Adidas’ president of North America is leaving the company at the end of the month to pursue other opportunities, the company confirmed to Retail Dive.
Rupert Campbell has been with Adidas for more than a decade, and the search for a successor has begun. Arthur Hoeld, who is already responsible for global sales at Adidas, will take over Campbell’s responsibilities until a replacement is found.
“We thank Rupert for his contributions to the success of adidas over the last 11 years and wish him the very best for all his future endeavors,” the company said in a statement.
North America is Adidas’ second largest region behind Europe. In 2022, North America accounted for 6.4 billion euros ($6.7 billion using the company provided average exchange rate for 2022) out of Adidas’ total net sales of nearly 23 billion euros. It is also the region where Adidas has fallen most behind its rival Nike. Nike made nearly three times more than Adidas in North America last year. The $12 billion gap between the two in that region makes up more than half of the total revenue difference between Nike and Adidas.
Adidas’ financial outlook has improved over the course of the year, with the retailer in March projecting its first annual loss in three decades and slowly chipping away at that number as it sells excess Yeezy inventory. In July, the retailer raised its guidance after its first drop of Yeezy inventory, slashing about 250 million euros from its estimated operating loss. The retailer has since noted it would continue to sell excess inventory from the defunct partnership with Ye, also known as Kanye West, but is not making assumptions about how well it will sell.
In Adidas’ most recent quarter, North America sales were down 16% in currency-neutral terms, but Adidas executives said on a call with analysts that they would be down 20% without the sale of Yeezy inventory.
“The needs in China might be different to those in Germany or in North America. This local focus of giving the consumer what they want has to be top of mind,” CEO Bjørn Gulden said in the company’s 2022 annual report. “Saying that, as our home market, we should be [the] market leader in Europe. We also know that if you’re not successful in North America, you’re not really a global brand.”
