{
  "id": 13887838,
  "title": "Adidas CEO taps outdoor sport, street dance as new drivers in China as competition heightens",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/adidas-ceo-taps-outdoor-sport-street-dance-as-new-drivers-in-china-as",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-12T06:00:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SCMP Business",
    "slug": "scmp-business",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3370520/adidas-ceo-taps-outdoor-sport-street-dance-new-drivers-china-competition-heightens"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Adidas, the German sportswear giant, is looking to tap into the burgeoning markets of outdoor sports and street dance in China to fuel its growth amidst intensifying competition from domestic and foreign rivals. Speaking at a media briefing in Shanghai, CEO Bjorn Gulden highlighted the increasing popularity of running and outdoor activities in China. He also noted the potential of street dance as a new activity of interest to young people in universities. Adidas plans to expand its presence in the Chinese market by opening new stores and bolstering its e-commerce operations.\n\nThe company's efforts to boost its sales in China have been successful, with a 13% year-on-year increase in sales last year, reaching $4.2 billion. This performance contrasts with Nike's 12% drop in revenue to $5.85 billion in the same period. In the first half of 2026, Adidas' sales in China grew by 16% year-on-year, according to its July earnings report. Gulden expressed his hope for more young people to take up sports. In July, Adidas revamped its running line, rebranding the 15-year-old Terrex collection as Shanchuanli, meaning \"among the mountains and rivers,\" and introducing a fresh logo to promote its outdoor apparel sales. The outdoor apparel market in China grew by 17% to 143 billion yuan (approximately $21.4 billion) in 2025, according to Kung Fu Data, an e-commerce and digital marketing firm. While international brands like Nike and Adidas once dominated the Chinese sportswear market, local players have since made significant gains, with Anta Sports overtaking Nike to become the largest sportswear company in China by sales in 2021. Anta's revenue in China reached $11.2 billion last year, marking a 13.5% increase from 2024. The company, based in Fujian province, owns a diverse portfolio of international brands such as Fila, Salomon, Descente, Jack Wolfskin, and Arc’teryx.",
  "summary": "German sportswear giant Adidas is bent on new fashionable outdoor and street dance apparel to sustain its growth in China amid heightened competition against domestic and international rivals, according to its CEO Bjorn Gulden. “We see that there’s a running boom and an outdoor boom [in China],” he told reporters in a media briefing in Shanghai on Sunday. “We see new sports like street dance…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}