\n<\/p>\n
Adidas is on a winning streak. On April 29, the German sportswear giant said that revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 were up 14% year-on-year to \u20ac6.6 billion. The strong first-quarter results follow Adidas\u2019s mega-London Marathon weekend, during which it kitted out both sub-two-hour runners, Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha, who finished in first and second place, respectively, as well as Tigist Assefa, who set a new women\u2019s world record of 2:15.41. All wore Adidas\u2019s new Pro Evo 3 supershoe<\/a>.<\/p>\n On the earnings call, Adidas announced that a documentary about the sub-two-hour marathon will go live tomorrow, April 30, before showing investors the trailer.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope you accept that we brag a little bit, because, for us, the achievement of the weekend meant a lot. It\u2019s the result of many, many months, if not years of work from the product point of view, from a marketing point of view, and from an athlete\u2019s training point of view,\u201d CEO Bj\u00f8rn Gulden said on Wednesday\u2019s call. \u201cWhen you see what the three did, it becomes even more impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n 2026 is the final year in Adidas\u2019s four-year \u2018Own the Game\u2019 growth plan. \u201cWhen we look at this year, we\u2019ve had a great start \u2014 not only the numbers, but the achievements and visibility in marketing, in social media, and the energy that we have internally is the highest that I have seen during my two phases in the company,\u201d Gulden continued. \u201cAnd the numbers you have seen in Q1 are very strong. It proves that the product we have in the marketplace is in demand by the consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n In the first quarter, direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenues were up 22%, while wholesale grew 8% on a constant currency basis. By category, footwear sales increased 4%, apparel revenues were up 31%, and accessories sales rose 13%. Performance was a bright spot, up 29% year-on-year, driven by strong double-digit growth in soccer (up 49%), running (up 28%), and training (up 12%), according to the company. Motorsport was up 79%, off the back of Adidas\u2019s new Audi partnership, up from just Mercedes a year prior. \u201cThose of you who said, \u2018Is this not dangerous, to grow only lifestyle?\u2019 Well, now you have the answer,\u201d Gulden said. \u201cThe plan was to shift the growth also to performance.\u201d Lifestyle revenues were up 6%, though the category\u2019s footwear had a tougher time<\/a>, Gulden noted. The goal, he assured investors, is to balance out the lifestyle and performance growth.<\/p>\n By region, revenues in Europe were up 6% to \u20ac2 billion. Meanwhile, North America revenues were up 12% to \u20ac1.2 billion, despite a \u201cnervous market when it comes to consumer demand\u201d due to high oil prices, Gulden said, noting that the region is the brand\u2019s biggest opportunity. Greater China was up 17% to \u20ac1.1 billion, while Japan and South Korea were up 23% to \u20ac405 million. Latin America was up 26% to \u20ac831 million, which Gulden said is fueled by the World Cup this summer, and emerging markets, including the Middle East, was up 10% to \u20ac869 million. As for the current status of the Middle East conflict on business, Gulden said: \u201cWe are losing business in these countries, mainly in the last four or five weeks. We can discuss later what this could mean going forward, depending on how long this conflict will last.\u201d<\/p>\n Adidas\u2019s big marathon weekend is a marker of the brand\u2019s innovation efforts. \u201cI think many of you thought we were lacking innovation. I\u2019ve told you that I disagree, but, of course, to bring ideas and concepts to commercial product takes some time,\u201d Gulden said, adding that many of the products coming out of the athlete innovation pipeline will then go commercial. \u201cWhich, at the end of the day, is the reason why we\u2019re doing it,\u201d the CEO added. \u201cThe visibility of what we did on the weekend will also help us when it comes to the commerciality.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n