Adidas is fighting its way back to pre-pandemic levels, reporting Q1 revenues grew 27 percent to 5.27 billion euros.
In 2019, the last “normal” year for shoppers, the German activewear giant brought in 5.9 billion euros.
The results were slightly higher than consensus estimates and the company adjusted its outlook upwards for the full year, predicting growth in the high mid-teens by the end of 2021.
“We are now even more confident about a strong top-line recovery this year, even though the environment is not yet back to normal,” Kasper Rorsted, chief executive officer of Adidas, said in a statement.
Direct-to-consumer made up almost a third of all sales and, of that, e-commerce almost doubled over the past two years, the company stated. Although Adidas doesn’t share totals for online sales, it said e-commerce grew 43 percent over the first quarter compared to 2020.
Adidas saw the most growth in Greater China with sales there rising 155.9 percent, currency neutral, to hit 1.4 billion euros. This growth was in comparison with the first quarter of 2020 when most of China was under a strict lockdown. The rest of Asia-Pacific grew 3.9 percent to 603 euros.
In North America, Adidas sales grew 8.1 percent in currency-neutral terms to 1.16 billion euros. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, growth stood at 7.6 percent, with net sales of 1.77 billion euros.
In all territories, Adidas came closer to sales revenue seen in 2019. This was despite the fact that in Europe, around half of Adidas’ stores were closed during Q1 as the continent continued to struggle with its third wave of COVID-19 infections. By the end of March, the company reported that around 90 percent of all of its retail points around the world were open again.
Footwear made up roughly two-thirds of revenues and grew 31 percent, in currency neutral terms, compared to 2020, bringing in 2.93 billion euros in sales. Apparel grew 28 percent to 2.1 billion euros.
EBITDA grew 172 percent to 978 million euros in Q1, reflecting the beginning of the pandemic. EBITDA came to 1.16 billion euros over the same period in 2019.
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