Adidas CEO Set to Depart – Stock Rallies on New Arrival

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By Jacob Maslow

Adidas (ETR:ADS)  CEO Herbert Hainer will step down 6 months ahead of schedule, the sports shoe manufacturer has announced.

Hainer will be replaced by Kasper Rorsted, who is currently CEO of huge German consumer products company Henkel AG (ETR:HEN), and who has also served stints at Oracle, HP, Compaq.

Investors have hailed the decisions as a positive step in the right direction. Adidas shares climbed over 5% in a single day on the news. Rorsted has been deemed a cult-like figure in some circles.

Henkel’s arrival signals a new chapter for Adidas, who have braved some severe storms in recent years including flatlining in Russia and the damaging of its brand by being associated with corrupt football governing body FIFA.

Adidas have been losing market share globally to US sports giant Nike, despite passing he 2 billion euro mark in Hong Kong and China recently.

As Hainer steps down, having served as the longest-reigning CEO on the DAX, can Kasper Rorsted turn it all around for Adidas and muscle back the top spot in sports apparel?

We’ll have to wait and see, but initial reactions suggest that investors are confident that whether or not he takes them to the top, things are looking up for Adidas as of August.

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