Mixed messages from adidas in China
10/08/2012
On announcing the results, Colin Currie, the group’s managing director in China, said: “We plan to open 500 to 600 stores in lower-tier cities by the end of the year.”
However, reports in China of adidas cancelling contracts with a range of its outsource manufacturing partners there have also received a lot of attention. Chinese media have said ten long-standing Chinese manufacturing partners have received news “out of the blue” that adidas will bring its business with them to a halt over a six-month period from October 2012 to April 2013.
One of the companies involved told local media that it had been promised work from adidas until 2015 and that it had invested in new technology to be able to meet its commitments to the brand. This follows an announcement in July that the sports brand was closing its only company-owned manufacturing facility in China, a factory in Suzhou.
Adidas sis still reported to have more than 300 suppliers in China, who employ a combined total of around 300,000 people.
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