The agreement was negotiated with New Point Industrial Ltd and gives the adidas Group exclusive distribution rights for Reebok products in China as of January 1, 2007. Financial details of the deal were not revealed.
In May 2006, adidas bought the distribution rights for the Reebok brand in Russia, underscoring the froup's strategy to further strengthen its control over its brands globally.
Buying out distributors and joint venture partners has proven to be very successful for the group in recent years. The adidas business in Italy has more than doubled since the buyout in 2002 and there have been sizable gains in Turkey, Denmark and Portugal where buyouts also occurred in the last five years.
In Japan, where the group's buyout of a distributor in 1999 allowed the adidas team to more proactively control the brand and take over market leadership in the world's second largest sporting goods market.
