Sunak’s Sambas hit trainer sales

RISHI SUNAK triggered a backlash last month when he sported Adidas Samba trainers in an interview, leading to accusations that he had ruined the shoe’s credibility.

The Prime Minister’s footwear choice also appears to have hit sales, with spending on the trainer dropping in the weeks after Mr Sunak’s appearance.

Figures from the payments app Klarna show that Adidas Samba sales in Britain fell by 11pc in April compared with the previous month.

Mr Sunak wore a white pair of Sambas in an Instagram interview with the financial influencer Abigail Foster on April 4.

Total sales of Adidas trainers rose 11pc in April, fuelled by a 13pc rise in sales of Adidas Stan Smith trainers.

Sales of Sir Keir Starmer’s Adidas Gazelle trainers rose by 34pc in April but he was not pictured in them until late in the month, so was unlikely to have had a significant impact on sales. Meanwhile, spending on the New Balance CT302 worn by Ms Foster in the interview rose by 27pc.

The spending data covers purchases with Klarna, the “buy now, pay later” service used by Adidas and other online retailers, which has about 18m users in the UK.

Mr Sunak apologised to Samba wearers put off by his choices days after the video, claiming he has been a long- time devotee of the trainer.

He said: “I issue a fulsome apology to the Samba community. But, in my defence, I would say I have been wearing Adidas trainers including Sambas – and others, in fact – for many, many years.”

magazine said the Prime Minister “took an eternally cool sneaker and ruined it for everyone”.

Adidas had said previously that sales of its Samba and Gazelle trainers were “very strong and growing” in the first three months of the year.

The German sportswear giant reported an 8pc year-on-year rise in first-quarter sales and said profits had climbed from €60m (£51.6m) to €336m.