Both last year and this year, this included 500, 000 alone for adidas originals sale refugee aid in Germany. In addition, the adidas Group donated more than 250, 000 products for refugee aid worldwide, largely in close cooperation with ‘Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen’ ‘Wings of Help’. The adidas Group follows a holistic concept based on three pillars: humanitarian help, enable & support and employment integration. This year’s activities are focused on employment integration and training of refugees. All in all, the adidas Group will offer 30 refugees the opportunity to do an internship in 2016. In addition, the adidas Group grants every employee participating in voluntary work with refugees three days’ leave.
This enables the adidas Group, together with the adidas Fund and external partners, to adidas women help a large number of refugees, giving them a change from their everyday life through sports activities and language tuition and offering them a positive external outlook. In the second quarter of 2016, the Group’s gross margin increased 0. 5 percentage points to 48. 8% 2015: 48. 3%. The severe headwinds from negative currency effects were more than offset by a more favourable pricing, product and channel mix as well as higher product margins at TaylorMade adidas Golf. During the second quarter, the Group’s other operating expenses increased 12% to 1. 935 billion 2015: 1. 720 billion. The increase reflects higher expenditure for point of sale and marketing investments, as well as an increase in operating overhead costs as a result of higher sales expenditure. As a percentage of sales, however, other operating expenses decreased 0. 3 percentage points to 43. 8% 2015: 44. 0%, reflecting the Group’s strong top line improvement. Other operating income grew significantly to 159 million from 33 million in the second quarter of adidas originals women 2015.
This development mainly reflects two extraordinary gains in the second quarter related to the early termination of the Chelsea F. C. contract as well as the divestiture of the Mitchell & Ness business. While the early termination of the Chelsea F. C. contract lifted both other operating income and operating profit by a mid to high double digit million euro amount, the divestiture of Mitchell & Ness did not have an impact on the Group’s profitability in the second quarter since the proceeds as previously announced were re invested to accelerate initiatives that are part of adidas neo women the company’s ‘Creating the New’ strategic business plan.