Adidas draws the consequences of anonymous accusations made by its own employees against managers in China.

Two employees who had been accused of bribery in an open letter had left the company, an Adidas spokeswoman confirmed Chinese media reports in Herzogenaurach on Wednesday. It had become apparent that "an employee had violated the company's code of conduct in his interaction with local suppliers". "Independently of this, it has been shown that a second person did not meet the company's expectations of leadership behavior based on mutual respect and trust."

This person is apparently a high-ranking marketing manager who was accused of bullying and nepotism in the letter. The letter, which was circulated on a Chinese social media platform, also mentioned that employees had accepted kickbacks from suppliers and advertising agencies that had commissioned them. Adidas did not want to comment on names. After the allegations came to light, the sporting goods group launched an investigation and also called in external consultants. The investigation is ongoing, said the spokeswoman.

Adidas is currently on the rise again in China. Like other Western textile manufacturers, the company had suffered not only from the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, but also from calls for a boycott due to Western criticism of the treatment of the Uyghur minority. Adidas is expecting double-digit growth rates again this year in what was once its largest and most lucrative market. The company also attributes the upswing to the fact that the China subsidiary has focused more strongly on Chinese fashion tastes under the leadership of Adrian Siu, the country head hired in 2022.

(Report by Alexander Hübner. Edited by Olaf Brenner. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)