Adidas steps up efforts to get rid of last Russian stores

German sportswear brand Adidas has said that it is still in the process of eliminating around 100 stores in Russia as part of a full wind-down of its business in the country.

Adidas is one of hundreds of recognisable brands which have stopped, or are in the process of stopping, doing business in Russia following the country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Adidas in October said that it would permanently halt business in Russia, having closed all its stores and suspended all online sales in March.

Speaking to reporters, Adidas chief executive officer Bjorn Gulden provided an update, saying: "We have about 100 stores that are not operational, and of course they have been offered on the market. There is no timeline for that but right now we are paying the lease, so the earlier it happens the better.”

A spokesperson later added that Adidas does not own any of the remaining stores in the country, and that the company is working on sub-leasing them or finding new tenants.

As a result of its immediate exit from Russia, Adidas booked impairment losses of €94 million.

Elsewhere the company has pledged to donate €110 million to charities combating racism and antisemitism after selling off its remaining stock of Yeezy shoes. The company tore up its highly profitable partnership with rapper Kanye West – now known as Ye – after making a series of inflammatory antisemitic remarks and cozying up with known fascists. Adidas said that the first sale of its outstanding Yeezy stock generated €400 million in revenue and €150 million in operating profit.

The company will sell off a second batch of Yeezy shoes later in August.

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


The Very Group
The Very Group transformed range and assortment planning using Board.

Watch the full video

Smarter merchandise planning across the retail value chain
In this webinar, Matt Hopkins, Head of Retail Solutions, Board, Catherine Tooke, SVP Product & Planning, Sweaty Betty, and Subir Gupta, Managing Principal, Thought Provoking Consulting join Retail Systems Editor Jonathan Easton to discuss the findings of the recent Retail Systems report The Merchandise Planning Challenge: How are retailers harnessing technology to optimise planning and retain customers? and examine the innovations that are improving retail planning.

Advertisement