Adidas cut its FY '18 revenue forecast after Q3 sales "fell in western Europe, where it was hit by changing fashions and Nike’s gains in soccer," according to Emma Thomasson of REUTERS. Adidas cut its target for growth to between 8-9%, down from around 10%. Adidas also said that it now expects FY '18 net income to grow 16-20%, "compared with previous guidance" of 13-17%. After an earlier warning that Western Europe sales were likely to be flat in the second half, Adidas said that the region’s currency-adjusted sales fell 1% in Q3. Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted said that the brand "relied too much on shoes like its retro Stan Smith and Superstar that have fallen out of fashion, and not enough on sports performance gear." Adidas continued to "grow fast elsewhere," with sales up 16% in North America and up 15% in Asia-Pacific. Overall, Adidas said that its Q3 sales rose 8% to $6.75B, which was "shy of analysts’ average forecasts," while net profit rose 19% to $753M, beating consensus (REUTERS, 11/7). Rorsted said that expansion in Q3 was "driven by double-digit increases across the company’s strategic growth areas: North America, Greater China and e-commerce" (WWD.com, 11/7).
