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Beijing, August 25th, 2008 - "The Olympic Games in Beijing were a huge success for adidas (ETR:ADS) - both in China and around the world," said Erich Stamminger, President of the adidas brand in Beijing. "We were clearly the leading brand in terms of visibility across all sports during the Games. We provided first-class service and exciting products that were especially made for Beijing. We also made our mark in communication with our campaign 'Together in 2008 - Impossible is Nothing' that won the first ever Golden Lion for China at the Cannes Festival. So the Olympic Games in Beijing brought us another giant step closer to our mission to be the leading sports brand in the world."
As Official Sportswear Partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, adidas supplied more than 3 million products to federations, volunteers, officials and others. By outfitting 16 National Olympic Committees, including the most successful nation, China, plus three other Top Six ranked Olympic Teams, Great Britain, Germany and Australia, adidas underlined its position as the true Olympic brand. In total, more than 3,000 athletes competed in adidas products and adidas provided products for 27 out of the 28 Olympic sports.
Among the successful adidas athletes who won Olympic Gold were pole vault world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia), double Olympic swimming champion Britta Steffen (Germany), Britain's cycling sprint sensation Chris Hoy, US gymnast Shawn Johnson, 110m hurdler Dayron Robles (Cuba), Italian fencing legend Maria Valentina Vezzali, Norwegian javelin champion Andreas Thorkildson, footballer Lionel Messi from Argentina and judo champion Xian Dongmei (China).
"We already used the UEFA EURO 2008(TM) in Austria and Switzerland to grow our football leadership and now we demonstrated at the Olympic Games again that we are the brand that is at the core of sports. With the platform of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games brand adidas has become market leader in China in terms of revenues, market share and brand perception," Erich Stamminger added. "Our Olympic journey will continue as we have already started to prepare for the London 2012 Olympic Games where adidas will again be Official Sportswear Partner."
In terms of revenues, adidas Group sales in China increased over 60% on a currency-neutral basis in the first half of 2008. Based on this growth, China will become the second-largest market for the adidas Group after the USA by the end of this year. "We are well on track to reach our sales target of more than EUR 1 billion for the adidas Group in China by 2010," stated Herbert Hainer, CEO and Chairman of the adidas Group. "These successful Olympic Games in Beijing will leave a legacy for sport in China and for all brands of our Group. Therefore, I am convinced that we will continue to achieve dynamic growth in this market for the years to come."
About the adidas Group The adidas Group is one of the global leaders within the sporting goods industry, offering a broad range of products around three core segments: adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade-adidas Golf. Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, the Group has more than 34,000 employees and sales of EUR 10.3 billion. ***
Contacts:
Media Relations Investor Relations Jan Runau Natalie M. Knight Chief Corporate Communications Vice President Investor Officer Relations Tel.: +49 (0) 9132 84-3830 Tel.: +49 (0) 9132 84-2187
Anne Putz John-Paul O'Meara Head of Corporate PR Senior Investor Relations Manager Tel.: +49 (0) 9132 84-2964 Tel.: +49 (0) 9132 84-2751
