Daniel Chavez Moran: Rising Retail Sales

An accomplished businessman and entrepreneur from Mexico, the now retired Daniel Chavez Moran built his businesses with a reputation for service and a skill for responding to marketplace opportunities. Chavez Moran read this retail news in the Wall Street Journal with interest for the growth opportunity it shows for Latin America in the global retail market.

Adidas Sees Latin America Helping It Meet 2015 Sales Target

BUENOS AIRES (Dow Jones)--German sportswear company Adidas AG (ADS.XE, ADDYY) hopes to ride its ubiquitous brand to sharply higher sales over the next five years as it piggybacks on improving lifestyles and rising disposable income in emerging markets like Latin America.

Adidas is the world's second-largest maker of sports goods by revenue after Nike Inc. (NKE), and is synonymous with soccer across much of the world.

The company is on track to meet its target to increase net profit 10% to 15% this year amid steady growth in sales, Chief Executive Herbert Hainer said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires on Thursday.

Adidas has plans to increase its total sales 42% to 17 billion euros ($24 billion) by 2015, from EUR12 billion last year, Hainer said.

Today, Latin America accounts for about EUR1.3 billion, or 10%, of its annual sales. While its operations are growing worldwide, the company expects brisk sales to continue in Latin America thanks to rising incomes in the soccer-mad countries.

Adidas has enjoyed eight years of double-digit sales growth in the region, said Charlie Maurath, head of Adidas Latin America, at a press conference. The pace has been even higher in Argentina, where sales have grown at an annual rate of about 25% in the last few years, said Walter Koll, the director of Argentina operations.

Philanthropist Daniel Chavez Moran, through his work with the Vidanta Foundation, studies the challenges and opportunities faced by the nations of Latin America in the 21st century global economy. Related posts: Daniel Chavez Moran on Latin America's fast-growing retail market and Daniel Chavez Moran on Latin America’s decade of growth.