Adidas Focuses On Soccer Market Leadership In 2010

GEORGE FREY

FRANKFURT (AP) — The 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which kicks off a year from now, will help German sportswear company Adidas AG increase its presence in the world soccer market, the company's CEO said Wednesday.

The Herzogenaurach-based Adidas, the world's second largest sportswear company by sales after Nike, Inc. of Beaverton, Oregon, said its partnerships with FIFA, the organizer of the World Cup, and with many national teams puts the company in a strong market position prior to the world's most-watched sports tournament.

In 2006, when Germany hosted the World Cup, Adidas beat its own expectations with about euro1.2 billion ($1.7 billion) in revenues for soccer items alone, as fans snapped up jerseys and balls during the monthlong tournament.

During the European Championships in 2008, Adidas generated euro1.3 billion in soccer sales, its highest level ever.

The company didn't make a 2010 sales projection Wednesday, but Herbert Hainer, the company's chief executive, told reporters next year would be profitable.

"I think even in times of crisis, football has the power to draw," Hainer said, referring to the bleak sales situation amid the global economic crisis. "In 2010, we'll definitely reach the highest sales level for football sales. We are well-positioned to further extend our market leadership in football again next year."