Dialogue with Eric CHIU: From "In China, for China" to "Love China", What's Adidas' Next Big Thing
"True localization means making the brand a part of the user's life narrative."
How long does it take to get out of the trough? Adidas' answer is: three years.
In the past quarter, Adidas achieved "ten consecutive quarters of growth" in the Chinese market. Its single - quarter revenue reached 947 million euros, a year - on - year increase of 10%. Xia Jiale, the managing director of Adidas Greater China, attributed this continuous recovery to the solid implementation of the "In China, for China" strategy. Among the products sold by Adidas in China, the proportion of locally produced products has approached 95%, and the proportion of Chinese - designed products has increased to 60% - this has already achieved the goal set by global CEO Bjørn Gulden ahead of schedule.
What does it mean to be truly "in China", and how can a brand be truly "for China"? For any global brand aiming at the Chinese market, this is an ultimate proposition related to survival and development.
"Three years ago, we proposed 'In China, for China'; three years later, today, we still say - 'Love China'." This one - character change from "for" to "love" is Adidas' answer to the above - mentioned proposition. Compared with the conversation a year ago, Xia Jiale's tone is a bit more relaxed and more determined.
From the popularity of new - style Chinese Tang suits at the beginning of the year, to the emergence of racing aesthetics, the opening of the global flagship store of Adidas Originals on Anfu Road, and the successful finale of the 20th - anniversary show of the Shanghai Creative Center (CCS) at the end of the year at Shanghai Fashion Week, Adidas achieved many breakthroughs in the past year. "We have made great progress compared with three years ago," Xia Jiale is more ambitious about the future. "I also hope that through our efforts, our team will become a better company in three years."
Xia Jiale, Managing Director of Adidas Greater China
From 95% local manufacturing
To "100% local resonance"
Not long ago, a Douyin post unexpectedly went viral. A netizen shared a picture of the "three stripes" formed by the accidental projection of light and shadow on the ground, which made it onto the hot search. Netizens followed and posted pictures of the three stripes they found in their daily lives, expressing their love and affection for the brand. The comment section was like a "three - stripe" universe.
This is what Xia Jiale hopes to see. That is, brand localization is not just about factory cooperation and store openings at the physical level, but also about emotional connection with consumers. "True localization means making the brand a part of the user's life narrative," he emphasized. "Compared with numbers, we hope to achieve 100% emotional resonance with consumers."
The mature local supply chain provides a solid foundation for this strategy. Xia Jiale said bluntly: "It is a lucky thing for any brand to cooperate with Chinese factories." These factories not only have the ability to quickly respond to market changes but also reach international standards in process innovation and quality control. According to Gulden, among the categories made and designed in China, clothing accounts for the highest proportion, and there is still room for improvement in footwear. It can be speculated that Adidas further strengthened the localization process of clothing products in the past year.
Among them, the CCS (Shanghai Creative Center) has become a key driving force. From the flower - bud skirts, Tang - suit jackets to the new - style Chinese low - heeled shoes with lucky bamboo patterns, CCS has successively created many popular products that have broken through the circle, and their influence even radiates overseas. However, these products were not perfect when they were first launched. Patrick Wu, the senior vice - president of product in Greater China, once took the first - generation FOS series and pet products as examples to tell how CCS continuously iterates based on consumer feedback. In Xia Jiale's view, this is a manifestation of Adidas' in - depth integration into the local market: co - creating products with local users instead of having the design center far away from the market work in isolation.
"What consumers value today is not the perfection of the product, but whether the brand is willing to listen to their voices and continuously optimize on this basis," Xia Jiale said. "This interactive relationship is based on long - term trust and needs to be consolidated through every product and every communication."
Only the products created through such "two - way" communication can burst out with long - lasting vitality. That's why the young people strolling on Anfu Road in Adidas clothes can wear the retro sportswear jackets and the distressed Gazelle shoes in their own style. "It seems that the three stripes are everywhere, but everyone seems to wear them differently." Because fashion is never about the clothes themselves, but about the people.
This local - rooted creativity is continuously translated into strong market feedback. More than 80% of the creative products unveiled at the 20th - anniversary show of CCS at this Shanghai Fashion Week will be launched on the market one after another, turning into real commercial achievements. Looking forward to the 2026 World Cup year, Adidas plans to launch more fashion products inspired by football culture - this will be another important moment for CCS to show its strength.
Use new logic to do the sports industry
Traditional sports marketing often bets heavily on top - level events and athletes. However, in the era of "daily sports", this logic is being re - examined. Gulden once said bluntly that competitors spend 100 million euros annually to sponsor football teams, "which is beyond my business understanding." He believes that the real value of the sports market comes from every ordinary person's pursuit of a healthy lifestyle.
