Adidas replaces China unit’s CEO to revive sales

Adidas announced this week it has appointed a new chief executive for its business unit in China. It was reported that the change has been decided in an effort to bring back sales that it has lost recently in the Chinese market.

Adidas named Adrian Siu as the new CEO and he will be replacing Jason Thomas who has been assigned as the company’s managing director in Greater China in 2019. According to Reuters, before Siu’s promotion, he held various roles in the company’s offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Prior to this, he also led Cosmo Lady, a fashion label in China as its chief executive.

On the other hand, while he will no longer be the chief in Adidas China, Thomas will still remain with the company. As soon as he steps down, he will assume the role of the firm’s senior vice president of global franchise.

It was pointed out that the footwear and athletic apparel maker did not issue a reason for its move to change its chief. Other than improving the sales, Adidas will be providing more details about its decision on its upcoming full-year earnings report this week.

Adidas’ Greater China sales slid down 15% and to restore its usual high sales in the country, the replacement of its CEO is seen as one of its strategies to achieve this. There were various reasons for the declining sales in the Chinese land and the pandemic restrictions are one of them.

Moreover, the company was also hit with criticisms over the human rights violations

in Xinjiang. The consumers boycotted the brand which resulted in huge profit losses. Then again, amid the public backlash, Beijing already denied there were abuses against the Uyghurs.

The Financial Times reported that the change in management comes as Adidas and other multinational brands are grappling to balance their corporate commitment to respect human rights and ambition to boost sales in China.