(Yicai) Oct. 16 -- Adidas’ Chief Executive Officer Bjoern Gulden said he is optimistic about the Chinese sports market and expects it to grow at a faster pace than the country’s gross domestic product in the coming years.

With this potential strong growth in mind, China’s government should consider further support for the sports industry, Gulden said in an interview with Yicai during the recent annual International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai, an advisory body established in 1989 to provide strategic counsel to the city’s leaders.

The central government has repeatedly issued top-level documents to position sports as a strategic growth areas, set industry development targets, and urged local governments to promote sports-related manufacturing, consumption, and events.

The domestic sports market grew at an average annual rate of 11.6 percent between 2021 and 2023, according to data released last month by the General Administration of Sport. By 2030, it could exceed CNY7 trillion (USD982.4 billion).

Adidas’ second-quarter revenue from China climbed 13 percent to EUR798 million (USD929.7 million) from a year earlier, growing for the ninth consecutive quarter, according to the German sportswear giant’s latest earnings report.

The country accounts for about 15 percent of the company’s revenue, Gulden said, adding that in his view no other market offers sustainable, long-term growth like China thanks mainly to its vast population. Europe’s sports market is already highly saturated, giving Adidas a further reason for investing in the Chinese market, he added.

Adidas has been present in China since the early 1990s. The company operates hundreds of stores across the country, selling a range of footwear, apparel, and accessories, and has been aggressively expanding into lower-tier cities.

About 95 percent of the products Adidas sells in China are manufactured there, and the Herzogenaurach-based company is increasingly creating original designs in the country too.

China's is a consumer market that will continue to grow, according to Gulden. It has a creative role as a hub for developing products for the domestic market, but also increasingly for the international market, he pointed out.

China is also a production hub for many markets, depending on tariffs and the political situation, Gulden said. “It’s still a market that is producing fantastic, high-quality products for a good price,” he noted.

Editor: Futura Costaglione