adidas Signs On as Official Sportswear for Bejing 2008

adidas-Salomon AG and the Beijing Olympic Organizers announced Monday that adidas has been selected as the Official Sportswear Partner for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The sponsorship agreement was signed at a ceremony in Beijing attended by 250 invited guests, including Olympic officials, Chinese Olympic athletes and media.

Under the agreement with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), adidas will supply sportswear for all the Beijing 2008 staff, volunteers and technical officials of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games as well as the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. adidas will also outfit the Chinese Olympic teams for the Turin 2006 Olympic Winter Games and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

“The Beijing Olympics are shaping up to be the biggest sporting event in Asia ever and we are proud and honored to be playing such a major role,” said adidas-Salomon CEO Herbert Hainer. “As our fastest growing market, China is tremendously important to adidas, and this agreement will be a powerful contributor to increasing our brand profile with consumers in that market. We are excited to continue our Olympic tradition and support the Chinese team at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in delivering outstanding performance in its home market.”

“As one of the major important sponsors, adidas has always paid enthusiastic attention and rendered active support to the development of China’s sports,” Wang Wei, Executive Vice-President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, said at the signing ceremony. “We are looking forward to the friendly and reciprocal co-operation with adidas,” Wang added.

The adidas-Salomon Group has been active in China for over 20 years and adidas is one of the leading sports brands in the Chinese market. In 2004, adidas-Salomon generated sales of well over € 100 million in China. Over the past year, the Group has focused on aggressively expanding its distribution network, which now covers more than 250 cities across China with approximately 1,300 adidas branded franchise stores. adidas-Salomon expects to generate more than € 1 billion of sales in China by 2010 and to double its business throughout Asia with the completion of the Olympics.