For competing apparel brands Nike and Adidas, the World Cup is a golden opportunity, but one that finds the rivals in very different positions.
An apparent recovery last October, when revenues increased 1% amid a tough trading environment, turned out to be something of a false dawn for Nike. Its most recent set of results (published March 31) showed flat revenues and shrinking gross margins.
While Nike’s leadership attempts to turn the ship around, its old rival Adidas sees an opportunity to close the gap internationally, and grow its business in the U.S. CEO Bjørn Gulden told investors in March, during its fourth-quarter earnings call, that Adidas aimed to double the size of its American business – and gun for the No. 1 spot everywhere else. The company enjoyed improving margins and revenues rose 14% during that quarter.
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