Adidas AG, the world's second-largest sporting-goods maker, expects soccer sales to exceed 1.3 billion euros ($1.8 billion) next year as fans purchase jerseys, balls and footwear tied to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Adidas aims to use the World Cup to raise its leading share of the global soccer market to more than the current 34 percent, Chief Executive Officer Herbert Hainer said at a press conference in the company's Herzogenaurach, Germany headquarters.
"We start from the same position as for the extremely successful 2006 World Cup," Hainer said. Adidas will supply the ball for the tournament, and will outfit officials, referees, volunteers and the South African national team, the CEO added.
In regions such as Germany and North America, the company's share of the soccer market is "clearly over 50 percent," Hainer said. The sporting-goods maker expects "double-digit" sales growth in World Cup host South Africa in coming years.