The Global Sports brand has a rich heritage in African Football and has been actively engaged in the continent since 1998.  PUMA has also enjoyed a long and successful relationship with Ghana, partnering with the GFA since 2005.

Christian Voigt, PUMA’s Senior Head of Sports Marketing comments: “We are very happy to extend our partnership with the Ghana Football Association.  African Football is important to PUMA, and the ten years of partnership we have enjoyed with the GFA have seen some great moments – none more so than the Black Stars being a kick away from becoming the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final, four years ago.  The appetite and passion for football in Ghana is infectious, and this wonderful spirit has endeared the national team to the World.  We are proud to be associated with them and to continue this relationship.  

Kwesi Nyantakyi, President of the Ghana Football Federation said: “Over the past decade, PUMA has excelled in its commitment and support for the Ghana Football Association, and we are very happy this partnership will continue.  PUMA understands African Football and the nature of its teams and they have delivered everything we have asked of them in helping prepare all of the Ghana senior and youth teams to go forward and be successful.  Signing this new contract with PUMA gives us great confidence for the years ahead, kicking off with the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations next week.”

Through this agreement, the FIGC and PUMA will actively work together on a number of projects to grow the image, profile and commerciality of the FIGC on a global level. This will entail shared marketing investment allocated to core areas of focus within the FIGC programme including youth development, women’s football, countering racism and the internationalisation of the FIGC brand.

As PUMA continues to reassert itself as a Global Sport Brand with strong heritage in performance, the FIGC partnership is one of great strategic importance. Dating back more than ten years, PUMA first became the partner of the ‘Squadre Nazionali’ in 2003. This next era will see the partnership continue to expand and instigate greater mutual return to both organisations.

Bjørn Gulden, Chief Executive Officer for PUMA said: “Extending this long standing partnership with the FIGC is extremely important to PUMA and is another key step towards our goal to become the Fastest Sport Brand in the World. The FIGC with all its heritage and class is a major ingredient in our football portfolio and there is a clear vision amongst their new senior management that we share and are enthusiastic to support. The coming years will see a deeper commitment from PUMA to the FIGC and we see great commercial opportunity through a partnership that has continued to grow yet retains great potential.”

Carlo Tavecchio, President of the FIGC commented: “The partnership extension with PUMA represents a very important result for the FIGC. It will bring benefit us greatly both in affirming our brand at an international level and because it will see both organizations committed to developing special projects. The FIGC has defined a 360 development plan that is effective across the National A Team to the youth teams, from women’s football to social responsibility projects. In addressing these ambitious plans, PUMA will be a highly valued partner that we are proud to have with us for a long time.

The first collection by Kering Eyewear - PUMA’s “Collezione Uno” - will be made up of optical frames and sunglasses, which will be divided into three main segments: Performance, Active and Sportstyle. Each product segment is characterized by style, form and combines technology and color, which makes the products distinctive and functional for specific needs and situations. In line with PUMA’s new brand positioning as a sports brand, the range will also include eyewear items specifically designed for Running and playing Golf. The first collection will be officially presented in July 2015.

“A new phase in the world of eyewear is beginning for us,” said Bjørn Gulden, CEO of PUMA. “PUMA’s new brand positioning as a true sports brand means that we need to offer eyewear collections that are able to go beyond the expectations of athletes and to guarantee better performance thanks to continuous quality research and innovation. I would also like to thank Charmant for the good cooperation in the last 12 years. They have not only created a solid foundation for our Eyewear business, but also significantly expanded it and established PUMA Eyewear as a successful brand.”

Roberto Vedovotto, President and CEO of Kering Eyewear said: “Being a brand leader in sportswear and a strategic brand for the Group, PUMA offers us the extraordinary opportunity of developing an extremely innovative product with notable growth potential, especially in the performance segment, where the technology that we are able to develop will give us a unique positioning in the sports eyewear sector”.

The eyewear collections continue to be available in the PUMA Stores, including PUMA’s Online Store as well as retail stores.

Daniela Molin, who has more than 20 years of product management experience in the sports industry, started her career at PUMA in 1996. Since then, she has held several positions within the company’s Accessories business. As Senior Head of Product Management Accessories, she has contributed significantly to the positive development of the Business Unit over the recent years and will continue to further expand PUMA’s market position in this important segment. She will be based in Herzogenaurach, reporting to CEO Bjørn Gulden.

With Philippe Le-Bretton, PUMA further strengthens its management team in the Asian Pacific market. Le-Bretton has been with PUMA since 2007 and looks back on almost 20 years of experience within the sports and fashion industry with brands such as Lacoste Accessories (Licence of Samsonite) and Longchamp. Before his role as General Manager Accessories and Licensing, he held leading positions at PUMA such as Head of Sales for PUMA’s APAC region. Le-Bretton will be based in Singapore, reporting to CEO Bjørn Gulden.

