Adidas CEO says lion's share of job cuts at HQ complete
Adidas has completed the majority of planned cuts to its workforce at the German sportswear retailer's headquarters outside Munich, CEO Bjoern Gulden told shareholders on Thursday.
"We are two thirds of the way through," Gulden said at the company's annual general meeting.
He said the cuts were intended to increase efficiency, adding, "We sometimes had business models with functions that were doubled or tripled up."
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Fashion Network
6 hours ago
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Rimowa expands in Canada with Yorkdale Store
German premium luggage brand Rimowa has opened the doors to its latest Canadian boutique at Toronto's Yorkdale Shopping Centre. Spanning 1,500 square feet, the new space showcases Rimowa's latest store concept. The storefront is framed by two striking granite pillars, leading into a minimalist interior defined by the brand's signature aluminium and polycarbonate finishes, complemented by recycled French oak. Rimowa's collections are presented on bespoke modular tables running along the centre of the boutique, alongside two dedicated archival display cases that offer a glimpse into the brand's storied heritage. At the rear of the store, clients will find a refined lounge area adjacent to the in-house client care centre, where on-the-spot repairs are offered. The lounge features grooved oak walls—an homage to Rimowa's iconic design—and a complimentary heat embossing station, allowing guests to personalize travel accessories. Completing the space, the boutique also features a sticker wall showcasing collectible designs from Rimowa's global Sticker Collection, including a Toronto-exclusive city sticker. In addition to Rimowa's core luggage lines, the boutique houses seasonal colourways such as Granada and Verde in the Essential collection, as well as the new Taupe hue in the Never Still line. Founded in Germany, Rimowa became part of the LVMH Group in 2017. In 2023, it introduced an unconditional lifetime guarantee covering all suitcases purchased from July 25, 2022.
Euronews
10 hours ago
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Left Party MP expelled from German parliament over Palestine t-shirt
Left Party MP Cansin Köktürk was thrown out of a German parliament plenary chamber on Wednesday for wearing a t-shirt with the word "Palestine" printed on it, a move deemed a political statement by the parliamentary leadership. Bundestag President Julia Klöckner intervened during the session, reminding MPs that political messages on clothing are not permitted in the chamber. "We have agreed and these are the clear rules of the House," Klöckner said, "that neither stickers nor any other form of denomination on T-shirts play a role." She continued, "I have asked Ms. Köktürk to change her sweater - and we did not make that public - but you apparently refuse. I would then ask you to leave the meeting. Please do so." This is not the first time Köktürk has attracted attention in parliament. On her very first day as an MP, she appeared in the Bundestag wearing a scarf resembling a Palestinian keffiyeh, prompting members of the conservative CDU to call for an official ban on such symbols. Köktürk later took to X to respond to the incident, writing: "Germany will continue to supply weapons to Israel. Not a word about over 50,000 dead and injured children. I am being asked by Mrs. Klöckner to leave the plenary hall because my shirt says 'Palestine.' You have all failed so badly." While the Bundestag does not have a detailed dress code, its rules require MPs and visitors to dress "in keeping with the prestige" of the institution. Enforcement of this standard is left to the discretion of the session chair. Past incidents suggest the issue is not limited to any one party or political leaning. In 2017, a 13-year-old girl visiting the Bundestag on a school trip was asked at security to zip up her "Refugees Welcome" sweatshirt to conceal the slogan. And in 2009, a student was stopped for wearing a T-shirt reading "Make love, not war." More recently, MP Marcel Bauer was twice expelled from the plenary chamber for refusing to remove a black beret, which was deemed inappropriate. Both Klöckner and Bundestag Vice President Andrea Lindholz (CSU) ordered him to follow the parliament's dress norms or leave. These recurring incidents reflect an ongoing debate in German politics over how far personal expression and political symbolism should be allowed within the halls of parliament. The EU steel sector was on high alert on Wednesday following the implementation of 50% US tariffs on steel and aluminium, a move that might divert global steel imports formerly heading to the US towards the EU. "With the doubling of US blanket tariffs on steel to 50% without exceptions, we expect massive deflection of the 27 million tonnes of steel previously destined for the US towards the European market,' director general of the European Steel Association (EUROFER) Axel Eggert warned in a statement. 'We are being flooded by cheap foreign steel,' he added, 'without swift action, we will not just be underwater — we will drown.' Kerstin Maria Rippel, the chief executive of the German Steel Federation said the 50% tariffs marked 'a new level of escalation' in the EU-US trade conflict. 