Adidas joins Nike in announcing store closures over coronavirus

MUNICH (Reuters) - German sportswear maker Adidas <ADSGn.DE> on Tuesday joined rivals in announcing store closures in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Adidas and Reebok-owned stores in Europe, North America and Canada will be closed temporarily, the company said in an emailed statement. Stores will be closed March 18-29 in Europe. In the United States and Canada they will be closed March 17-29.

"At Adidas, the health and safety of our employees, customers and partners have the highest priority," the group said, adding that affected staff would be paid for their planned working hours despite the closures.

Rivals Nike <NKE.N>, Lululemon Athletica <LULU.O> and Under Armour Inc <UAA.N> on Sunday said they would close stores in the United States and other markets, joining a growing list of major retailers moving to help to limit the spread of the virus.

Adidas last week said that it expected first-quarter sales to drop by up to 1 billion euros (910.3 million pounds) in greater China and to fall more than 10% overall because of the pandemic, including a drop of about 100 million euros in Japan and South Korea.

(Reporting by Alexander Huebner; Writing by Christoph Steitz; Editing by David Goodman)