajkumar, and Rupert Campbell.
Despite these changes, Adidas has reported a significant improvement in its financial performance. The company’s Q2 net sales rose 9 per cent to € 5.8 billion, with growth across all markets. Adidas’ North American business, although down 7 per cent, showed a 2 per cent rise in the underlying business for the region. Gulden attributed this positive performance to the brand’s visibility in major events like the UEFA and Copa America soccer tournaments and the Paris Olympics.
Alice Price, an associate apparel analyst at GlobalData, noted that this positive momentum has led Adidas to increase its full-year outlook for the second consecutive time this year. The company now expects a high-single-digit increase in currency-neutral revenue and a full-year operating profit of € 1 billion, up from its previous guidance of € 700 million.
