Reproduction of the Independent Auditor’s Report

Based on the results of our audit, we have issued the following unqualified audit opinion:

Independent Auditor’s Report

To adidas AG, Herzogenaurach

REPORT ON THE AUDIT OF THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND OF THE GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT

Opinions

We have audited the consolidated financial statements of adidas AG, Herzogenaurach, and its subsidiaries (hereinafter ‘adidas’ or the ‘Group’), which comprise the consolidated statement of financial position as of December 31, 2020, the consolidated income statement, the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the consolidated statement of changes in equity and the consolidated statement of cash flows for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2020, and notes to the consolidated financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. In addition, we have audited the combined management report ('group management report’) of adidas AG, Herzogenaurach, for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2020. In accordance with German legal requirements, we have not audited the content of those components of the group management report specified in the ‘Other Information’ section of our auditor’s report.

The group management report contains cross-references that are not required by law and which are marked as unaudited. In accordance with German legal requirements, we have not audited the cross-references and the information to which the cross-references refer.

In our opinion, on the basis of the knowledge obtained in the audit,

• the accompanying consolidated financial statements comply, in all material respects, with the IFRSs as adopted by the EU, and the additional requirements of German commercial law pursuant to Section 315e (1) HGB [Handelsgesetzbuch: German Commercial Code] and, in compliance with these requirements, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, and financial position of the Group as of December 31, 2020, and of its financial performance for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2020, and
• the accompanying group management report as a whole provides an appropriate view of the Group’s position. In all material respects, this group management report is consistent with the consolidated financial statements, complies with German legal requirements and appropriately presents the opportunities and risks of future development. Our opinion on the group management report does not cover the content of those components of the group management report specified in the ‘Other Information’ section of the auditor’s report. The group management report contains cross-references that are not required by law and which are marked as unaudited. Our audit opinion does not extend to the cross-references and the information to which the cross-references refer.

Pursuant to Section 322 (3) sentence 1 HGB, we declare that our audit has not led to any reservations relating to the legal compliance of the consolidated financial statements and of the group management report.

Basis for the opinions

We conducted our audit of the consolidated financial statements and of the group management report in accordance with Section 317 HGB and EU Audit Regulation No. 537/2014 (referred to subsequently as ‘EU Audit Regulation’) and in compliance with German Generally Accepted Standards for Financial Statement Audits promulgated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer [Institute of Public Auditors in Germany] (IDW). Our responsibilities under those requirements and principles are further described in the ‘Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements and of the Group Management Report’ section of our auditor’s report. We are independent of the group entities in accordance with the requirements of European law and German commercial and professional law, and we have fulfilled our other German professional responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. In addition, in accordance with Article 10 (2)(f) of the EU Audit Regulation, we declare that we have not provided non-audit services prohibited under Article 5 (1) of the EU Audit Regulation.

We believe that the evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinions on the consolidated financial statements and on the group management report.

Key audit matters in the audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the consolidated financial statements for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2020. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the consolidated financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.

Impairment testing of the Reebok brand

For the accounting policies used and the disclosures on the judgments applied by the Executive Board and sources of estimation uncertainties please refer to Note 2 and for the disclosures on the measurement of the Reebok brand please refer to Note 14 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

The financial statement risk

The Reebok brand was recognized as of December 31, 2020, in the amount of € 733 million.

The Reebok brand is to be tested for impairment at least once a year. To this end, the brand is allocated as a ‘corporate asset’ pursuant to IAS 36 to the cash-generating Reebok business units at the level of the markets and the value in use of these cash-generating units is compared with the carrying amount of these units. The valuation model used to determine the value in use is complex; the result of this valuation is heavily dependent on the estimate of future net cash flows (taking into account future revenue growth, profit margins, exchange rates and long-term growth rates) and the discount factor used, and is thus subject to considerable uncertainty.

There is the risk for the financial statements that any existing impairment of the Reebok brand as of the reporting date was not identified or that a required reversal of an impairment loss on the brand was not carried out.

Our audit approach

With the involvement of our valuation experts, we assessed the appropriateness of the key assumptions and calculation methods of the Company, among other things. For this purpose, we discussed the expected business and earnings development at the level of the cash-generating Reebok business units to which the brand as corporate asset is allocated and the assumed long-term growth rates with those responsible for planning. Furthermore, we carried out comparisons with other internally available forecasts, e.g. the budget planning for a period of five years prepared by the Executive Board. In addition, we evaluated the consistency of the growth rates used in the budget planning using external market assessments.

