As adidas' search for a successor to long-standing CEO Herbert Hainer continues, a number of investors are saying that the brand is going about it all wrong and should be looking for outside candidates, instead of current employees, to fill the position.
"We clearly favor someone from the outside. We want a radical new start. The old establishment has to go," a fund manager of Union Investment toldBloomberg. It's a bold statement, but apparently, they're not the only ones that feel this way.
Earlier today, a German magazine reported that Kasper Rorsted, CEO of Henkel AG, had been in talks with adidas regarding the role. This report alone gave the brand's shares their biggest increase in over two years at 5.3 percent, which suggests that Union isn't the only investor who would like to see an outsider take the helm.
For months now, rumors have swirled that global brand head Eric Liedtke has been penciled in to take Hainer's position. However, investors say Liedtke would be better suited in his current seat, claiming the move would only further complicate things. "It could be counterproductive to disrupt the momentum of senior managers such as Eric Liedtke," a Southeastern senior analyst said.
No matter how you slice it, this decision will have a huge impact the future of adidas. The brand lost 38 percent of its market value last year as profits fell 22 percent, and a CEO shake-up could be just what it needs to turn things around.
"External appointments by definition are riskier. However, successful external CEOs tend to drive more value over time," an investor said.
