adidas Offloads Rockport for $280 Million USD to Focus Exclusively On Sport

German sportswear giant adidas has announced it will sell the Rockport shoe business to New Balance Athletics Shoe Inc. as part of its efforts to focus on athletics. New Balance along with the help of private-equity firm Berkshire partners LLC purchased the Massachusetts-based shoe manufacturer for a deal worth $280 million USD, resulting in a 4.3% rise in adidas stock. In a statement following the sale, adidas CEO Herbert Hainer explained, ”Our focus is clearly on sport and operating a brand portfolio with a clear agenda to unleash the potential of athletes and inspire consumers to live active lives. The brown shoe category is not core to this strategy and the sale of Rockport will allows us to reduce complexity and pursue out target consumer more aggressively with adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade brands.” This is just the latest in a series of developments that the Herzogenaurach-based company has made in steps toward somewhat of a revival, with an aim to expand its customer base in North America in particular, seen as one of its main goals for 2015.