German sports gear maker Adidas is looking to the Rio Olympics to take its sponsorship baton in a year when big sporting events have already boosted business significantly. Sales at the group's core brand leapt 25 percent in the second quarter thanks to events including the Euro 2016 football tournament.
Higher sales of items branded with the Bavarian firm's famous three stripes were "mostly due to two-digit increases in the important categories of running, football and training, as well as Adidas Originals and Adidas neo," two fashion branches, the firm said in a statement. The Olympic games would be a "broad window" for Adidas to show off its different brands and technologies, chief executive Herbert Hainer said from Rio in a conference call on Thursday. Adidas saw double-digit sales growth in several global markets in the second quarter, with a 32 percent gain in north America and 30 percent each in western Europe and China.