Adidas to expand Vietnam production: CEO

German sportswear giant Adidas has plans for production expansion in Vietnam with higher ratios of local materials used, CEO Kasper Rorsted said Monday.

Rorsted, at a reception hosted by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi, said Vietnam was serving as the giant’s main supply source. He suggested the Vietnamese government offer more support to Adidas to join in human resource development.

Chinh congratulated Adidas on its positive business results this year, with Vietnam continuing as its strategic business area and supplier. He said the Vietnamese government would create favorable conditions for Adidas’s expansion plans in the spirit of harmonizing interests and sharing risks.

Vietnam is the biggest trade partner of Germany in Southeast Asia, with Adidas contributing a significant amount, Chinh said. He proposed the group make it easier for Vietnamese firms to join high-value stages of its global supply chain.

The Prime Minister also suggested Adidas recommend policies for the Vietnamese government in the development of digital economy, green growth, and delivery of climate change commitments.

Footwear is one of Vietnam’s biggest export earners. In the first 10 months of the year, the country’s export revenues increased 15.9% to $312.82 billion, of which footwear accounted for $20.06 billion, up 40.9% year-on-year, or 6.4% of the total.

Out of 100 Adidas shoe pairs sold worldwide, 43 were made in Vietnam, Adidas spokesman Stefan Pursche told Forbes Vietnam in 2020. Nike, a main rival of Adidas, also has Vietnam as its main supplier with 51% of its sneakers made here, according to Nike’s financial report for 2021.