Adidas opens a new brand center, similar in size to a flagship store, in a shopping mall on Shanghai's Nanjing East Road on Wednesday. Photo: Xie Jun/GT

 
China is one of Adidas' three major strategic markets in the world, and Adidas is full of confidence in the future development of the consumer market, and Chinese market has always been friendly, Bjoern Gulden, CEO of Adidas said. 

The remarks were made in a group interview in Beijing on Sunday. Gulden said Adidas hopes to continue to increase investment in China and also invest more in China's sports industry.

In January this year, Gulden, a former football player, stepped up the position of global CEO of Adidas. This is his first visit to China after joining the sports company.

Data show that Adidas achieved global revenue of 5.343 billion euros ($5.7 billion) and operating profit of 176 million euros in the second quarter. 

As one of Adidas' most important strategic markets, Greater China region contributed revenue of 766 million euros in the second quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 16.4 percent, higher than expected.

China is the world's second largest economy. The Chinese market is very important to any global company, especially Adidas, which has been rooted in China for many years, he said. 

Bjoern Gulden, CEO of Adidas at the press conference in Beijing on September 16, 2023 Photo: Tu Lei/GT

From a global perspective, China is not only a market, but also a manufacturing and supply base for global products. A large number of Adidas shoes and clothing are produced by Chinese suppliers. "I am very happy that Adidas will always be in China," he said. 

"Given the global importance of the Chinese market, we will continue to invest in China, the scale of talent will expand, and we will invest in more stores and expand the size of some stores", he said. 

"I believe that China will become the world's largest sports market in the future, and we will also make investment plans based on this judgment," he said. 

Regarding China's investment environment, Gulden said that the Chinese government attaches great importance to sports. 

"Adidas' investment in China has always been supported and welcomed by the Chinese government. I believe that the Chinese market has always been friendly to us," he said. 

Chinese government continues to introduce measures to continue to optimize the development environment for foreign-funded enterprises. "We firmly believe that the Chinese market will maintain a positive and stable development trend and our company will also have a broader development future", he added.

According to a report released by the Development Research Center of the State Council during the 23rd  China International Fair for Investment and Trade, China has maintained its position as the world's second-largest recipient of foreign investment since 2017 and remains one of the most attractive investment destinations globally.