Sportswear designer Adidas to open outlet in Uganda

A ball, one of Adidas Group products on the global market.

What you need to know:

Operations in Africa. Adidas has outlets in Egypt, Algeria and South Africa.

Kampala. One of the world’s largest manufacturers, retailers and brands of sportswear, Adidas, is set to open a retail outlet in Uganda, Daily Monitor has learnt.
In an email response to Daily Monitor, Adidas confirmed that they will be opening the outlet through a franchise partner yet to be named.

“I can confirm the opening of an Adidas store in Uganda in 2017. The store will be operated by one of our franchise partners,” Ms Schreiber Katja, the senior director corporate communications at the Adidas Group, said in an email.
In Africa, Adidas has outlets in Egypt, Algeria and South Africa.
Katja did not disclose the exact reason for opening an outlet in Kampala insisting that more will be given closer to the launch date.
“We are excited about getting closer to our consumers in Uganda and being able to offer our products in this market,” she noted.

The entry, according to Knight Frank Uganda, had been expected at the start of this year, but Adidas pushed it forward.
In the 2015 third and fourth quarter report by Knight Frank released recently, the entry of Adidas is expected to boost Uganda’s retail sector considering the increased number of shopping malls in Kampala.
The report further revealed that the retail segment – shopping malls - had been “heavily pushed by increased consumer spending and aspirational shoppers” despite the depreciation of the Uganda Shilling.

“There are more commercial and retail developments which should be ready by the second and third quarters, 2017, pointing to buoyant investor confidence for growth in the mid and long term for the commercial sector and projected demand driven by the growing middle class population for the retail sector,” reads the Knight Frank report for 2015 third and fourth quarter.
Overview
The Adidas Group is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany and has brands such as Adidas, Reebok and Taylor Made under its name.
In 2015, the company posted an impressive net profit of $714m (Shs2.4 trillion) with all subsidiaries achieving targets.

Employment
Adidas employs more than 53,730 people in over 160 countries, and produces more than 660 million product units every year with sales amounting to €14.5b (Shs54.6 trillion) 2014 figures. Their multi-brand strategy enables them to tackle opportunities from several perspectives providing relevant products.