Adidas AG appointed Kasper Rorsted as chief executive officer to succeed Herbert Hainer, recruiting the head of Dial soap maker Henkel AG & Co. to restore growth to the German sportswear company.<br />“This is a significant positive for Adidas and the investment case,” Graham Renwick, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, said in a note, describing Rorsted as “a perfect fit.”<br />Rorsted faces a tough task to revive growth at Adidas, which has been losing ground to industry leader Nike Inc., as well as newer competitors like Under Armour Inc.<br />The company, which has been under Hainer’s leadership since 2001, is trying to stay relevant as Nike makes inroads in Europe while Adidas’s U.S. business falters.
