The Chinese Adidas-Employees should “Millions of euros” from suppliers and advertising agencies The Financial Times reports that the company has accepted the offer, citing an anonymous letter allegedly written by employees of the company. A spokesman for the world’s second-largest sporting goods manufacturer confirmed on Sunday that it had received the anonymous letter, which “indicates possible violations of the code of conduct.”
Adidas is investigating the matter intensively, including with the help of external lawyers. The company takes compliance allegations very seriously and is committed to adhering to laws and ethical standards in all markets.
Kickbacks
According to the FT, the letter signed “Adidas China Employees” was also briefly visible on the Chinese social media platform “Xiaohongshu”. Several employees are named there, including a manager who is jointly responsible for Adidas’ 250 million euro marketing budget in China.
The employees mentioned had Refunds (kickbacks) from service providers they had hired. A second high-ranking employee in another division was accused of having received “millions in cash and benefits in kind such as real estate from suppliers.” The letter did not provide any evidence for the allegations, the report said. However, its authors appeared to be well informed about internal details at Adidas.
On the rising branch
Adidas is currently on the rise again in China. The company – like other Western textile manufacturers – had not only suffered from the consequences of the corona pandemic, but also from calls for a boycott because of Western criticism of the way the country treats the Uighur minority.
For the current year, Adidas expects to see a return to growth in what was once its largest and most lucrative market. double-digit growth rates,The company also attributes the upturn to the fact that the China subsidiary, under the leadership of country boss Adrian Siu, who was hired in 2022, has focused more on Chinese fashion tastes.