Adidas boss plans fast-fashion business to catch up with rivals

HERZOGENAURACH, Ger-many-Adidas AG's new chief executive officer is doubling down on surging sales of casual sneaker lines like Stan Smith and Tubular to trans-form the German sportswear maker into a fast-fashion business and gain ground on larger rival Nike Inc.

Sales of so-called lifestyle products from the Originals, Neo and Y3 lines rose 45 percent in 2016, more than triple the pace of performance sports gear, the company said on Wednesday. CEO Kasper Rorsted said focusing on fast-fashion and stripping away non-core businesses like golf and hockey will increase profit more than expected, lifting the shares to a record.

"The lifestyle market is a lot bigger than the sports market, so we have to participate in that," outgoing chief financial officer Robin Stalker said at a news conference, adding that casualwear now accounts for about 30 percent of sales. "There are the Stan Smiths and Superstars, but there are also other products we will manage over many seasons."