A German press baron used his best-selling tabloid to campaign against Adidas’s decision to stop paying rent during the coronavirus pandemic, without disclosing that he was the company’s landlord.
Mathias Döpfner has a 22% stake in Axel Springer, which is worth more than €1bn.
In March and April 2020, Springer’s flagship tabloid Bild published more than 20 articles chiding Adidas for a planned rent freeze during the first lockdown. Other retailers with similar policies, including H&M, Ceconomy, Deichmann and Puma, received significantly less attention.
Döpfner was not only an affected landlord, but also the source of the initial story. He is the co-owner of a period building on Münzstrasse in the historic centre of Berlin in which Adidas rented a store that operated over two floors.
