Our business challenges
Sport is a universal language and the adidas Group is a global business: we have offices in more than 55 countries and 50 nationalities represented among our staff at the Group's Headquarters. We source products from more than 60 countries. In short, our brands are visible all over the world. Current developments that further increase our visibility are:
- Being organised around our best-known brands: adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade. We deliberately seek to raise the profile and reach of these brands.
- Global sports events such as the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Millions of people will watch these games. And adidas will be there as Official Sportswear Partner and kit provider to many National Olympic Committees.
- Working with an external supply chain. As the adidas Group has outsourced most of its production and sources from a multi-tiered supply chain, the way we manage our suppliers is under scrutiny. The social and environmental impacts of our sourcing strategy have drawn increased attention from various stakeholders.
Like any global business, the adidas Group must manage wide-ranging commercial and competitive pressure to deliver increased financial returns and growth. At the same time we are accountable for our employees and have a responsibility towards the workers in our suppliers' factories and also for the environment.
Within the global business landscape of the sporting goods industry, the adidas Group is continually confronted with a variety of challenges that arise from our commitment to striking the balance between shareholder interests and the needs and concerns of employees and workers and the environment, or in short in our aim to become a sustainable company.
In the following section we outline the key challenges we are facing and provide a brief overview about how we respond to them.
- adidas Group HQ, Herzogenaurach, Germany