Adidas Won't Sell Reebok, Says CEO -- Report

   By Eyk Henning 
 

Adidas AG's (ADS.XE) chief executive said the German sportswear maker won't sell Reebok as its fitness brand has turned its fortunes around and is set to profit from future trends, according to an interview in German weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on Sunday.

Selling Reebok is "only theoretically possible if at all" because it is so integrated, Herbert Hainer said.

The Wall Street Journal reported in October that a consortium of investors from Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi launched a 1.7 billion euro ($1.9 billion) bid to buy Reebok from Adidas in a move that, if successful, would unwind an eight-year marriage of sneaker makers that has shown disappointing results.

Large shareholders have said privately that Adidas should at least consider such a transaction after the company warned on profit three times in 2013 and 2014, when some investors urged Mr. Hainer to step down.

"Everyone knows fitness is the ultimate trend, and Reebok is the right brand. So why should we dispose of it now," Mr. Hainer told the paper, adding that Reebok is now doing well.

Despite Reebok's return to profitability, Adidas is still struggling in the U.S., where it for the first time dropped to the No. 3 spot among sportswear brands.

Mr. Hainer on Sunday said Adidas is taking each competitor seriously but added, "We have seen a lot of brands that were hip for a short while and then disappeared."

Write to Eyk Henning at [e-mail]

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