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Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Why Adidas’ China Comeback Is Lagging Nike’s

Both brands saw sales decline during the Uighur forced labour controversy but Adidas is more vulnerable to competition from local sportswear giants Li Ning and Anta.
Yibing Wu of China plays a backhand against Daniil Medvedev during their Men's Singles Third Round match on Day Five of the 2022 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 02, 2022 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.
Adidas has signed deals with local rising star athletes like tennis player Wu Yibing in a bid to recover market share in China. (Getty Images)

It’s shaping up to be a tough year for Adidas. The German sportswear giant is facing the prospect of its first unprofitable year in over three decades. Globally, it has been saddled with the fallout of the Yeezy deal and, in China, its problems have multiplied since the Uighur forced labour controversy and ‘zero-Covid’ lockdowns of recent years.

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