Asafa Powell will become an important ambassador for the PUMA brand in an Olympic year and beyond.  He will feature in both global marketing activations promoting Running Training product lines and brand campaigns in the lead up to the 2016 Olympics.  This partnership will also see PUMA working with Powell to design a ‘Sub-10 King’ line of sportswear and spikes.

Speaking about the new partnership with PUMA, Asafa Powell said, “PUMA has played a huge role in Jamaican Track & Field throughout my career - supporting the high school programme that fosters young athletes, partnering with the JAAA and JOA and elite athletes such as Usain.  It’s a brand I’ve been very familiar with throughout my career and their longstanding commitment to Jamaican athletics is key as we continue to build and work to maintain our recent successes.  They understand Jamaican culture, history, people and also the sport that this country loves, and I am very happy to be working with them.”

Pascal Rolling, PUMA’s Head of Sports Marketing for Running commented, “Having Asafa as part of our team here at PUMA is great news for us.  He has played such an important role in Jamaican track and field for more than a decade, demonstrating a consistently high level of performance throughout his sprinting career which is a great testament to a great man. He inspires those around him, is an excellent role model and will bring great value to PUMA in the years ahead.”  

Asafa Powell has run the most sub 10 second 100M sprints in the history of track and field. The Commonwealth, World Championship and Olympic medalist has dipped below the 10-second mark 93 times and was the first Jamaican to win the IAAF Sportsman of the Year.  Powell, who clocked the first sub 10 second time of the 2015 track season, was the first Jamaican to ever hold the world record for the 100m dash, with times of 9.77 and 9.74.

To present the outfit specifically designed for the COP21, PUMA brought on board an ambassador: Luc Abalo, right winger of the French national squad and of PSG Handball, double handball world champion. “It is with great pride that I wear these clothes designed by PUMA for the UN Climate Change Conference. Protecting the environment is essential for the future of our planet, and I am delighted to be the PUMA ambassador for this important cause,” the French handball player underlined.

Bjørn Gulden, Chief Executive Officer of PUMA SE said: “Becoming an official partner of COP21 was a logical step for PUMA given our on-going commitment to environmental protection. For us, it is essential to contribute to the search for effective solutions to limit global warming to 2°C”.

Michael has 25 years of hands-on experience in sourcing, product development and sales, having worked in various senior management functions for companies such as Decathlon, Tesco and COACH Leatherware. He is based in Hong Kong and reports directly to PUMA's Chief Operating Officer Lars Sørensen. 

Dr. Reiner Hengstmann, former Global Director Sustainability and Compliance, led the Safe Department since 1999. He has left PUMA to pursue career opportunities outside the company.

"The exact movements that make an athlete hot are converted and used to cool them down," said Charles Johnson, Global Director Innovation. "That functional dynamic informed the visual language of the jacket. That's what makes it special."

When sport activity increases, so does the body temperature. Sweat buildup and heat create a humid climate inside apparel that make it uncomfortable. Traditional performance apparel deals with this condition by using performance textiles and zippers and vents that are all static. The evoTRG Vent Jacket, on the other hand, provides temperature control with technical stretch mesh that assists in ventilation and allows for freedom of movement. In addition, windCell ensures protection against wind to minimize the loss of body temperature. The vent Thermo-R jacket demonstrated a better cooling technology in terms of skin temperature compared to the closed vent and vented control jackets. Skin temperature decreases appeared higher after 10 minutes compared to 20 minutes, and were on average 0.4°C cooler.

IFC will adopt a financing structure with tiered pricing of short-term working capital, offering lower costs for those suppliers that achieve a high score in PUMA's supplier rating, that is applied after PUMA has monitored a supplier's adherence to the company's social and environmental standards through an auditing process.

“This financing program enables our suppliers to leverage their relationship with us and benefit from PUMA's strong reputation and financial position," said Lars Soerensen, PUMA’s Chief Operating Officer. "This is the first program in our company that rewards a supplier’s rating within PUMA’s environmental and sustainability program through related fees."

"IFC is the perfect partner for us to implement this program”, stated Frank Wächter, Senior Head of Treasury & Insurance at PUMA. "They have a proven track record in designing such programs and implementing them in countries in Asia, where many banks are not as active.”

Sergio Pimenta, IFC Director of Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services said: “This agreement with PUMA advances IFC’s efforts to encourage small and medium companies such as PUMA’s suppliers to improve environmental and social sustainability while achieving strong financial results”. 

Ball Planet, a Chinese supplier of soccer balls with production facilities in China, is the first supplier to join the program. “We are keen to start using this financing facility, since access to affordable financing is always a challenge," Ken Hong, General Manager of Ball Planet Industrial Ltd., said: "This innovative program will not only help us improve our cash flow, but will also provide us with a financial incentive to improve our environmental, health and safety and social standards, which will ultimately reduce our operating costs and enhance our performance.” Ball Planet has been a business partner of PUMA since 2010.  

