Adidas is eager to expand its presence in China through the Beijing Olympics, hoping to more than double the number of its retail outlets on the mainland by 2010.

When China's domestic soccer league turned professional and market-driven in 1995, the leading sports brand had not made so much as a dent in the domestic market.

More than a decade after adidas sneakers were first introduced at a shopping mall in Beijing, the brand has now become a household name.

The success of adidas in China coincides with the country's growing enthusiasm for sports and is reflected in rising sales of sports merchandise here.

Nationwide, more than 2,500 adidas outlets in 300 Chinese cities attract millions of sports fans. Adidas, the world's No.2 sporting goods maker after Nike is expecting the number of its outlets in China to grow to over 5,000 by 2010.

Adidas, which has been the official supplier of the World Cup since 1970, is also committed to the Olympic Movement. The partnership between the Olympics and the company dates back to the 1928 Amsterdam Games.

On January 24, 2005, adidas signed a deal with the Organizing Committee of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) to became one of 11 official partners of the 2008 Olympics. Adidas also provided the apparel for the Chinese athletes at the Turin Winter Olympics in February 2006.

The German company is estimated to have paid as much as $100 million in cash and extras such as uniforms to win the Beijing Olympics sponsorship bid. However, it will likely see its investment payoff as its three-stripe sportswear adorns the shirts of officials and volunteers at next year's Games. Adidas will retain exclusive marketing rights in the sports goods category during the pre-Games period until 2008.

Before the Olympics gets under way, adidas will outfit the Special Olympics World Summer Games to be held in Shanghai in early October. The company will supply approximately 40,000 volunteers, staff and technical officials with sportswear.