'A 50-percent tariff on steel exports is a massive burden on our industry, as it will increase pressure on an economy already in crisis and will impact our steel sector in multiple ways,' Rippel said. On Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order, which the White House shared on X, claiming that the rise of tariffs on steel and aluminium would 'provide greater support' to US industries, and would 'eliminate the national security threat' posed by imported steel and aluminium. Last March, Trump had re-established tariffs on steel and aluminium, which were initially imposed in 2018 and 2020 under his first mandate. The steel sector has already been struggling with Chinese overcapacities flooding the EU market, but since the US imposed tariffs across the globe the bloc is facing overcapacities from multiple countries. Import penetration in the EU is up to 30% in 2025 in a context of depressed demand, Eggert claimed. In Brussels, the pressure has intensified following Trump's increased tariffs at a time when the EU seeks to negotiate a resolution to its trade dispute with the US. 'The 50% tariffs have clearly not helped the negotiations at all,' said one EU diplomat. On Wednesday, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič acknowledged in an X post that the two sides 'are advancing in the right direction at pace', and are 'staying in close contact to maintain the momentum', following his meeting with his US counterpart, Jamieson Greer in Paris on the sidelines of an OECD trade ministerial. But quizzed by journalists later in the day, Šefčovič said he 'strongly' regretted Trump's latest 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium, adding: 'It doesn't help, especially as we are making progress.' A group of EU high-level experts, including Tomás Baert, trade advisor to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has been in Washington since Monday to negotiate the technical details that could help the EU and the US break the deadlock. Besides the 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium, the EU is also facing a 25% tariff on cars and a 10% levy on all other imports. The US also has launched several investigations into pharma, semiconductors and aircrafts that could lead to further tariffs. Trump has further threatened to impose a 50% tariff on all EU goods as of 9 July if the negotiations fail to meet his expectations. The US and the EU exchanged proposals two weeks ago, but both sides have dismissed the other's offers. The EU offered a deal of zero-for-zero tariffs on all industrial goods and purchase of strategic products such as US energy, tech and agri-products, whereas the US expected the EU to review some of its regulations.
Euronews
12 hours ago
- Euronews
How to survive a visit to the Oval Office - a guide for leaders
The infamous meeting of Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February uptilted the diplomatic world. Leaders and their advisors across the globe are considering different options before visiting the Oval Office in Washington, DC. On February 28, Ukraine's president Zelenksyy had a heated argument with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House, ending with leaders raising their voices while confronting each other in an unprecedented diplomatic row in front of the television cameras. The meeting sent shockwaves across the world as diplomats attempted to work on different strategies for dealing with Trump, when it comes to bilateral meetings at the Oval Office. Now it's German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's turn for a moment in the Oval office, here are some options for him to consider when dealing with the US president. Primary advice for leaders is to bear in mind they will not have much private time with Trump: most of the discussions will be live on air, in front of the cameras. "The first thing is to be prepared for everything. I think one of the biggest challenges that we saw with President Zelenskyy was that no one in their wildest imagination could have imagined that Donald Trump would want to discuss very controversial national security issues with a rolling camera," Bruegel institute analyst Jacob Kirkegaard told Euronews. During their confrontation, Vance accused Zelenksyy of being disrespectful, while Trump reminded him he had no cards in the game. The meeting ended without signing the long-awaited mineral deal between the two sides. Another incident where the talks went south was Trump's meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in May, which saw the US president rolling suspect news footage while alleging white genocide in the country. Trump said people are fleeing the country because of violence against white farmers, played television videos and handed over a pile of newspaper articles to his counterpart. The claim was rejected by President Ramaphosa, who said the majority of victims of violence in the country are black, adding that there is no genocide in South Africa. President Ramaphosa did manage to hit back at Trump afterwards, when he lamented not having a plane to give Trump, a reference to Qatar's offer of a $400 million aeroplane to the US president. In May the US officially accepted a Boeing 747 airliner from Qatar to serve the famous Air Force One fleet of the president. The presence of cameras