We also confirmed the accuracy of the Company’s previous forecasts by comparing the budgets of previous financial years with actual results and by analyzing deviations. Since even minor changes to the discount rate can have a material effect on the results of impairment testing, we compared the assumptions and data underlying the discount rate, in particular the risk-free rate, the market risk premium and the beta factor, with our own assumptions and publicly available data.

To ensure the computational accuracy of the valuation model used, we verified the Company’s calculations on the basis of selected risk-based elements.

In order to take forecast uncertainty into account, we examined the impact of potential changes in the discount rate, earnings performance and long-term growth rate on the value in use (sensitivity analysis) by calculating alternative scenarios and comparing these with the values stated by the Company. In addition, we verified the plausibility of the Company’s calculations with alternative valuation considerations and data.

Our observations

The calculation method used for impairment testing of the Reebok brand is appropriate and in line with the accounting policies to be applied. The assumptions and data used by the Executive Board are balanced overall.

Accurate recording and assessment of the covid-19-induced changes to leases in accordance with IFRS 16

For the accounting policies used, please refer to Note 2 and to the disclosures on the accounting of leases in Notes 1, 12, 21 and 39 in the notes to consolidated financial statements.

The financial statement risk

As of December 31, 2020, right-of-use assets of € 2,430 million and lease liabilities of € 2,722 million are recognized in the consolidated financial statements of adidas AG. Depreciation of right-of-use assets amounted to € 684 million in financial year 2020. Interest expenses totaled € 90 million.

Due to the impact of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and the resulting temporary closure of stores that are the subject of leases, adidas concluded changes to leases with numerous lessors, particularly in Q2 2020, which included changes to lease terms, changes to payment dates and/or the granting of subsidies by the lessor.

These agreements are treated by adidas as lease modifications within the meaning of IFRS 16 and thus trigger a remeasurement of the lease liability and by extension the right-of-use asset using the incremental borrowing rate of adidas, which is to be applied to the property in question at the date of the lease modification.

Due to the large number and various types of lease modifications, the Company has set up group-wide processes and controls to ensure the modified contract data are recorded properly and in compliance with the relevant standards.

There is the risk for the consolidated financial statements that the lease liabilities and right-of-use assets are not properly recorded and measured due to the lease modifications.

Our audit approach

In a first step, we obtained an understanding of the process for recording lease modifications with the adidas Group and assessed the accounting instruction for presenting lease modifications in accordance of IFRS 16.

We assessed the setup and appropriateness of the controls implemented within the adidas Group to ensure the proper determination and recording of the relevant data for measuring the lease liabilities and right-of-use assets in the case of lease modifications. Relevant data are the lease term, the amount and dates of the lease payments and the relevant incremental borrowing rate of adidas for the property in question as well as the subsidies granted by the lessors. Where IT systems were used to determine and collect the relevant data, we tested the effectiveness of the rules and procedures of the underlying accounting-related IT systems, with the involvement of our IT experts.

With the involvement of our valuation experts, we compared the assumptions and data underlying the incremental borrowing rates with our own assumptions and publicly available data. We also assessed the calculation model for the interest rate in terms of appropriateness.

Using a standard report (RECESH) in SAP RE/FX, we were presented with an overview of all lease modifications in financial year 2020. We checked the completeness and accuracy of this SAP report with the help of our IT specialists.

Furthermore, for certain lease modifications that were selected as part of a representative sample or on the basis of risk, we checked whether, based on the inspection of the selected leases, the classification as a ‘lease modification’ by the local adidas companies is appropriate and the relevant data for measuring the lease liability and the corresponding right-of-use asset were correctly determined and recorded.

With the help of our IT specialists, we satisfied ourselves that the lease modifications are properly measured in SAP RE/FX.

Our observations

The approach for the balance sheet presentation of lease modifications in accordance with IFRS 16 is appropriate and is in line with the accounting policies.

Other Information

The Executive Board or the Supervisory Board is responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the following components of the management report, whose content was not audited:

• the components of the integrated combined non-financial statement, which are marked as unaudited, and
• the corporate governance statement with the corporate governance report.

The other information also includes the remaining parts of the annual report.

