The Norwegian inherits Kasper Rorsted from competitor Adidas.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Munich The direct change from Puma boss Björn Gulden to the crisis-ridden competitor Adidas is perfect. The Norwegian will take over as CEO on January 1, 2023, as the world’s second largest sporting goods company announced on Tuesday. “Björn Gulden has almost 30 years of experience in the sporting goods and shoe industry,” said Thomas Rabe, Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The 57-year-old could lead the company “into a new era of strength”.
Investors have high hopes for the new Adidas boss. Last week, when the negotiations became known, the share price had risen by 30 percent at times. When the change was perfect, the course rose again by five percent to 120 euros on Tuesday, and then gave back part of the profits.
Gulden lets his contract expire at the end of the year. He succeeds Kasper Rorsted, who is resigning from office this Friday. CFO Harm Ohlmeyer will temporarily take over the management until Gulden takes office. As of January 1st, Arne Freundt will become the new Puma boss.
Adidas probably does not pay a “transfer fee” for guilders
Switching directly to a competitor is unusual, even after the contract has ended. Puma and Adidas have been rivals for decades. The founding brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler were considered deeply at odds. According to industry circles, however, Gulden’s contract should not contain a post-contractual non-competition clause, which is often the case. Accordingly, Adidas does not pay any “transfer fee” to its smaller competitors.
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The Norwegian guilder is considered open and authentic. He has done a lot to ensure that there is a real family feeling at Puma, said a manager of the company. So many would miss him. But Freundt, who is also collegial and a good listener, stands for continuity.
The Supervisory Board is firmly convinced that Björn Gulden will lead Adidas into a new era of strength and looks forward to a successful cooperation. Thomas Rabe, Chairman of the Adidas Supervisory Board
At Adidas, the expectations are now high. Rorsted had to correct the forecasts for the current year downwards several times. In China, there is a drop in sales due to a boycott of western brands, the corona restrictions and homemade mistakes. In addition, investors and insiders had complained that there was an innovation deficit.
“Gulden’s most important task is to bring the brand back to its former strengths,” according to company circles. The most important thing for this are new products, but also marketing. “Gulden has succeeded in all of this at Puma.”
Puma recently grew faster than competitor Adidas
The global number three had recently grown significantly faster than Adidas. In the past third quarter, for example, the group increased currency-adjusted sales by 17 percent to a record 2.35 billion euros. At Adidas, on the other hand, sales rose weaker than expected, mainly because of the problems in China, by only four percent to 6.4 billion euros. Puma was in better shape last year too.
According to estimates in business circles, it is an advantage that Gulden knows both the industry and the company well. After his career as a professional soccer player in Norway and at 1. FC Nürnberg, he had already worked as a manager at Adidas at the beginning of his career. From 1992 to 1999 he was responsible for clothing and accessories. He later worked for the shoe retailer Deichmann, the outdoor brand Helly Hansen and the Danish jewelery manufacturer Pandora.
In industry circles it is now expected that there could be further management changes at Adidas. “A new CEO always forms his own team,” said an insider. According to a personnel consultant, possible shaky candidates could be brand director Brian Grevy and Martin Shankland (Global Operations). However, Gulden will first form his own opinion.
Gulden should also stand for a cultural change. Former Adidas managers had accused Rorsted of a rough management style. There could also be operational corrections. For example, Rorsted had placed great emphasis on expanding its own Internet sales.
At Puma, on the other hand, Gulden emphasized again and again that the specialist dealers are his top priority. Therefore, the brand has recently been extremely popular with them. “Puma used a field that Adidas and Nike opened up,” says an industry insider. At Adidas, Gulden could now combine the good online infrastructure with a closer relationship with retailers.
More: Spectacular change: outgoing Puma boss Gulden is to lead Adidas