adidas opens Middle East flagship store in Al Khobar

Approximately 400m2 in size, the store carries the complete portfolio of adidas products across the company's two brand streams of adidas Performance, offering goods for athletes, and adidas Originals, the casual wear heritage range carrying the classic adidas logo.

The store holds up to 170 different styles of sporting apparel for men and women, plus a special range of apparel for children. Also available are a wide range of soccer, basketball, tennis and other sporting equipment and accessories for sports fans.

The opening of the new store charts a successful retail expansion plan which began when adidas opened its first office in the Middle East region in 1985. Since then the company has adhered to its core belief of 'Impossible is Nothing' to open six stores across all three major cities in the Kingdom including Jeddah, Riyadh and now today in Al Khobbar.

Juraj Stiksa, Sales Director, adidas KSA, said,

"adidas has been a leader in providing sporting equipment and merchandise in KSA since 1990. Following in 1994 when the Saudi team qualified for the World Cup in USA. The fact that the team was able to qualify for the final 16 round had a major influence on soccer as well as soccer fans in the region."

"adidas stood out and was able to serve the needs for sports fans across the Kingdom. We were no longer positioned solely as a sports brand but as lifestyle choice for people who looked to create an image for themselves."

"We have grown from strength since then and our Al Khobar opening marks the sixth store in the Kingdom and our largest across the Middle East, which is a very proud achievement."

The new store is opened in partnership with Delta Marketing, adidas' strategic partner in the Kingdom for over 10 years. adidas has three branches in the city of Jeddah, with the biggest being located in Palestine Street at a size of approximately 260m2. The store is also the only adidas factory outlet in the Kingdom, offering adidas products at discounted prices. Retail stores located in the city of Riyadh include Al Olya Street, Al Tahliya Street and Al Galleria Center, with retail store space ranging from 120 - 180 m2.

"Delta has been a strong partner and has helped build the adidas brand and stores in the Kingdom," added Stiksa. "Future plans will see another store launched by the end of 2008, with a further 12 retail stores during 2009, 16 stores in 2010 and 20 stores by 2010."

The opening of the biggest retail store for adidas in the Middle East highlights the importance of the Kingdom to adidas. A large number of the population in KSA is represented by young adults falling in the under 25 years old age category. Studies highlight that for every 100 visitors to adidas retail stores in the Kingdom of Saudi, 19 visitors actually purchase merchandise from the store. This is a key driving factor behind the aggressive expansion, adidas' strong focus on customer satisfaction, understanding customer's needs and providing high quality products.

Juraj Stiksa opened the new store by kicking the famous adidas 'EUROPASS' football towards a banner in the store doorway. The official match ball of Euor2008 burst through the paper, declaring the store officially open.

Stiksa said, "adidas and its products are a dream for all soccer players whether locally or globally; therefore it seemed fitting to kick off our largest retail store by highlighting our passion for the game."

The grand opening was attended by brand representatives as well as journalists and other key media.