The other information does not include the consolidated financial statements, the group management report information audited for content and our auditor’s report thereon.

Our opinions on the consolidated financial statements and on the group management report do not cover the other information, and consequently we do not express an opinion or any other form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in so doing, to consider whether the other information

• is materially inconsistent with the consolidated financial statements, with the group management report information audited for content or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or
• otherwise appears to be materially misstated.

In accordance with our engagement letter, we conducted a separate assurance engagement of the combined non-financial statement. Please refer to our assurance report dated February 24, 2021, for information on the nature, scope and findings of this assurance engagement.

Responsibilities of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board for the Consolidated Financial Statements and the Group Management Report

The Executive Board is responsible for the preparation of consolidated financial statements that comply, in all material respects, with IFRSs as adopted by the EU and the additional requirements of German commercial law pursuant to Section 315e (1) HGB and that the consolidated financial statements, in compliance with these requirements, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position, and financial performance of the Group. In addition, the Executive Board is responsible for such internal control as they have determined necessary to enable the preparation of consolidated financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the consolidated financial statements, the Executive Board is responsible for assessing the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern. It also has the responsibility for disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern. In addition, they are responsible for financial reporting based on the going concern basis of accounting unless there is an intention to liquidate the Group or to cease operations, or there is no realistic alternative but to do so.

Furthermore, the Executive Board is responsible for the preparation of a group management report that, as a whole, provides an appropriate view of the Group’s position and is, in all material respects, consistent with the consolidated financial statements, complies with German legal requirements, and appropriately presents the opportunities and risks of future development. In addition, the Executive Board is responsible for such arrangements and measures (systems) as it has considered necessary to enable the preparation of a group management report that is in accordance with the applicable German legal requirements, and to be able to provide sufficient appropriate evidence for the assertions in the group management report.

The Supervisory Board is responsible for overseeing the Group’s financial reporting process for the preparation of the consolidated financial statements and of the group management report.

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements and of the Group Management Report

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and whether the group management report as a whole provides an appropriate view of the Group’s position and, in all material respects, is consistent with the consolidated financial statements and the knowledge obtained in the audit, complies with the German legal requirements and appropriately presents the opportunities and risks of future development, as well as to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinions on the consolidated financial statements and on the group management report.

Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with Section 317 HGB and the EU Audit Regulation and in compliance with German Generally Accepted Standards for Financial Statement Audits promulgated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (IDW) will always detect a material misstatement. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these consolidated financial statements and this group management report.

We exercise professional judgement and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit. We also:

• Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements and of the group management report, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinions. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls.
• Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit of the consolidated financial statements and of arrangements and measures (systems) relevant to the audit of the group management report in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of these systems.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used by the Executive Board and the reasonableness of estimates made by the Executive Board and related disclosures.
• Conclude on the appropriateness of the Executive Board’s use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in the auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the consolidated financial statements and in the group management report or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our respective opinions. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the Group to cease to be able to continue as a going concern.
• Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the consolidated financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the consolidated financial statements present the underlying transactions and events in a manner that the consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and financial performance of the Group in compliance with IFRSs as adopted by the EU and the additional requirements of German commercial law pursuant to Section 315e (1) HGB.
• Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of the entities or business activities within the Group to express opinions on the consolidated financial statements and on the group management report. We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the group audit. We remain solely responsible for our opinions.
• Evaluate the consistency of the group management report with the consolidated financial statements, its conformity with [German] law, and the view of the Group’s position it provides.
• Perform audit procedures on the prospective information presented by the Executive Board in the group management report. On the basis of sufficient appropriate audit evidence we evaluate, in particular, the significant assumptions used by the Executive Board as a basis for the prospective information, and evaluate the proper derivation of the prospective information from these assumptions. We do not express a separate opinion on the prospective information and on the assumptions used as a basis. There is a substantial unavoidable risk that future events will differ materially from the prospective information.

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

We also provide those charged with governance with a statement that we have complied with the relevant etchical requirements regarding independence, and communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, related safeguards.

From the matters communicated with those charged with governance, we determine those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the consolidated financial statements of the current period and are therefore the key audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditor’s report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter.

