Adidas cuts Reebok 2015 sales target by 1 billion euros

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Adidas has cut the 2015 sales target for its struggling Reebok brand by a third to 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) after a torrid year in which it lost a major American football contract and fraud was discovered at its Indian operation.

The German company, the world's second-largest sports apparel firm, bought Reebok in August 2005 for $3.8 billion to try to close the gap on market leader Nike in the United States. It enjoyed initial success with a range of toning shoes, but has since struggled to find its feet.

Sales at Reebok slumped 26 percent in the second quarter and annual revenue is expected to fall from 2011's 1.96 billion euros. Its performance contrasts sharply with the rest of the Adidas group, which expects overall sales to rise nearly 10 percent to about 14.5 billion euros in 2012.

Adidas Chief Executive Herbert Hainer has said that Reebok needs to come up with new products and will focus on fitness categories such as keep-fit trend Crossfit, running, gym, yoga and dance.

Reebok will also restrict sales growth in less lucrative markets such as India and Latin America and instead focus on improving its profit.

"While we have seen some good progress from the brand ... we cannot claim that we are on the path to sustainable global success just yet," Hainer told investors in California.

Shares in Adidas, which have gained 30 percent this year and touched a record high of 65.76 euros on Wednesday, were down 1.5 percent at 64.56 euros at 0830 GMT, making them the biggest faller on Germany's Dax index of leading shares <.gdaxi>.

The reduced target for Reebok is a rare spot of bad news for Adidas, which has managed to perform better than Nike and Puma this year in Europe and China, where consumer spending has slowed.

PROFITS OVER SIZE

Adidas kept an overall target to increase group sales to 17 billion euros by 2015, with faster than expected growth at its Adidas brand and golf business offsetting the weakness at Reebok.

Sales for the Adidas brand are now expected to reach 12.8 billion euros in 2015, up 5 percent from the previous target of 12.2 billion euros.

Hainer said the group would reach an operating profit margin of 11 percent by 2015, approaching 9 percent in 2013 and 8 percent in 2012. He also hinted that the 2015 sales target could be exceeded.

Analysts at the presentation in California welcomed the focus on profit rather than outright sales growth.

"We think the new sales composition makes margin targets more credible (as the more profitable brands grow stronger)," Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Kuhn wrote in a note.

Of the 33 analysts covering Adidas, 24 have a "buy" or "strong buy" rating on the stock, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine.

Adidas announced in April that it had uncovered commercial irregularities at Reebok India and replaced management there.

It said the fraud and a subsequent restructuring of Indian operations would cost Adidas almost 200 million euros. The unit's two former managers were arrested on Thursday in India on suspicion of fraud.

Reebok in 2010 lost the contract to provide kit for players in the NFL American football league to Nike. Adidas has said that it gave up the pricey contract because it did not fit with Reebok's new focus on all things fitness.

The contract officially ended in March 2012. Adidas had said earlier in the year that it would result in lost sales of about $200 million in 2012.

It said on Friday that of the 1 billion euro reduction to the Reebok sales goal, about a third was down to the NFL loss and that it is now reporting sales related to NHL hockey products under a different business segment. ($1 = 0.7721 euros)

(Editing by David Goodman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/adidas-slashes-reebok-2015-sales-target-071052872--sector.html

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Iran seen behind cyber attacks on US banks

By Robert Windrem and Jim?Miklaszewski
NBC News

National security officials told NBC News that the continuing cyber attacks this week that slowed the websites of JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America are being carried out by the government of Iran. One of those sources said the claim by hackers that the attacks were prompted by the online video mocking the Prophet Muhammad is just a cover story.

A group of purported hackers in the Middle East has claimed credit for problems at the websites of both banks, citing the online video mocking the founder of Islam. One security source called that statement "a cover" for the Iranian government's operations.

The attack is described by one source, a former U.S. official familiar with the attacks, as being "significant and ongoing" and looking to cause "functional and significant damage." Also, one source suggested the attacks were in response to U.S. sanctions on Iranian banks.

The consumer banking website of Bank of America was unavailable to some customers on Tuesday, and JPMorgan Chase on Wednesday had the same problems, which multiple sources linked to a denial-of-service attack, in which a website is bogged down by a large number of requests. A Chase spokesman said Wednesday that the consumer site was intermittently unavailable to some customers, but did not acknowledge then that there was an attack. On Thursday, Chase said slowness continued but was resolved by late afternoon Eastern Time.?Bank of America acknowledged on Tuesday that its site had experienced slowness, but would not say what caused it.

Senior U.S. officials acknowledge that Iranian attacks have been the subject of intense interest by U.S. intelligence for several weeks. Last week, the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Intelligence Directorate, known as J-2, confirmed continuing Iranian cyber attacks against U.S. financial institutions in a report described as "highly classified." The report was posted on internal classified U.S. government sites last Friday, September 14.

