Adidas' new 'Mr Perfect' faces hurdles in race against Nike

Adidas' incoming chief Kaspar Rorsted faces major challenges when he takes over as the global sports brand's new CEO later this year as the company struggles to catch up with arch-rival Nike, analysts said.

Investors feted the announcement on Monday that Adidas had successfully poached the 53-year-old Dane from consumer chemicals giant Henkel, with the group's shares the biggest gainers on the Frankfurt stock exchange. 

"The reaction on the stock market speaks for itself," said a spokesman for Union Investment, a fund that is one of Adidas' 20 biggest shareholders. 

Rorsted, who speaks impeccable German and is a fan of Bayern Munich football club (which Adidas sponsors), had long been mooted as a possible candidate in the sports brand's year-long hunt for a new CEO to replace Herbert Hainer.

Over the past 18 months, Adidas has had to issue two profit warnings and lost key ground to its chief competitor Nike, even being overtaken in the key US market by upstart Under Armour.

Rorsted "has done a good job as CEO at Henkel. It's a good choice," said Commerzbank analyst Andreas Riemann. 

Henkel makes a range of well-known household products, from Persil washing powder and Loctite glue to Schwarzkopf haircare products. And during his captaincy, the group has streamlined its sprawling portfolio of brands, boosted profitability and been able to keep up with competitors such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble.