German sportswear maker Adidas has apologized to landowners for not paying rent for stores around the world forced to close by COVID-19 lockdowns. The brand needs credit even after staff cut their working hours, executives waived part of their pay and the company stopped share buybacks.

Many retailers around the world have been seeking to defer rent payments as they look to ride out the coronavirus shutdown, passing on the financial pressure to their landlords.

The brands plans to suspend a €1 billion ($1.09 billion) share buyback it had planned for this year as a way to conserve cash after closing its retail outlets in Europe and North America.

Adidas AG is a multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world, after Nike. It is the holding company for the Adidas Group which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, 8.33% of the German football club Bayern Munich, and Runtastic, an Austrian fitness technology company. Adidas' revenue for 2018 was listed at €21.915 billion.