Xia Jiale also observed that more and more consumers no longer regard sports as a "task" or "competition" but actively seek and enjoy the fun in it. "More and more people actively seek and enjoy the fun of sports, which coincides with Adidas' brand proposition 'YOU GOT THIS' launched last year - we encourage everyone to relieve stress and enjoy sports itself."
The rise of the female sports market particularly confirms this trend. Traditional marketing often revolves around women's sports events. However, relying solely on sports itself to attract female customers has limitations because the proportion of women watching sports events is generally lower than that of men. For female consumers, in addition to product performance, they expect the brand to tell new, diverse and resonant stories, and convey lifestyle and emotional connection.
For this reason, Adidas turned its attention to the hip - hop dance field, where there are more female participants. "We hope to turn dance into a collective record of happiness, allowing more girls to gather under the symbol of the three stripes and feel the freedom and energy brought by sports."
In September this year, Adidas sponsored the first Shanghai Sports Festival and fully supported the national top - level college girls' hip - hop dance competition; in November, Adidas Originals announced the signing of six outstanding Chinese hip - hop dancers. The annual "Les Mills Festival" jointly held by the brand and Les Mills has also developed into a core IP in the young female sports community.
Beth Goldstein, the executive director of the consumer behavior tracking service agency Circana and an analyst in the footwear and accessories industry, summarized the current sports market like this: "When we consider both performance and lifestyle, this is undoubtedly the most potential market at present."
This insight is confirmed by Adidas' market performance in the past year. The Terrace series of retro sports shoes represented by Samba and Gazelle, with their classic design and excellent wearability, achieved rapid growth every season and reached the peak of sales in the third quarter, becoming iconic products connecting sports and trendy culture; the ADIZERO 0 series of racing running shoes won 51% of the championships in the world's top 50 track - and - field and road - running events in 2024. The ADIZERO EVO SL, the representative of the racing aesthetics of this series, has also become the best - selling shoe model in all Adidas channels. In addition, the taekwondo shoes, which Xia Jiale introduced to us last year as having "fashion potential", have also successfully broken through the circle and can be seen on the feet of many fashion KOLs, moving from the training ground to the urban streets.
As Xia Jiale said, "Born on the sports field, shining on the catwalk, and popular on the streets" is not only a summary of the product life cycle but also Adidas' understanding of the current sports industry - the brand needs to spare no effort to pursue top - level technology and competitive performance, and also think about how to integrate these professional genes into consumers' daily lives, making them carriers for expressing their self - style and life attitude. These two aspects are not a matter of choice but are complementary and indispensable.
Based on this, Adidas is actively expanding the boundaries of "sports". In the relatively niche markets such as hiking and skiing, Adidas is actively deploying, seizing the opportunity through cooperation with athletes, event federations and KOLs.
The financial report shows that Adidas' operating expenses were below 30% for the first time since 2021, and the gross profit margin has always been stable above 51%, indicating that the products have begun to achieve organic growth, and the marginal effect of the dailyization of sports products has begun to gradually appear.
After three years
To become a "better company"
The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago; the second - best time is now. Currently, the "Adidas University Sports Community" jointly initiated by Adidas and 12 well - known universities such as Tsinghua University, Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University represents that Adidas has set its sights on China five or even ten years later.
It is understood that Adidas will provide comprehensive support from equipment, training to technology for university teams. The customized platform LOCKER ROOM, which was launched in June this year, will also be launched as part of the team - uniform customization business. Relying on the flexible supply - chain upgrade plan (ReAct plan), users can get customized products in a short time with a very small minimum order quantity.
This win - win cooperation model has achieved initial results. As the earliest university to cooperate with Adidas, the Tsinghua University men's football team won the championship of the 2025 World Famous Universities Football Tournament for the first time after going to Germany for exchanges and training. From 2023 to the spring semester of 2025, the Adidas China University Road Running League has carried out more than 9,300 campus running activities in 40 universities across the country, with more than 30,000 participating students and a cumulative participation of more than 400,000 person - times.
"The establishment of the University Sports Community is a manifestation of Adidas' confidence in the development of the Chinese market and a solemn commitment to this market," Xia Jiale said. "We hope that through this initiative, we can not only drive the sports brand but also inspire more industries and enterprises to jointly pay attention to and support the youth sports cause in China. We foresee that more brands will increase their investment in campus sports in the future - this will be a positive signal to promote the high - quality development of Chinese sports."
Adidas is optimistic about the future of Chinese sports