Adidas said it would aim to sell its loss-making golf business to focus on shoes and clothing after its core Adidas brand reported strong quarterly sales particularly in the United States.

The German sport wear firm, which launched a review of its golf unit on August last, said it had decided to focus on selling golf shoes and clothing under its main Adidas brand and enter into talks to sell the TaylorMade, Admas and Ashworthgolf brands.

“We decided that now is the time to focus even more on our core strength athletic foot wear and apparel market,” chief executive, Herbert Hainer said. Adidas made the announcement as it reported strong first-quarter figure for its core brand, particularly in North America, where sells jumped 31 per cent as a hike in marketing spend helping it gain ground on arch rival Nike.