ADIDAS HEAD ROBERT LOUIS- DREYFUS PROFILED

     Adidas CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus "could be orchestrating one
of the greatest sports comebacks of the decade," according to Tom
Lowry of USA TODAY.  In the "Cover Story" of USA TODAY's business
section, Lowry notes that Louis-Dreyfus has "revived" the German
shoe company that five years ago "was on the verge of
extinction."  Since Louis-Dreyfus arrived at adidas, sneaker
sales in the U.S, have nearly doubled to $355M.  One of Louis-
Dreyfus' first moves at adidas was to double the world-wide
marketing budget to more than $270M, which gave adidas the
"financial firepower" to "land high-profile U.S. athlete
sponsors."  This year, among NBA rookies wearing adidas: Laker
Kobe Bryant, Celtic Antoine Walker, and Trailblazer Jermaine
O'Neal.  Last November, the company went public in Germany, and
since the offering, stock price has nearly doubled.  Now adidas
"is readying itself" for an IPO in the U.S. that Louis-Dreyfus
says could come "within the next year" (USA TODAY, 10/21).