Adidas CEO calls for second referendum on Brexit

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 23, 2019

Kasper Rorsted, the CEO of German sportswear brand Adidas, has urged British lawmakers to consider a second referendum on Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, as he warned of the impact on the European economy.

Rosted, who this week said Brexit is “the most stupid economic decision for a long time”, admitted that it could have a significant effect on the company’s financial performance in Europe, where it generates nearly a third of its business.

In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, he said that the firm’s "biggest concern is really the European impact of a potential Brexit because it's very often discussed as an isolated event, but it will have an overall impact on the European economy.

"Europe is about 30 percent of our business,” he added.

In fact, western Europe is Adidas’ main market, however sales in this region showed signs of a slowdown last year. The firm said its pricing strategy had been “a little too ambitious” for a mature market like Europe, and vowed to become more competitive on select items.

Despite the European decline, the company is expecting 2019 to be “a good year”, supported by the growing health and fitness trend. “Sales and profits will grow and we want to gain market share”, he told Süddeutsche Zeitung on Tuesday.