inevitably shift the nature of any diplomacy on display. "One of the characteristics of Donald Trump is that he's always unfiltered. He says whatever he thinks at the moment, for good or bad, right, and that obviously is not the way diplomacy between countries is normally conducted," said Kirkegaard. Mostly such conversations are kept well away from media scrutiny, according to Kirkegaard, who added: "Perhaps he feels that having a camera throws other leaders off balance." The next advice for those braving the Oval office is to shower Trump with gifts and gestures - such as that Qatari plane. The gift sparked debates and legal concerns in the US, but the Trump administration never backed down from accepting the gift. Brett Bruen, the president of the Global Situation Room and a former US diplomat told Euronews that European leaders should keep in mind that Trump is out for a prize, something that he can hold up. "It can be a flashy object and say, look, I got the biggest, the best deal, the substance doesn't really matter. Quite frankly, the strategy doesn't seem to matter very much. So this is ultimately like, how do you deal with a toddler? A toddler is constantly going to come back and say I want more, I want this new toy. Well, if I were advising European leaders, I would say have a bunch of small, shiny objects lined up and every time Trump comes and says, well, I want something else, you dole out that next shiny object to him," Bruen said. Bruegel's Kirkegaard agreed that Trump should sometimes be treated like a child. "I think you have to certainly deal with him, expecting a possible tantrum. He can be very unpredictable in a way that a child is. You clearly know he is a narcissist. So you have, if you want, to play to his ego," said Kirkegaard. Witness Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Oval office handing the president a cartoon-sized invitation for a state visit to the UK from King Charles. "This is really special, this is unprecedented, this has never happened before," Starmer told Trump in an attempt to charm him. A strategy that can pay off, according to the expert. "Obviously, if you are the British Prime Minister, you know that Donald Trump likes the royal family, has a fondness of the UK in general, of course, you would want to exploit that. In the same way that, for instance, a former Japanese Prime Minister who was a pretty keen golfer exploited that with Donald Trump as well, who's well known for his fondness for golf," Kirkegaard said. After the disastrous Trump-Zelenskyy meeting back in February, many foreign dignitaries decided not see Trump. Asian leaders are particularly keen to avoid any nasty surprises that might spring from an encounter with the US president. Trump's temper might cause China to think twice about accepting a bilateral meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping anytime soon. "In the case of Asia, political cultures or systems have a low tolerance for the unexpected, which requires a certain formality around their political leaders. One example is China. There's no doubt that the possibility of a Xi Jinping-Trump meeting is close to zero, or probably is zero under these circumstances. Because there's simply no chance that the Chinese government will risk putting Xi Jinping in this position where something not scripted could happen. I think that applies similarly to many other Asian countries," Jacob Kirkegaard said. An exception to this rule is Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba, who had a fruitful meeting with Trump back in February, where they talked about a possible trade deal and more LNG transfer from the US to Japan. But the expert recalls that even those positive meetings will not bring results, questioning the necessity of those highly risky visits. "The reality is that there has been no breakthrough on trade deals with Japan. So the question is, why would anybody want to come? Whatever Trump agrees to, maybe or maybe not, in a bilateral meeting in the White House, might be forgotten the next day," according to Kirkegaard. "Again, go back to what happened to Keir Starmer. He thought he had a trade agreement with Donald Trump that exempted British steel exports to the US. Well, clearly he didn't have that. So, you know, it's very much for, especially countries like that in Asia, it is very high risk and essentially maybe no reward," Kirkegaard said. Visits of President Macron and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte went relatively well. In the case of Rutte this is because the US is main force in the alliance. "De facto Rutte works for Donald Trump, let's not forget that. He came, and he's basically done everything that the president would want him to do. They're working towards a 5% target for NATO defence expenditure for example," according to the Bruegel analyst. For Merz's visit on Thursday, the stakes are high. The Trump administration is highly critical of Germany. Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk supported the far-right Alternative für Deutschland in the German election campaign, and accused Germany of suppressing free speech. And Trump is also critical of the record German trade surplus. So far its not clear which attitude Merz will take towards Trump. But standing up to him might be popular in Germany. "If you're the German Chancellor, you go to the Oval Office and you hold your ground. You take a public confrontation with Donald Trump over issues, it might play well for Friedrich Merz domestically, to stand up to Donald Trump's bullying or perhaps refuting his fake news," said Kirkegaard. He said that when Macron interrupted Trump back in February, correcting the US president over European funding to Ukraine, it did him no political damage. And in the case of Zelenskyy, he even benefited domestically for not backing down. This could also be working on Friedrich Merz's mind. Competing narratives have emerged following a series of deadly incidents which reportedly took place in the vicinity of the US-Israeli backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's (GHF) food aid distribution sites in south-west Gaza. According to accounts from local Hamas-run authorities, as well as eyewitnesses and medical professionals, troops from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) shot at and killed a number of Palestinians who were seeking to access the GHF sites in recent days. While shootings were reported near all three GHF hubs in southern Gaza, the heaviest occurred on Sunday and Tuesday at the Flag Roundabout, which is situated on a designated access route to a hub in the Tel al-Sultan district of Rafah. The UN has called for an independent investigation into the incidents, reminding Israel that it is required to facilitate humanitarian aid under international law. EuroVerify takes a look at the facts in order to build up a timeline of what we know. On Sunday, 31 Palestinians were reportedly killed by IDF shots as they attempted to access GHF distribution sites, said local Hamas-run authorities. To reach the GHF's sites in Rafah, Palestinians must walk for kilometres along a designated route, which the GHF says the Israeli military keeps secure. In statements to the public, the GHF has warned that people should stay on the road, stating that leaving it "represents a great danger." Before dawn on Sunday, thousands of Palestinians massed at the Flag Roundabout, approximately one kilometre northwest of GHF's site. By 3am, thousands had gathered and according to Palestinian witnesses, it is around this time that Israeli troops started firing at the crowd with guns, tanks and drones. NGO Médecins sans Frontières has stated that patients — who said they had been shot by Israeli forces near GHF distribution sites — began to stream into Khan Younis' Nasser hospital on Sunday morning. Another international organisation, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), declared that on Sunday, 179 adults and children bearing shrapnel and gunshot wounds arrived at the organisation's field hospital in Rafah. According to the ICRC, its medical teams declared 21 individuals dead upon arrival. Israel has denied allegations its forces opened fire on locals queuing for aid in Rafah. On Sunday the IDF branded such reports "false" in a post shared on X, stating that an initial inquiry found that its forces "did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site." The GHF told EuroVerify that no incidents occurred at or in the surrounding vicinity of their distribution site on Sunday, adding that there were "no injuries, no fatalities." On Tuesday, Gaza's health ministry said Israeli forces had shot and killed at least 27 people near the GHF distribution centre. Civilians were fired at by tanks, drones and helicopters near the Flag Roundabout close to the distribution hub. Israel denies that such an incident happened and claims that it only fired warning shots at people it suspected were deviating from designated access routes to the GHF centre. "The troops carried out warning fire and after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near individual suspects who advanced toward the troops," the IDF said in a post on X. It added that it was aware of reported casualties and that it was investigating the incident. "IDF troops are not preventing the arrival of Gazan civilians to the humanitarian aid distribution sites," the IDF said. "The warning shots were fired approximately half a kilometre away from the humanitarian aid distribution site toward several suspects who advanced toward the troops in such a way that posed a threat to them." The GHF itself said that the distribution of food was carried out without any issues within its perimeter and that it was aware of the Israeli investigation into the reported injured civilians. On Wednesday, the GHF said it had paused aid distribution and discussing measures to improve civilian safety with the Israeli military, including changes to traffic management and troop training. The body began distributing aid on 26 May, after a three-month Israeli blockade on aid entering Gaza pushed the population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine. The GHF system limits food distribution to hubs guarded by armed contractors. Of the three hubs that are open, one is in central Gaza and two are in the far south on the outskirts of the mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah. Israel's ban on international media access to Gaza — which means that journalists must partake in an organised army press tour to enter the territory — has fuelled online speculation and renders independent on the ground verification a major challenge.
