Adidas Signs On as 2008 Olympic Sponsor

German sportswear giant Adidas signed on as a sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympics on Monday. The deal is estimated to be worth $50 million dollars (€37.5 million). Under the agreement, Adidas will provide clothing for all staff, volunteers and officials of the Olympics and Paralympics. It will also outfit the Chinese Olympic teams at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In return, Adidas will get exclusive marketing rights in the sports goods category in the four years to 2008, the Beijing organizing committee and Adidas said. "What is most important for us, we believe, is that it will create a stronger bond with Chinese consumers and will help us accelerate our development in this market," said Adidas Greater China head Sandrine Zerbib. Companies inside and outside China had been competing fiercely to sponsor the world's most-watched sports event.