PUMA and IFC launched this initiative in partnership with GT Nexus, a cloud-based business network and platform for global trade and supply chain management. The platform enables participants to operate against a core, real-time set of information across multiple supply chain functions. This optimizes the flow of goods, funds and trade information.

IFC provides financing to ready-made garment and footwear suppliers through its Global Trade Supplier Finance (GTSF) program, which provides working capital to suppliers backed by receivables from international buyers. Supplier finance is a scalable way for suppliers in emerging markets to access affordable financing for their receivables over a period defined by the terms of credit. Established in 2010, IFC’s GTSF program is a $500 million multicurrency investment and advisory program that provides short-term finance to emerging-market suppliers and small and midsized exporters.

The new administrative building, which will be about 123 meters long and 22 meters high and will contain 14.000 square meters of office space, will be erected across from the existing PUMAVision Headquarters in Herzogenrauch, at the road Zum Flughafen. An 85-meter-long bridge made of 173 tons of steel will serve both as a new landmark and connecting element between the existing headquarters and the new building. A pylon, measuring 37 meters in height, will stabilize the bridge at the PUMAVision Headquarters. Nuremberg-based firm Klaus Krex created the architectural design and dealt with the respective building application. Mainly local companies are involved in the construction process.

Bjørn Gulden, CEO PUMA SE, said: “The construction of our new administrative building is a further clear commitment to our roots in Herzogenaurach. With modern office spaces and an extension of our sports offering, we will be able to provide attractive working conditions to our employees, while fostering our dynamic corporate culture as a sports brand and underlining our role as one of the leading employers in the region. By relocating our offices from Würzburger Straße and merging our work force in Herzogenaurach, we are not only ensuring short distances for faster decisions at our German location, but are also providing a true gateway to the city with the bridge.”

Bavarian State Minister Dr. Markus Söder said: “PUMA is a global Sports Brand. The company stands for innovation and passion. Thanks to this, Herzogenaurach has become a center for sporting goods known across the world. PUMA has always underlined its commitment to its Mid-Franconian hometown and is one of the most important employers in the region. By expanding its headquarters and making investments in the region, PUMA once again proves its close links with Herzogenaurach and the region of Middle Franconia.”

Lothar Matthäus, a long-time PUMA partner who holds the record for the most games played as part of the German national team, said at the groundbreaking event in his hometown Herzogenaurach: “It’s a great honour for me to be involved in the groundbreaking ceremony today. My career is closely connected to PUMA and I am happy the company is staying true to my Franconian home of Herzogenaurach. I think that the designs for the offices and the ‘PUMA Bridge’ look good and I’m already excited to see what the wild cat’s new home will look like once construction has been completed.”

The new six-story building complex, which will be built using around 1.400 tons of steel and roughly 9.500 cubic meters of concrete, will include light-flooded open-plan offices with a floor-to-ceiling window front and will be able to be custom arranged for projects and work groups through mobile, noise insulating furnishing elements. Apart from this flexibility, several sports offers will underline PUMA’s guiding principles with the mission of being the fastest sports brand in the world. Not only a gym of roughly 500 square meters will be available for PUMA’s employees, but also a large exterior area with a volleyball and basketball court as well as an additional multifunctional area of 500 square meters.

The new building will meet the same high environmental standards as the adjacent PUMAVision Headquarters. A modern concrete core temperature control will ensure sustainable heating and cooling in conjunction with air-water heat pumps, while the majority of rinsing water will be provided through a cistern containing 300 cubic meters of rainwater. Herzo Werke will manage the supply of district heating. Moreover, PUMA intends to provide charging stations for electric vehicles at the site.

Our analysis of the Swiss Home jersey from Sunday's game shows that there was one batch of material, where yarns had been damaged during the production process, leading to a weakening in the final garment. This can happen, if the combination of heat, pressure and time is not properly controlled in the manufacturing process. The tight fitting ACTV jerseys are made of an elastane and polyester material mix. The defective material was used in only a limited number of Swiss home jerseys.

PUMA has checked the inventory of all jerseys of all PUMA teams and can assure that such an unfortunate incident does not happen again. PUMA's national team jerseys for the EURO 2016 are manufactured in Turkey.

The ACTV Thermo-R technology helps players to maintain an optimum body temperature through a unique phase-change material injected into the shirt’s inner athletic taping, strategically inserted in the front and back of the shirt. It has successfully been used in national and club team jerseys since March 2014 and worn during the World Cup and subsequent club season.

This was a very unfortunate incident and PUMA apologizes to the Swiss federation and their players.