Adidas is planning to open 3,000 stores in China over the next five years, "shrugging off concerns that a slowdown in the Chinese economy will further hurt consumption," according to Laurie Burkitt of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Adidas China Head Colin Currie said that the company "is expanding to 12,000 stores in China from its current 9,000 and aspires to more than double the cities where it sells its running gear and tennis shoes to 2,200-plus." Currie said that adidas is "catering to China’s economic upsides," such as new government policies to foster the football industry and population growth. Currie: "The company will zero in on China’s smallest cities, expecting continued urbanization even in the face of economic challenges. We are cautiously optimistic, but we’re far more on the optimistic side." Adidas has continued to grow in China "even as sales fall away for some foreign food-and-beverage companies." The brand reported Thursday that its sales last year in the China region, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, "increased 18% excluding foreign-exchange effects." China is a "key growth market for sportswear makers, as more middle-class Chinese hit the gym, take up sports or travel for outdoor adventures." The sportswear market in China, including everything from swimsuits to football shorts, grew to $25.3B last year, up 11% from a year earlier, according to market research firm Euromonitor Int'l (WSJ, 3/4). BLOOMBERG's Anchalee Worrachate reported adidas "is in a race" with global rival Nike and "home-grown sports brands Anta Sports Products Ltd. and Li Ning Co. to grab demand from a Chinese middle class’s growing awareness" of health benefits from exercising. China’s sports industry will expand more than 19% annually to 3T yuan ($460M) by '25, Credit Suisse Group AG estimated last September. Currie said that the company plans to "keep most of its production in China despite rising production costs." About 29% of its apparel and 23% of its footwear is made in China, according to adidas’ '14 annual report (BLOOMBERG, 3/4).