OTHER LEGAL AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

Assurance Report in accordance with Section 317 (3b) HGB on the Electronic Reproduction of the Consolidated Financial Statements and the Group Management Report Prepared for Publication Purposes

We have performed an assurance engagement in accordance with Section 317 (3b) HGB to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the electronic reproduction of the consolidated financial statements and the group management report (hereinafter the ‘ESEF documents’) contained in the file that can be downloaded by the issuer from the electronic client portal with access protection ‘adidasAG-2020-12-31 (2).zip’ (SHA256-hash value: 713a5cf0ade 234ea77e9721a54d87c60db39fafb63a67cce7965af67680629fd) and prepared for publication purposes complies in all material respects with the requirements of Section 328 (1) HGB for the electronic reporting format (‘ESEF format’). In accordance with German legal requirements, this assurance engagement only extends to the conversion of the information contained in the consolidated financial statements and the group management report into the ESEF format and therefore relates neither to the information contained in this reproduction nor any other information contained in the above-mentioned electronic file.

In our opinion, the reproduction of the consolidated financial statements and the group management report contained in the above-mentioned electronic file and prepared for publication purposes complies in all material respects with the requirements of Section 328 (1) HGB for the electronic reporting format. We do not express any opinion on the information contained in this reproduction nor on any other information contained in the above-mentioned file beyond this reasonable assurance conclusion and our audit opinion on the accompanying consolidated financial statements and the accompanying group management report for the financial year from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, contained in the ‘Report on the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements and of the Group Management Report’ above.

We conducted our assessment of the reproduction of the consolidated financial statements and the group management report contained in the above-mentioned electronic file in accordance with Section 317 (3b) HGB and the Exposure Draft of the IDW Assurance Standard: Assurance in accordance with Section 317 (3b) HGB on the Electronic Reproduction of Financial Statements and Management Reports Prepared for Publication Purposes (ED IDW AsS 410). Accordingly, our responsibilities are further described below. Our audit firm has applied the IDW Standard on Quality Management 1: Requirements for Quality Management in Audit Firms (IDW QS 1).

The Company’s Executive Board is responsible for the preparation of the ESEF documents including the electronic reproduction of the consolidated financial statements and the group management report in accordance with Section 328 (1) sentence 4 item 1 HGB and for the tagging of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with Section 328 (1) sentence 4 item 2 HGB.

In addition, the Company’s Executive Board is responsible for the internal controls it considers necessary to enable the preparation of ESEF documents that are free from material non-compliance with the requirements of Section 328 (1) HGB for the electronic reporting format, whether due to fraud or error.

The Company’s Executive Board is also responsible for the submission of the ESEF documents together with the auditor’s report and the attached audited consolidated financial statements and audited group management report as well as other documents to be published to the operator of the German Federal Gazette [Bundesanzeiger].

The Supervisory Board is responsible for overseeing the preparation of the ESEF documents as part of the financial reporting process.

Our objective is to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the ESEF documents are free from material non-compliance with the requirements of Section 328 (1) HGB, whether due to fraud or error. We exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the assurance engagement. We also:

• Identify and assess the risks of material non-compliance with the requirements of Section 328 (1) HGB, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform assurance procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain assurance evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our assurance conclusion.
• Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the assessment of the ESEF documents in order to design assurance procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing a conclusion on the effectiveness of these controls.
• Evaluate the technical validity of the ESEF documents, i.e. whether the electronic file containing the ESEF documents meets the requirements of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/815 on the technical specification for this electronic file.
• Evaluate whether the ESEF documents enable an XHTML reproduction with content equivalent to the audited consolidated financial statements and the audited group management report.
• Evaluate whether tagging the ESEF documents with Inline XBRL technology (iXBRL) provides an appropriate and complete machine-readable XBRL copy of the XHTML reproduction.

Further information pursuant to article 10 of the EU Audit Regulation

We were elected as group auditor at the Annual General Meeting on August 11, 2020. We were engaged by the Supervisory Board on August 11, 2020. We have been the group auditor of adidas AG without interruption since financial year 1995.

We declare that the opinions expressed in this auditor’s report are consistent with the additional report to the audit committee pursuant to Article 11 of the EU Audit Regulation (long-form audit report).

German Public Auditor responsible for the engagement

The German Public Auditor responsible for the engagement is Haiko Schmidt.

Munich, February 25, 2021

KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft

Andrejewski
Wirtschaftsprüfer
[German Public Auditor]

Schmidt
Wirtschaftsprüfer
[German Public Auditor]