The Man Utd Effect? Adidas Announce Record-Breaking Football Sales in 2015

Adidas today announced that they had the most successful year ever in 2015 with football sales record of over EUR 2.2 billion. However, while Adidas not only announced that they had the best ever year in the football category, the German brand also revealed what are their plans in the important category.

Adidas Announce Record-Breaking Football Sales in 2015

Bastian Schweinsteiger shows off Man Utd's 15-16 Home Kit.

We've extracted the most important parts regarding the football category from the Adidas Group Annual Report 2015. First, a statement of Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer about Adidas Football in 2015. Second, a look ahead in the future.

Herbert Hainer: "Another prime example of our consumer-obsessed mindset is our football category: 2015 saw a full reset of our football footwear business with the launch of Ace and X. These new football silos successfully replaced our iconic franchises f50, Predator, 11Pro and Nitrocharge. Focusing on the specific needs of two different types of football consumers was a bold decision that came with some risk. But it proved to be right, as evidenced by the double-digit increase in football footwear revenues last year. In addition, we saw a strong presence of our new cleats in the world's top five football leagues, with almost 40% of players wearing 3-Stripes. All of this drove significant market share gains during the course of the year, particularly in Western Europe. This alone is great news. But even more importantly, it also confirms that Creating the New helps us win in this tough battlefield."

To lead in the sporting goods industry, we believe it is a must to lead in the world's most popular sport, football. As such, adidas aspires to be the number one football brand in every market by 2020. This will be driven by focusing on winning the football creator in key cities as well as increasing investment in the brand's football footwear franchises on and off the field of play. In 2015, adidas began a full reset of its football footwear business with the launch of the Ace and X franchises.

Do you also think that Adidas can again increase their sales in the football category in 2016, especially with the Euro 2016 and 2016 Copa America around the corner? Let us know in the comments below.