And the winner is...Adidas (declares World Cup sales victory)

By Monica Houston-Waesch

FRANKFURT--Germany’s Adidas AG declared a World Cup victory over rival sporting-goods providers on Monday, the day after the country’s soccer team clinched its fourth world championship in Brazil.

The company, which outfitted the German national team as well as beaten finalists Argentina, is counting on the tournament to boost sales this year and is targeting soccer-related revenue of EUR2 billion ($2.7 billion) compared with EUR1.5 billion in 2010 when the World Cup was last held.

“Our soccer revenue is at a record level, and we were the most mentioned brand in social media. With that, we clearly dominated the tournament on the field and off,” Chief Executive Herbert Hainer said Monday.

Investors appeared to agree, with Adidas (FRA:DE:ADS)   shares rising 2.5% on Monday.

As well as outfitting several competing national teams, Adidas, which expects to sell over 14 million soccer balls and 8 million jerseys this year, pays FIFA to be an official sponsorship, supply, and licensing rights to the event, a position it has secured until 2030.

For Adidas, the association with the World Cup is its ace in the hole against the number-one sportswear maker Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE)  because soccer is one sport where the Germans, like on the pitch, are out ahead of their U.S. rival.