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Athletic apparel company Adidas has launched an investigation into allegations of compliance violations in China after receiving an anonymous letter earlier this month accusing local executives of embezzling millions of euros, according to news reports. Adidas confirmed it had received an anonymous June 7 letter indicating potential compliance violations in China, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported. The shoe and sportwear maker said it was investigating the matter together with external legal counsel, the news outlets reported. Chinese state media outlet Jiemian last week reported that an anonymous group of whistleblowers, who called themselves employees of Adidas China, had sent the letter containing the allegations to the company's German headquarters. The letter, which was published by Jiemian but also widely circulated on social media, accused senior executives and several staff members of embezzlement and receiving bribes from suppliers in the form of cash and real
German soccer and Adidas are breaking up. American sportswear giant Nike will supply all of Germany's national teams with its apparel and equipment from 2027, the German soccer federation (DFB) surprisingly announced Thursday. The new deal extends to 2034 and ends Germany's long-standing relationship with Adidas, which goes back some 70 years and had appeared unshakeable. Germany's men's team is using Adidas' headquarters in Herzogenaurach, near Nuremberg, as its team base for the European Championship, which Germany is hosting this summer. Adidas appeared to be surprised by the DFB's decision to switch to its biggest rival, only confirming in a brief statement: We were informed by the DFB today that the association will have a new supplier from 2027. German teams wore Adidas gear for all four of the men's World Cup titles, their three European titles, and the women's two World Cup and eight European titles. The DFB later defended its switch to the American kit supplier. We unde
Adidas believes it may have to write off the remaining 300 million euros (USD 320 million) worth of Yeezy shoes left unsold after it cut ties with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. The company said it will decide in the coming weeks whether or not to do a third release of the shoes next year to generate more donations to groups fighting antisemitism. The shoe and sports clothing company, which cut ties with Ye in October 2022 after he made antisemitic remarks online, has sold 750 million euros worth of the shoes in two stages earlier this year through Adidas smartphone apps and its website. Part of the profits went to groups like the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise and Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, run by social justice advocate Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd. The announcement from Adidas comes at a time of rising antisemitism and islamophobia after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. The company included the possible write-off of the ...