The German athletic wear maker announced a healthy 12% net profit of €116 million ($181 million) Tuesday, but Reebok was no help. Reebok has become an albatross around Adidas' neck, dragging down earnings while not being able to make headway into the U.S. sneaker market.
The numbers speak for themselves. Reebok's backlogs -- the value of sales orders waiting to be filled -- fell 21% in the first half of the year. That lower number translated to slower Reebok sales, pushing a decline in Adidas' revenue in North America by 8% to €1.2 billion in the first half of 2008 compared to the same year-ago period. Of course, stiff competition from U.S. sneaker industry leader Nike and a slowing U.S. economy were also to blame.
But Barbara Smit, author of "The Sneaker Wars," captured Reebok's contribution to Adidas in a recent Forbes article: "So far, we haven't seen any results." And it looks like Adidas may have to continue waiting. - Gerald Magpily
See Dealscape: The path of the goal
See Dealscape: Adidas-Reebok deal challenges Nike
See Forbes article via MSNBC
It's been nearly three years since sports apparel and athletic footwear maker Adidas AG acquired U.S. sneaker maker Reebok International Ltd. to challenge U.S. giant Nike Inc. And so far, it seems Reebok has been a disappoinment. 
