MOSCOW, May 2. /TASS/. Stores of the German-based Adidas sportswear brand may be relaunched in a new format in Russia by the end of this year, commercial real estate market experts told TASS

Mass media reported earlier that Adidas was considering the option of transferring its Russian unit to a foreign investor, which would mean reopening about a hundred stores in Russia.

"The deal may be completed this summer. Perhaps some of the stores will be open to visitors as early as the start of the winter season," Olga Antonova from CMWP told TASS.

If Adidas finalizes the deal and completes it in the next two months, it’s possible that some of its stores in Russia will open by the end of this year, Marina Malakhatko from CORE.XP said. The transfer of the Russian unit is one possible scenario, the company noted. The time needed to reopen stores depends on the organizational side of the matter - when the deal is completed, preparations for the opening of stores that have been closed for more than one year (staff hiring, collection supplies, etc.), CORE.XP noted.

The decision to sell or transfer the business instead of completely leaving the Russian market will definitely be a plus for Adidas and the market at large, Evgenia Khakberdieva from NF Group told TASS. "We see successful cases of businesses being transferred and reopened under new names. Therefore, the retailer has every chance to preserve liquid stores, reopen them and work successfully in its stores, because Russia has had a shortage of sports brands and goods going back to 2014," the expert noted.

Adidas informed it was suspending operations in Russia on March 9, 2022. The chain's retail stores shut their doors on March 14 of last year.