Surprise earthquake at the top of Adidas. The CEO of the German group, Kasper Rorsted, will step down as CEO in 2023. The manager and the Supervisory Board have "mutually agreed" that Rorsted will relinquish the chief executive position over the next year. The search for a successor has begun and the Danish manager will remain at the helm of the group until he is appointed.
Prior to his current role, Rorsted was CEO of Henkel, a German multinational active in the cleaning, beauty and adhesives sectors. He previously held executive roles at technology companies including Hewlett-Packard, Compaq and Oracle.
Rorsted: from the relaunch of Adidas to Covid
Rorsted took the helm of the group in 2016, managing to relaunch it and reduce the gap with historic rival Nike. In 2021, the CEO has sold the subsidiary Reebok to Authentic Brands Group for a sum of around two billion euros.
Then came the Covid. "After three difficult years, marked by the economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions, now is the right time to start a CEO transition and pave the way for a restart,” the company said in a statement announcing Rorsted's departure.
“The last few years have been characterized by several external factors that have significantly disrupted our business – said Rorsted – It has taken enormous efforts to overcome these challenges. Because of this allow for a restart in 2023 it's the right thing to do, both for the company and for me personally”.
The closures of retail outlets and the halt in production all over the world, but above all in Asia, weighed heavily. Not surprisingly, last July the company decided to launch a profit warning after a slower-than-expected recovery in China. “Mass tests and lockdowns in China have impacted mall and store traffic and sales of most retailers. Foreign brands are also struggling to keep China as a major growth driver amid consumer boycotts and preferential treatment for local companies, including Anta Sports Products Ltd. and Li Ning Co.,” Bloomberg explains.
Adidas stock on the stock exchange
Adidas shares on the stock exchange since the beginning of the year they have lost around 37% of their value, realizing one of the worst performances of the Euro Stoxx 50 index. After the announcement of Rorsted's farewell, the stock today lost around 3% to 160,88 euros. It's no better for the rival Nike, which in 2022 lost about 31,8% and is now in the red by 1,8% at $111,12 per share.
