Dive Brief:
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German sportswear retailer Adidas has tapped Kasper Rorsted to replace Herbert Hainer as CEO in September.
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Rorsted, a Dane who just stepped down as CEO of German consumer goods giant Henkel, previously worked at Oracle, Compaq and Hewlett-Packard, according to Fortune.
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Shares of Adidas spiked on the news that Rorsted, who has overseen healthy growth at Henkel, would be replacing the embattled Hainer. The announcement is the end of a months-long search to fill the top shoes at Adidas.
Dive Insight:
Kasper Rorsted comes into Adidas with a challenge on his hands: Regaining market share lost to Under Armour, which surpassed Adidas in sportswear sales in the U.S. market in 2014.
Still, Adidas has hardly been sitting still under Hainer, gaining clout with college sports teams and fans even as it let go of its expensive NBA contract, which Nike subsequently scooped up.
In fact, there may be room to take market share back from Under Armour. The brand stumbled a bit last week under criticism that, despite its efforts and its swagger, it’s failing to appeal to women, widely seen as a strong and growing-stronger market niche.
Rorsted has a reputation for being a deal-making whiz and burnished his reputation as CEO of Henkel, which has seen growth triple during his tenure. Reacting to the news of his switch to Adidas, Henkel shares fell 4%, while Adidas shares rose sharply during Monday trading, Bloomberg reports.
