Soaring online sales last year boosted overall revenues at the Irish arm of sportswear giant Adidas by 4 per cent to €37.7 million. Online sales accounted for €13.2 million of the total.
New accounts show that Adidas (Ireland) Lad show the online sales surge more than made up for an €11.8 million decrease in wholesale sales.
Higher costs resulted in the company’s pretax profits declining by 13.5 per cent to €764,000.
A note attached to the accounts said the 4 per cent increase in overall sales in 2020 was achieved after trading in the second half of the year “saw a strong recovery”.
The German-owned sportswear giant supplies jerseys to some of the best known soccer clubs in the world including Manchester Utd, Juventus, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Celtic and Arsenal.
The directors of the Irish arm are anticipating an increase in sales in 2021.
Positive drivers
They note “positive long-term industry drivers such as the increasing penetration of sports-inspired apparel and footwear amplified by the pandemic and digital channels are set to continue to grow”.
The company last year paid a final 2019 dividend of €600,000. No interim dividend was paid last year and the directors have not yet proposed a final ordinary dividend.
Adidas (Ireland) employs six staff in sales and marketing and staff costs last year totalled €341,000.
