Adidas net profit increased 17 per cent in the first quarter. First quarter sales rose by a currency-adjusted four per cent. Operating margin rose 1.4 percentage points to 14.9 per cent. Profitability was helped by lower sourcing and marketing costs, favorable currency developments as well as selling more higher priced products and the expansion of online, with e-commerce sales up 40 per cent in the quarter. While sales in Europe fell three per cent in the quarter, they grew 16 per cent in China.

However, Adidas expects supply chain issues to curb sales growth in the first half of the year, particularly in North America, where it has doubled its business in the last three years. It expects sales growth of just three per cent or four per cent in the first half of the year, speeding up in the second half as it ramps up supplies by reallocating factory capacity and prioritizing the US market.

Adidas has benefited from the continued success of athleisure, which has remained a major force shaping clothing today. It’s technically a sports brand and not a fashion brand. But that hardly matters when sports and style have become inseparable and street wear is blending with high fashion.