adidas’ Hainer Says Reebok Will Be Top Priority In ’07

Hainer Says Company Will Focus On Marketing Reebok Brand In ‘07

adidas Chair & CEO Herbert Hainer indicated that “improving performance at Reebok will be the company’s top priority” in ’07, and it “plans to invest [about US$64M] in the Reebok brand,” according to Archibald Preuschat of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES. The money will be spent on “marketing, products and also in the expansion of its own retail outlets.” adidas “plans to open numerous new Reebok-brand retail outlets” in Russia and China. While adidas this week released Q3 earnings and “lowered its expectations for annual net profit growth” in ’07, Hainer called the order backlog for Reebok at the end of Q3 “disappointing.” Order backlogs “decreased 14% in currency-neutral terms, or 16% when measured in euros” (DOW JONES NEWSWIRES, 11/9).