Adidas's defining moves.
The defining strategic moves at Adidas — each one explained and grounded in the record.
The Moat Anatomy · Moat Anatomy
Adidas Survived Losing Yeezy. It Hasn't Survived What Yeezy Was Hiding.
When Adidas cut Kanye West in 2022 it lost a line that did €1.2 billion a year. It didn't write the inventory off — it sold it, and dodged a forecast €700 million loss. The real wound was never the cash. It was the decade Yeezy spent papering over a hollow core.
8 min
The Crisis Response · Crisis Response
Adidas Didn't Get Blindsided by Yeezy. It Watched the Risk for Four Years and Built No Hedge.
The story is that Ye blew up Adidas's business overnight. The real story: executives flagged the danger as early as 2018, built no inventory cushion, and then survived by selling €750 million of sneakers they owned but had no clean way to brand.
8 min
The Crisis Response · Crisis Response
Adidas Didn't Burn the Yeezys. It Spent Two Years Selling Them for Profit.
The Yeezy termination is sold as a 'values over profits' moment. The filings tell another story: 19 days under public pressure, then two years methodically selling ~€1.4B of the toxic inventory — and ~€300M in operating profit in 2023 alone.
8 min
The Moat Anatomy · Moat Anatomy
Adidas Just Beat Nike at Its Own Game. It Still Doesn't Have a Moat.
In 2024 Adidas grew revenue 12% currency-neutral while Nike crawled at 1%, and its global sportswear share climbed to 8.9% as Nike's slipped to 14.1%. But the engine driving the comeback is two reissued 1960s sneakers - and that's the same trap that just caught Nike.
8 min
The Turnaround · Decision Forks
Adidas Didn't Just Fix Itself. It Got Paid to Bury Its Worst Mistake.
Adidas went from a €58M loss in 2023 to €824M net income in 2024 - a real turnaround. But roughly €200M of the swing came from liquidating the Yeezy inventory it once feared writing off, and North America still shrank. The recovery is genuine. It is also unfinished.
8 min