adidas reported record revenues for 2025 with 19% growth year-over-year and projects continued strong sales and profit expansion, according to adidas Group. The result marks a departure from the promotional spiral that defined athletic apparel from 2022 through early 2024, when brands traded margin for market share and conditioned consumers to wait for sales.
The company held average selling prices steady across footwear and apparel while competitors ran recurring discount cycles. Instead of lowering prices to move inventory, adidas tightened distribution, reduced SKU count, and allocated premium product to channels that would maintain list price. The brand cut wholesale partners who demanded markdown support and shifted volume toward owned retail and select specialty accounts willing to present product at full freight.
The mechanism is price discipline as competitive moat. When a brand consistently discounts, it trains customers to delay purchase and comparison-shop on sale calendars. When a brand holds price, it signals scarcity and shifts the value perception from transactional to aspirational. adidas applied this across categories: retro running styles stayed at $140-$160 without summer sales, collaborations launched at premium without outlet seeding six months later, and apparel basics held at $50-$80 while private label undercut by half. The revenue growth came not from unit volume but from customers paying what the brand asked.
The pricing strategy worked because adidas had rebuilt product credibility. The Samba and Gazelle retro models carried cultural currency beyond performance, creating demand that didn't require discount to convert. Collaborations with Gucci, Wales Bonner, and Bad Bunny generated waiting lists, not clearance racks. The brand stopped flooding the market with middling product and instead concentrated marketing spend on fewer, higher-conviction launches that could command price.
A small physical-product brand can run the same play on modest budget by anchoring to a single hero SKU and refusing to discount it for the first 180 days post-launch. Set the price 15-20% above your original gut instinct, then hold it through the first slow weeks. Cut wholesale accounts that ask for net terms or markdown allowances—sell only to retailers who will present the product at your list price or direct to consumer where you control the channel. When a customer emails asking for a discount code, reply with a ship-date for the next product drop instead of a percentage off. This works only if the product has a distinct point of view: a material choice, a design detail, a use case that isn't available cheaper elsewhere. Build scarcity by making less, not by selling out through price.
The broader pattern is that pricing is a positioning tool, not just a revenue lever. adidas's 19% growth came from saying no to the wrong revenue—the kind that comes with a discount attached and a customer who won't return at full price. For a small brand, that means walking away from the wholesale account that wants 50% off to stock you, and instead allocating that inventory to the 200 customers who will pay list and post about it. Price is the fastest way to signal where you sit in the market.