adidas has sustained its growth momentum in the Chinese market, with channel partners beginning to show a stronger willingness to expand their store networks.
On October 29, adidas released its third-quarter 2026 financial report. During the reporting period, the company's global revenue rose 9% year-on-year to 7.252 billion euros, setting a new quarterly record; operating profit climbed 37% year-on-year to 1.008 billion euros, also a record high.
Among these results, Greater China revenue reached 1.138 billion euros, up 13% year-on-year at constant currency, marking 14 consecutive quarters of growth. In the first three quarters, cumulative Greater China revenue totaled 3.227 billion euros, up 15% year-on-year.
Among major global markets, Greater China's growth performance stands out notably.
In the third quarter, adidas' North American market revenue grew 12%, the Japan and South Korea market rose 19%, while the European market declined 4%. This divergence reflects differences in sports consumption demand and channel environments across regions.
In contrast to adidas, Nike's Greater China region continues to face operational pressures such as declining revenue and wholesale channel adjustments. The competitive landscape among international sportswear brands in the Chinese market continues to diverge.
During the earnings call held that day, adidas CEO Gulden further revealed that many distribution partners in the Chinese market have expressed demand for opening additional stores. He stated that adidas currently has strong brand momentum in China, and the company is more focused on how to leverage this opportunity to drive long-term growth.
Alongside channel changes, the product mix is also undergoing adjustment.
In the third quarter, adidas' global sports performance business grew 14% at constant currency, with football, running, and training all achieving double-digit growth.
Apparel performed even more prominently, growing 19% year-on-year, while footwear revenue was essentially flat overall.
Behind this divergence, the classic casual shoe market is undergoing adjustment.
Over the past few years, retro shoe models such as Samba and Gazelle were important drivers of adidas' brand recovery. However, as similar products increased, casual shoe inventory in European and American markets ran high, and discount competition intensified.
Gulden said during the earnings call that the company hopes to avoid the cyclical fluctuations caused by over-reliance on a single trend product in the past. When casual shoe growth slows, the company aims to form new growth support through professional sports shoes and apparel.
The Chinese market in particular is an important base for adidas to advance product innovation and localized operations.
According to company disclosures, currently more than 95% of adidas products sold in China are manufactured in China, and more than 65% are designed by the Shanghai Creative Center. Of the product lines designed by this center, 25% have already entered overseas markets.
In the third quarter, adidas' global direct-to-consumer business grew 17% at constant currency, with e-commerce up 18%, owned retail up 16%, and wholesale business growing only 2%.
The company explained that the lower wholesale growth rate partly stems from greater inventory pressure in the European market, where adidas proactively controlled shipments to maintain its product pricing system.
Rather than relying on increasing distributor inventory to expand short-term revenue, the company currently emphasizes actual terminal sales and full-price operations.
On profitability, adidas' gross margin in the third quarter increased 2.5 percentage points year-on-year to 54.3%. However, approximately 200 million euros in US tariff refunds during the quarter contributed to part of the profit improvement, so the 37% growth in operating profit cannot be entirely attributed to core business performance.
Based on third-quarter results, the company has raised its full-year 2026 operating profit forecast from 2.3 billion euros to 2.5 billion euros, and expects full-year revenue growth of 9% to 10% at constant currency.
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