German sportswear maker Adidas on Tuesday said higher U.S. import tariffs and broader uncertainty around trade were clouding its forecasts and making it difficult to plan.
CEO Bjorn Gulden said the company would have hiked its revenue and profit guidance for 2025 after strong first-quarter results, but tariff uncertainty meant it decided to hold back.
Adidas expects the blanket increase in U.S. tariffs to eventually cause price increases across all its products, but said it was currently impossible to quantify those or to establish the likely impact on U.S. consumer demand, highlighting the paralysis caused by trade uncertainty.
Adidas has already reduced exports of China-made goods to the U.S. to a minimum but is still "somewhat exposed" to much higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, Gulden said, though it is unclear how long those might remain at the current level.
"Given the uncertainty around the negotiations between the U.S. and the different exporting countries, we do not know what the final tariffs will be. Therefore, we cannot make any 'final' decisions on what to do," Gulden said.
Unexpectedly high U.S. tariffs on Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia, announced at the start of this month, but paused until July, blindsided sportswear brands, which make most of their sneakers and clothing there.
As tariffs raise the cost of doing business, Adidas said it would strive to ensure U.S. retail partners and consumers get product "at the best possible price", adding it would try to compensate for uncertainty in the U.S. by boosting its performance in the rest of the world.
First-quarter sales rose 14% in Europe and 13% in Greater China, and were up 26% in Latin America. Sales in North America increased just 3%, which Adidas said was due to the phase-out of its Yeezy sneaker line.
While sticking to its full-year guidance, Adidas said uncertainties "could put negative pressure on this later in the year". - Reuters
