Adidas reports strong growth in North America, China

Krisztian Bocsi | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Kasper Rorsted, chief executive officer of Adidas AG.

“Overall an extremely strong quarter across the board for us, so we are exceptionally happy,” Kasper Rorsted, CEO at Adidas, told CNBC Thursday.

Rorsted also said that ahead of the upcoming soccer World Cup in Russia, he was “quite optimistic” growth in the fourth quarter would outperform previous years.

Sales of the Adidas and Reebok brands rose 28 percent in greater China and 23 percent in North America, but fell 17 percent in Russia, which Adidas blamed on the “ongoing challenging consumer sentiment” and store closures.

Adidas saw double-digit sales increases in its running and outdoor categories as well as at its Originals and Neo fashion labels, but said revenues fell from soccer and basketball, mainly due to the termination of two major sponsorship deals.