Adidas is closing its offices in Austria, which has been home to the brand’s running app operations since 2015, the company confirmed to FN.
The brand said in a release that it decided to consolidate its digital functions to fewer locations, which resulted in the decision to close Runtastic locations in Austria (in Pasching, Vienna and Salzburg) by mid-2025. Adidas said the decision will affect close to 170 Runtastic employees, who will be able to apply for new roles in Herzogenaurach, Amsterdam or Zaragoza.
Adidas acquired Runtastic, an Austrian-based health and fitness apps company, in 2015 in a deal valued at 220 million euros. Runtastic was founded in 2009 and had around 70 million registered users in 2015, inclusive of over 20 available health-and-fitness apps. Following the acquisition, Runtastic apps became integrated with Adidas’ existing digital offerings.
“Consolidating our digital competencies in a few locations is an important step to further develop our digital offering in a targeted manner, to offer our consumers the best possible digital experiences and at the same time focusing more strongly on adidas’ core competencies,” Adidas senior vice president of global digital and e-commerce Tobias Seemann said in a statement. “We understand that this decision is challenging for many of our employees. That is why we will do everything we can to make the transition as smooth as possible and offer comprehensive support.”
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Throughout the last year, Adidas has wound down operations among several of its digital products. In February, the company said it had started deleting Runtastic apps from app stores in order to focus more fully on its Adidas running and Adidas training apps. Then, in March of 2024, Adidas phased out its training app but said its running app would still be able to be used for tracking workouts.
In a Monday post to LinkedIn, Adidas’ global senior director of digital products Vladislav Lazarov doscissed the recent decision to close the Austria office and said that colleagues in software engineering, product and project management, design and marketing roles will now be looking for new roles in Austria.
“I can confidently recommend many exceptional people who would be a great asset to your team,” he said.
Adidas said that it will still plan to expand market share in Austria via wholesale sales, owned stores and sports league partnerships.
Adidas raised its guidance for full-year sales after it saw revenue surge 11 percent to 5.82 billion euros in the second fiscal quarter. In the first half, the company notched sales of 11.28 billion euros, a 10 percent increase at constant exchange rates, year-on-year.