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Because of the level of classification, the officials refused to provide or confirm any?specifics on these attacks. However, one official noted that Iran's uranium enrichment program had been the target of the STUXNET worm in 2010. The worm was reportedly developed by the U.S. and Israel. "The Iranians are very familiar with the environment,? quipped the official.

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A conservative website, FreeBeacon.com, initially reported on the Pentagon analysis, quoting it as saying, ??Iran?s cyber aggression should be viewed as a component, alongside efforts like support for terrorism, to the larger covert war Tehran is waging against the west.??U.S officials did not deny the FreeBeacon report when queried by NBC News.

A financial services industry group, ?the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, warned U.S. banks, brokerages and insurers late Wednesday to be on heightened alert for cyber attacks. FS-ISAC also raised its raised the cyber threat level to "high" from "elevated" in an advisory to members, citing "recent credible intelligence regarding the potential" for cyber attacks as its reason for the move.

The former head of cyber-security for the White House testified Thursday that ?we were waiting for something like this from Iran.? ?Frank Cilluffo, who served as Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security under President George W. Bush, is currently an associate vice president at George Washington University and heads the Homeland Security Policy Institute.?Cilluffo testified in a previously scheduled appearance before the U.S. House of Representatives? Committee on Homeland Security, saying ?the government of Iran and its terrorist proxies are serious concerns in the cyber context. What Iran may lack in capability, it makes up for in intent. ?They do not need highly sophisticated capabilities?just intent and cash?as there exists an arms bazaar of cyber weapons, allowing Iran to buy or rent the tools they need or seek.?

The statement by the purported Muslim hackers, posted on Tuesday on Pastebin, an online bulletin board, reads in full: "In the name of Allah the companionate the merciful. My soul is devoted to you Dear Prophet of Allah. Dear Muslim youths, Muslims Nations and are noblemen. When Arab nations rose against their corrupt regimes (those who support Zionist regime) at the other hand when, Crucify infidels are terrified and they are no more supporting human rights. United States of America with the help of Zionist Regime made a Sacrilegious movie insulting all the religions not only Islam. All the Muslims worldwide must unify and Stand against the action, Muslims must do whatever is necessary to stop spreading this movie. We will attack them for this insult with all we have. All the Muslim youths who are active in the Cyber world will attack to American and Zionist Web bases as much as needed such that they say that they are sorry about that insult. We, Cyber fighters of Izz ad-din Al qassam will attack the Bank of America and New York Stock Exchange for the first step. These Targets are properties of American-Zionist Capitalists. This attack will be started today at 2 pm. GMT. This attack will continue till the Erasing of that nasty movie. Beware this attack can vary in type. Down with modern infidels. Allah is the Greatest. Allah is the Greatest."

There was no report of an attack on the New York Stock Exchange.

Also on Thursday, the U.S. disclosed that it has ?bought $70,000 worth of air time on seven Pakistani television channels to air an ad which shows President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denouncing the anti-Islamic video.?In the ad, President Obama says, "Since our founding the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate religious beliefs of others." Clinton appears after Obama and says, "Let me state very clearly that the United States has absolutely nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject?its contents. America's commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation."

Pakistan was added Wednesday?to the State Department's list of countries to which Americans should avoid travel, joining Lebanon and Tunisia, following protests across the Middle East and North Africa and the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in which American Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed.?

Robert Windrem is a senior investigative correspondent for NBC News. Jim ?Miklaszewski is the chief Pentagon correspondent for NBC News. Patti Domm, executive news editor at CNBC and CNBC.com, contributed to this report.

Analysis: 'Manufactured outrage' behind Middle East protests

Protests ignited by a controversial film that ridicules Islam's Prophet Muhammad spread throughout Muslim world.

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More world stories from NBC News:

French officials are preparing for a potential violent backlash as a satirical magazine defends its decision to publish cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

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Source: http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/20/13990206-experts-see-iran-not-outrage-over-film-behind-cyber-attacks-on-us-banks

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Galaxy Note 2 rumored for European release in next two weeks

When Samsung announced the Galaxy Note 2 back at IFA, an early October launch was hinted at by the company's booth staff, and today the latest round of rumors suggests it could arrive in some parts of Europe even sooner. SamMobile, which has a fairly good track record when it comes to obtaining insider info from the Korean manufacturer, reports that Germany and Italy will get the Note 2 on Sept. 27 and 28 respectively, while most European countries will have to wait until Oct. 1 or 2.

The purported list of release dates is as follows --

• France - October 1-2
• Germany - September 27
• Italy - September 28
• Netherlands - October 1-2
• United Kingdom - October 1-2

So, some possible good news for Germans and Italians, and if the rest of the dates are accurate, most of Western Europe will have its hands on the 5.5-inch device within a couple of weeks. As always, remember to take unconfirmed dates like this with a pinch of salt, but we're certainly crossing our fingers for an earier than expected Note 2 release.

Source SamMobile

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/aaZeXeLDvKA/story01.htm

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