Adidas sales collapse in China amid coronavirus outbreak

Adidas has mentioned a collapse in sales in China as a result of the coronavirus outbreak and warned disruption changed into spreading to other markets.

Adidas said its first-quarter sales might be down via as a whole lot as €1bn (£870m) in greater China and about €100m in Japan and South Korea. The slump would lead to a €400m-€500m hit to operating profit, it said.

The German sportswear companies ring upr almost a third of their sales in Asia and rely on factories in the region to make trainers and T-shirts.

Sporting events around the world have been cancelled, postponed or played without spectators, with questions being raised about the viability of the forthcoming Olympic Games in Japan and the Euro 2020 football championship.

The Adidas chief executive, Kasper Rorsted, said if both events were postponed it would mean a €70m hit to sales.

Shares in the market leader, Nike, which also warned last month of an impact from the virus, were down 3%. A Jefferies analyst, James Grzinic, said: “The virus hit looks worse than feared.”