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Adidas Plans to Sell Struggling Reebok Brand

Adidas plans to sell or spin-off its underperforming Reebok brand. (Reuters)
Adidas plans to sell or spin-off its underperforming Reebok brand. (Reuters)
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Adidas Plans to Sell Struggling Reebok Brand

Adidas plans to sell or spin-off its underperforming Reebok brand. (Reuters)
Adidas plans to sell or spin-off its underperforming Reebok brand. (Reuters)

German sportswear maker Adidas AG plans to sell or spin-off its underperforming Reebok brand, 15 years after it bought the US fitness label to help compete with arch-rival Nike Inc.

Adidas said on Tuesday it had decided to begin a formal process aimed at divesting Reebok as part of a five-year strategy it plans to present on March 10, when the company will also publish 2020 results. It will report Reebok as a discontinued operation from the first quarter of 2021.

A banking source said the business could be worth around 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion).

“Reebok and Adidas will be able to significantly better realize their growth potential independently of each other,” Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted said in a statement.

The company bought Boston-based Reebok for $3.8 billion in 2006, but its sluggish performance led to repeated calls from investors to dispose of the brand.

In the meantime, Adidas managed to eat into Nike’s dominance in the United States with its core brand, helped by partnership with celebrities like Kanye West, Beyonce and Pharrell Williams.

After Rorsted took over as CEO in 2016, he launched a turnaround plan for Reebok, which helped it return to profitability, but its performance continued to lag that of the core Adidas brand and it was then hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reebok’s net sales fell 7% in the third quarter of 2020 to 403 million euros ($488 million), after falling as much as 44% the preceding quarter. In 2019, Adidas wrote down Reebok’s book value by nearly half, compared with 2018, to 842 million euros.

Options for Adidas include spinning Reebok off as a stand-alone public company, or selling the brand to private equity, another major sports retailer or a multibrand player like VF Corp.

Reebok’s recent collaborations with celebrities like Cardi B and a refreshed focus on women’s apparel have put the brand in a better place, analysts say.

Adidas said in November it was expecting a drop in overall sales for the end of 2020 as the reimposition of lockdowns in Europe offset a return to growth in China and strong demand for running gear and products designed by Beyonce.

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Fashion

At Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri Riffs on Ruffs, History

A model wears a creation as part of the Dior Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented Tuesday, March 4, 2025. in Paris. (AP)
A model wears a creation as part of the Dior Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented Tuesday, March 4, 2025. in Paris. (AP)
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At Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri Riffs on Ruffs, History

A model wears a creation as part of the Dior Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented Tuesday, March 4, 2025. in Paris. (AP)
A model wears a creation as part of the Dior Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented Tuesday, March 4, 2025. in Paris. (AP)

The past and present collided in a dreamlike spectacle at Dior’s fall 2025 show in Paris, where Maria Grazia Chiuri riffed on ruffs — both literally and literarily.

Inspired by Orlando, Virginia Woolf’s time-traveling protagonist, the ready-to-wear collection spun historical silhouettes into a vision of fluid, ever-evolving femininity. If this is indeed one of Chiuri’s last collections, as rumors suggest, she’s leaving on a high.

Jisoo chaos

Absolute mayhem erupted when Jisoo arrived. The K-pop megastar and Dior ambassador was mobbed the second she stepped into the Tuileries annex, setting off a full-blown fan riot.

Security scrambled, screams pierced the air, and for a moment the flashing cameras threatened to turn the fashion show into a concert. Inside, once the commotion settled, Natalie Portman, Elle Macpherson, and Isabelle Adjani took their seats, watching as giant volcanic rocks descended from the ceiling, transforming the venue into something raw, primal and unexpected.

Orlando meets pirates meets power dressing

Chiuri has always played with history but this season she made it more dynamic. The white shirt, one of her enduring signatures, reappeared, this time with dramatic, removable ruffs, an explicit nod to Orlando that gave wearers the power to shift between past and present.

From there, things took a more unexpected turn. Billowing pirate-style pantaloons, trailing lace scarves and severe ecclesiastical coats lined with tulle set a moody, gothic tone. Fur-like collars and exaggerated ruffs heightened the drama, while knee-high socks with leather shoes grounded the look in something tougher, more pragmatic.

The interplay of structure and fluidity was key. Black velvet ribbons tied with baroque pearls mimicked dematerialized crinolines, while intricate cut-out and appliqué embroidery clashed against sleek technical outerwear. Bustiers over masculine jackets continued Chiuri’s quiet rebellion against traditional power dressing and the tailcoat’s return added another element of historical play.

Then came the day’s biggest throwback: the "J’adore Dior" T-shirt, a Galliano-era relic, made its return — this time on a model who looked particularly miserable. Was this intentional artistic direction, a comment on nostalgia, or just an unfortunate accident? The jury’s out.

A feminist vision — with a touch of swagger

Chiuri’s feminism is nothing new but this season it felt sharper. From Diana the Huntress to Joan of Arc, she has always championed women who wield power on their own terms.

Here, she let the clothes do more of the talking — gender-bending silhouettes, the subtle subversion of historical formality, the tension between softness and structure.

Unlike past Dior creative directors — John Galliano’s theatrical excess, Raf Simons’s cerebral minimalism — Chiuri has never been one for shock value. But this collection had something more: flair and edge, a knowing wink to the past but with enough bite to feel modern.

The show’s staging felt like a primal act of creation. Smoke billowed from the ground, giant crystals jutted up from the floor and volcanic rocks loomed above, as if the entire scene was an ancient landscape caught mid-formation. It was a radical shift from the dreamy, overtly feminine backdrops often accompanying Chiuri’s collections — this felt raw, unsettled, even a little dangerous.

Inside the venue, the clothes weren’t the only topic of conversation. The real buzz was whether Chiuri was imminently exiting the LVMH-owned maison.

Meanwhile, fashion insiders were already looking ahead. It’s been called fashion’s worst-kept secret that Loewe’s Jonathan Anderson is set to take over, not just for women’s, but possibly for both men’s and women’s lines, an unprecedented move that could reshape Dior’s entire creative direction.