Reebok 2013 Annual Report Download - page 37

adidas Group
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2013 Annual Report
To Our Shareholders
33
2013
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01.4
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Letter from the CEO
In other regions, our development in 2013 was more mixed. In Western Europe, where sales declined
6% currency-neutral, we faced particular headwinds from high prior year comparisons related to major
sports events. North America also developed lower than our expectations, as some lifestyle trends moved
against us and we suffered from lower growth in basketball footwear due to the injury of our star athlete
Derrick Rose. In both of these regions, I am confident that our performance will pick up in 2014, as we
have worked hard on our offerings for these important regions. But we have also introduced a number of
new organisational initiatives to help us become faster and better in these regions. In order to continue
to lead the game on our home turf, we implemented one aligned strategy for Western Europe, creating a
new market structure. I am convinced that our new and more coordinated set-up will make us even more
attractive for consumers and customers and will enable us to further extend our leadership position in this
important region. In North America, we have united adidas and Reebok under one management team to
maximise the potential of both brands in that region.
Additionally, at the Board level, we are also conscious about preparing for the future. I have always
highlighted that our Group has a wide range of international talents and we are committed to giving our
next generation of leaders more responsibility. Following the appointment of Roland Auschel, who assumed
responsibility for Global Sales on a Board level last October, I am very pleased to welcome Eric Liedtke to the
Executive Board, who will succeed Erich Stamminger, responsible for Global Brands. Over the past years,
Eric Liedtke has contributed to the extremely positive development of the adidas brand. We are convinced
that he will lead our brands into the next era of desirability, success and growth. At the same time, on behalf
of the adidas Group, I would like to thank Erich Stamminger for his leadership and expertise and the many
contributions he has made to the success of the Group and its brands in the last three decades.
Turning to the future: the passion, the inspiration and the drive for success our employees have shown in
delivering results underpin our common desire – to build the leading sporting goods company in the world.
And 2014 will be no different.
Be it products, be it campaigns, be it imagination, we have everything we need to be successful. And we will
do it with determination, speed and leadership.
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As the Official Partner of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the adidas brand will be the most visible
brand during the event, which will contribute considerably to record sales of € 2 billion in the football
category. Our first 2014 FIFA World Cup products have been on the market since mid-November and
are selling extremely well, with federation jerseys as well as the official match ball of the tournament,
Brazuca, beating all our internal expectations so far.
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In running, we will continue to be focused on the expansion of the highly successful Boost franchise,
targeting more than eight million pairs in the category in 2014, as well as the further global roll-out of
Springblade into new markets.
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Basketball will see the introduction of Boost with the launch of D Rose 5.0 in the second half of 2014.
Furthermore, we will leverage our on-court visibility through top NBA players such as Derrick Rose,
Jeremy Lin, Dwight Howard, Damian Lillard, John Wall and Ricky Rubio.