#Retail & Brands

2021-12-16

adidas to initiate € 4 billion share buyback program until 2025

With the approval of the Supervisory Board, the Executive Board of adidas has decided to launch a multi-year share buyback program. Starting in January 2022, the company plans to buy back shares in an amount of up to € 4 billion until 2025. Taking into consideration the € 1 billion share buyback completed in 2021 already, the company intends to return up to € 5 billion to its shareholders through regular share buybacks alone during the five-year strategic cycle.

The buyback activities are complemented by the company’s annual dividend payouts in a range of between 30% and 50% of net income from continuing operations.

Strong shareholder returns are a key component of adidas’ new strategy ‘Own the Game’. As part of ‘Own the Game’, adidas plans to generate substantial free cash flow until 2025 and return the majority of it – between € 8 and 9 billion – to its shareholders via dividend payments and share buybacks. In addition, the company plans to return the majority of the cash proceeds from the Reebok divestiture to the shareholders after closing of the transaction, which is expected in the first quarter of 2022.

“Over the next couple of years, our business will become significantly more cash generative than ever before”, said Harm Ohlmeyer, CFO of adidas. “And we will hit the road running in 2022: Driven by strong top- and bottom-line improvements, we will once again generate a high free cash flow, which we will almost entirely return to our shareholders next year.”

As with previous share buybacks, adidas intends to cancel most of the shares repurchased during the program, which would reduce the number of shares as well as the share capital accordingly.

Texprocess 2026: Automation, digitalisation and AI redefine textile processing

Making investment decisions in textile processing has become significantly more demanding. Increasing energy costs, a shortage of skilled labour and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties are compelling companies to focus on technologies that deliver clear gains in efficiency and process reliability. This applies equally to apparel manufacturing and to the processing of technical textiles and high-performance materials. As a result, modernisation initiatives are assessed more carefully – even as the need to upgrade production systems continues to intensify.

Techtextil 2026: Between innovation pressure & market reality

From 21 to 24 April 2026, Techtextil in Frankfurt am Main will once again become the central meeting point for the international technical textiles and nonwovens industry. Running in parallel, Texprocess will focus on the industrial implementation of textile processing technologies as the leading platform in this field. Together, the two trade fairs form a closely integrated presentation and working platform along the entire textile value chain – from material development to finished applications.

Between geopolitical pressure and industrial resilience

In this interview, Dr. Janpeter Horn (VDMA) discusses the current challenges facing textile machinery manufacturers, shaped by geopolitical tensions, regulatory developments and subdued investment. He also outlines why innovation strength, integrated solutions and strategic positioning remain key to global competitiveness.

Recover™ secures multi-year recycled cotton agreement with H&M

Recover™ has signed a multi-year agreement with H&M to support the integration of its recycled cotton fiber, RCotton, for use in H&M’s products. Since early 2024, H&M and Recover™ have collaborated on product development, which now enables scaled commercial introduction of Recover™ mechanically recycled cotton into H&M’s collections.

GORE-TEX® KIDSWEAR launches innovative membership scheme for kids’ jackets

With its revolutionary new membership model, GORE-TEX® Kidswear now offers families a simple, flexible and sustainable way of kitting out their children in top-quality jackets. It is aimed at the parents of children aged between five and ten and kicks off with a choice of functional winter jackets.

European Flax-Linen & Hemp step into advanced manufacturing: Enabling filament winding, 3D printing and high-performance composite processes

The Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp announces a new wave of technological advancements demonstrating how flax-linen and hemp fibres are now being successfully integrated into advanced composite manufacturing processes. These developments mark a transition beyond traditional hand lay-up techniques, positioning natural fibres as credible, scalable solutions for high-performance industrial applications.

SETEX turns dyeing and finishing data into daily production control

At ITM 2026, SETEX will show how textile mills can use machine, recipe, quality and energy data for more reliable daily production decisions — not as another reporting layer, but as part of the running dyeing and finishing process. With OrgaTEX X3 MES, E390x/C390x controllers, CamCOUNT and FabricInspector Portable, SETEX connects planning, machine execution and fabric-related quality insight within existing mill structures.

Fifteen years of Autoneum – From spin off to global technology leader

What started as a strategic carve‑out has since become the success story of a global technology leader in acoustic and thermal management solutions for vehicles. Headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland, Autoneum supplies leading automobile manufacturers worldwide with innovative, lightweight and increasingly sustainable solutions.