Markets and Sales Channels
We are a global brand with a local mindset. In addition to operating our sales channels, our market teams are empowered to provide the right product and activations, driven by their superior knowledge of the local consumer landscape. The majority of our consumers buy our products at the point-of-sale of our wholesale partners. We ensure that we are a collaborative and trusted partner for them. Moreover, we engage directly with our consumers through own retail stores and our e-commerce platforms.
Local empowerment
We empower our markets to choose their offering from our global product range, create product locally to complement our global range, work with relevant brand partners, and establish the business models they need to be successful. By doing so, we ensure proximity to emerging trends, take into account unique cultural differences, and reduce our time to market. While our headquarter organization in Herzogenaurach, Germany, provides the global framework for how our brand comes to life, our market organizations ensure local relevance. In this context, our home market Europe is managed out of Herzogenaurach, North America out of Portland, and Greater China out of Shanghai. We run Emerging Markets from Dubai, Latin America from Panama City, and Japan/South Korea from Tokyo and Seoul. In several of these regional hubs, we have invested into and operate local creation centers. SEE PRODUCT AND MARKETING
Regional headquarters and creation centers
Global reach
From a net sales perspective, in 2024, Europe – our home market – had the highest share of business at 32% (2023: 30%), followed by North America at 22% (2023: 25%), and Greater China at 15% (2023: 15%). Emerging Markets represented 14% (2023: 13%), complemented by Latin America at 12% (2023: 11%) and Japan/South Korea at 6% (2023: 6%). SEE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE BY SEGMENT
Net sales share by market
Sales channels
Our guiding principle is to meet our consumers where they are. Given the strong relevance of multi-brand distribution in several markets and categories globally, wholesale remained our largest channel, accounting for 60% of total net sales in 2024 (2023: 59%). The share of direct-to-consumer (DTC) business, consisting of own retail and e-commerce sales, was 40% in 2024 (2023: 41%).
Net sales share by channel
Wholesale
We focus on being a trusted service partner to our retail partners. Through speed, flexibility, strategic foresight, and the right attitude, we successfully leveraged the elevated interest in our brand and products to regain shelf space. At the same time, we are closely managing demand and vigilantly track customer sell-out and inventory levels. Our priority remains to build the right assortments for each key account and ensure that we have a more focused sell-in and better in-store presentation. We continue to invest in future growth with our partners through branded space initiatives and customer-exclusive products that have a positive impact on our business. In addition, we are building on the positive feedback and strengthening the direct dialogue with our partners through dedicated partner camps at our various hubs around the world. We unlock additional sales opportunities by sharing and scaling these best practices across all of our markets.
Own retail
Our own retail stores allow our consumers to directly interact with our brand, product, teams, and communities. They can touch and try on our products, feel inspired by our stories, and experience what we stand for as a brand. We continued to invest into a premium physical brand presence with digital elements and an environment that satisfies a wide variety of our consumers’ needs in strategic locations.
In 2024, the total number of stores was 1,933 (2023: 1,863), comprising of 838 concept stores (2023: 832) and 1,095 factory outlets (2023: 1,031). Our fleet of concept stores – including flagship stores, brand centers, and concession corners – focuses on offering premium experiences, while factory outlet stores are targeted at the value-seeking consumer.
We continued to elevate our presence in strategic locations through additional stores and remodels during 2024. For example, we opened our new Champs-Elysées flagship store right in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024, and the first sneaker store in the culturally relevant Bukchon neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea. In Saudi Arabia and Dubai, we invested in dedicated women’s stores to mirror the changing consumer landscape in these countries. Our store fleet is also complemented by local pop-ups, where we leverage our influencers and athletes to promote products. Ultimately, we will keep investing into our physical retail fleet as it represents an essential part of building our brand heat.
Number of stores by format
E-commerce
We redefined the role of e-commerce within our sales channel mix and successfully focused on improving full-price sales and reducing promotional activity. In addition, our adiClub membership program brings unique experiences such as raffles, ‘money-can’t-buy’ products, vouchers, and partner offers to our members. Accumulated points can be used across all our digital and retail touchpoints, creating a seamless consumer experience. Our award-winning running app keeps millions of consumers active, motivates them by earning adiClub points, provides personalized fitness plans, and brings global brand moments to life. The ‘Confirmed’ app – our digital boutique and premium touchpoint for sneakerheads, streetwear, fashion, and style enthusiasts – continued to thrive through collaborations with high-fashion brands and pioneers such as Wales Bonner, Bad Bunny, and Edison Chen. The app delivers coveted and premium products to our consumers, offering best-in-class experiences and further solidifies our status as a trendsetter in the global lifestyle world.