The Norwegian inherits Kasper Rorsted from competitor Adidas.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Munich Adidas confirms the appointment of Björn Gulden to the top of the board: The previous Puma boss will take over the office at the competitor in Herzogenaurach from January 1, 2023, the sporting goods manufacturer announced on Tuesday. The current Adidas boss Kasper Rorsted will resign on November 11th. CFO Harm Ohlmeyer will temporarily take over the management until Gulden takes office.
The Adidas share reacted on Tuesday afternoon with a jump in price of almost five percent, but shortly afterwards was only almost two percent up.
Gulden had announced his departure from Puma on Friday – in anticipation of the change to the competitor, the share had meanwhile gained almost 30 percent. As of January 1st, Arne Freundt will become the new Puma boss.
Adidas was in a deep crisis under Rorsted
Puma and Adidas have been rivals for decades. The founder brothers Adolf (Adidas) and Rudolf (Puma) Dassler were considered deeply at odds.
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For Gulden, the commitment to Adidas is a return. From 1992 to 1999 he was responsible for clothing and accessories. Gulden was also the German managing director of the shoe retailer Deichmann and chairman of the board of the Danish jewelery manufacturer Pandora as well as manager at the outdoor brand Helly Hansen.
At Adidas, a difficult task should now be waiting for the Norwegian. The second largest sporting goods company in the world is in a deep crisis. Still CEO Kasper Rorsted had to correct the forecasts for the current year downwards several times. Investors criticized an innovation deficit, employees a gruff management style. Rorsted acknowledged mistakes and announced his early departure.
Gulden stands for a completely different management style. He is considered very integrative. In addition, for the 57-year-old ex-football professional, sports retailers, for example, have priority as a sales channel, while Adidas under Rorsted placed much more emphasis on direct sales via its own online shop. Therefore, further changes in the Adidas management are expected under Gulden.
Puma has recently done much better than Adidas. In the third quarter just ended, the group increased its currency-adjusted sales by 17 percent to a record figure of 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.
More: Spectacular change: outgoing Puma boss Gulden is to lead Adidas