adidas shareholders are "getting vocal about their discontent with the company’s performance," as shares in the brand "fell roughly 40% last year after two profit warnings within 10 months," according to Ellen Jervell of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. adidas Chair & CEO Herbert Hainer has "taken some steps to reverse the decline at the company he has led since 2001, but a growing number of investors and analysts say Adidas must do more." Frankfurt-based Union Investment Fund Manager Ingo Speich, whose firm is one of adidas' largest shareholders, said, “We have no trust in the management anymore. We want Hainer to leave the company." Jervell notes adidas group sales "rose 6% last year, adjusted for currency fluctuations, but its performance in the U.S. and Russia -- two of its largest markets -- is sliding fast." Shareholders argued that Hainer "should have reacted faster to sliding sales at the company's TaylorMade golf division." adidas shares "have risen almost 11% this year after the company met its reduced 2014 financial targets and in expectation of a new five-year strategy that the company plans to announce next month." But its share price "is still almost 25% below its level one year ago." adidas’ "struggling U.S. business has been a strong focus of investor dissatisfaction," as last fall it "fell behind" Under Armour to the No. 3 spot among U.S. sports brands (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/6).
AN APP FOR THAT: In Portland, Allan Brettman noted in anticipating huge demand for a Kanye West-designed product release, adidas this week "introduced a sneaker reservation app the brand says will remove the usual frustrations associated with getting one-of-a-kind, high-demand sneakers." adidas North America VP/Brand Activation Simon Atkins said, "We want to cut through all that." Atkins "declined to say" when the Adidas Confirmed product release is planned. Brettman noted the West shoe "will be available" only in N.Y. Adidas Confirmed, which was developed at the company's North America HQ in Portland, "leverages geo-targeting technology to allow for verification of location while protecting consumers from 'bots' that often dilute launches in social spaces like Twitter" (Portland OREGONIAN, 2/5).
