Herzogenaurach, Germany, May 7, 2020
PUMA’s First Quarter Sales and Profitability negatively impacted by COVID-19

2020 FIRST QUARTER HEAVILY IMPACTED BY COVID-19

  • Despite strong growth in the first ten weeks of the quarter, sales decrease by 1.3% currency adjusted to € 1,300 million (-1.5% reported)
  • Gross profit margin declines by 140 basis points to 47.6%, caused by negative currency impact, lower sales in China as well as inventory devaluation and return provisions
  • Operating expenses (OPEX) at € 553 million (last year: € 511 million); actions taken to reduce cost base with only a limited impact in the first quarter
  • Operating result (EBIT) decreases by 50% to € 71.2 million (last year: € 142.5 mil-lion) 
  • Net earnings and earnings per share decline 62%
  • PUMA proposes the suspension of the dividend payment to the Annual General Meeting on May 7 and will hold the AGM as a digital meeting
  • PUMA secures additional € 900 million revolving credit facility in May to prepare for the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • PUMA will announce new sustainability targets 10FOR25 in the 2019 Annual Report
  • PUMA and First Mile cocreate a sustainable sportswear collection made from recycled plastic, with positive social impact in local communities

Bjørn Gulden, Chief Executive Officer of PUMA SE: 

“2020 started very well with a great order book, strong sell through and record retail numbers.

Then, at the end of January, the COVID-19 virus hit China. Since then we have worked to minimize the damage short-term without hindering the mid-term momentum of PUMA.

We are looking at three phases: Survive, Recover, Grow Again. The different markets are at different stages. APAC with China and Korea is recovering. Europe is hopefully also moving towards a recovery while the Americas, with almost all stores closed, are in the middle of the Survive phase. The health and safety of our people comes first and I am very impressed with how our people have handled this difficult period. The goal is to get through this without any PUMA employee losing their job. To survive this crisis in cooperation with all our partners such as retailers, suppliers, landlords, financial institutions, authorities, investors, and customers is crucial. We can only get through this together. So far, the cooperation with most of them has been great.

The first quarter was difficult, but we feel we did a decent job. The second quarter will financially be even worse with more than 50% of global sports and sport lifestyle space being closed. We are mitigating the impact on our revenues wherever we can by focusing on e Commerce and the markets that are opening up again. We are working with our factories and other partners in our supply chain to minimize the damage, assure timely deliveries, avoid excess stock as much as possible and to find fair solutions for all of us. We have asked all partners to get additional financing to ensure operations through this crisis and we have just secured a € 900 million revolving credit facility (RCF) to bridge the time with reduced inflows ourselves.

Given the uncertainty of the development of COVID-19, we are not in a position to estimate the impact for the full year. 2020 is and will be a difficult year, but we do everything we can to recover and to get back to strong growth in 2021.”

First Quarter 2020

PUMA started the year with a very positive order book for 2020, with strong and balanced growth in all regions. In China, after a good start to the year with double-digit growth in wholesale, e-commerce and owned and operated stores, the Chinese market shut down in the last week of January. Over the next six weeks, the whole business in China, except for e-commerce, basically disappeared. As China started to recover in mid-March, COVID-19 had started to spread globally and by the end of the month basically 80% of PUMA’s retail doors, both owned and operated as well as partner stores, were closed. As a result, PUMA's sales declined in the first quarter of 2020 by 1.3% currency adjusted to € 1,299.8 million (-1.5% reported). China, Japan and Korea were the most severely impacted countries and led to a decline of first quarter sales in the Asia/Pacific region of 12.0% currency adjusted. The EMEA and Americas regions, having been negatively impacted since March 2020, still showed a slightly positive sales development in the first quarter, increasing by 3.5% and 3.1% currency adjusted respectively.

In terms of product divisions, Footwear grew by 1.9% in constant currency while Apparel and Accessories were down 6.3% and 0.2%.

Both wholesale and retail channels were significantly impacted by the store closures instructed by local authorities around the globe. At the end of the first quarter, almost all of our owned and operated retail stores as well as the stores of our retail partners were closed. Our sales in e-commerce grew around 40% in the first quarter.

The gross profit margin in the first quarter decreased by 140 basis points from 49.0% to 47.6%. This development was mainly caused by negative currency impacts, lower sales in China, inventory devaluation and return provisions.

Operating expenses (OPEX) rose by 8.3% to € 553.3 million in the first quarter (last year: 
€ 510.7 million). The increase was mainly due to sales and marketing costs to support the originally expected sales growth. In addition, higher costs in our e-commerce business and more retail expenses caused by a higher number of owned and operated stores also contributed to the increase. Actions taken to reduce the cost base only had a limited impact in the first quarter.

Due to the negative impact of COVID-19 on our business, the operating result (EBIT) decreased by 50.1% from € 142.5 million to € 71.2 million in the first quarter of 2020.

Net earnings went down by 61.6% from € 94.4 million last year to € 36.2 million in the first quarter of 2020. As a consequence, earnings per share decreased from € 0.63 to € 0.24.

Working Capital

An increased number of own retail stores and the loss of sales due to the negative impact of COVID-19 has led to an increase of inventories of 24.5% to € 1,129.9 million. Trade receivables declined by 12.6% to € 672.0 million. On the liabilities side, trade payables increased by 32.7% to € 742.3 million, mainly related to the higher product purchases, but also due to the deferral of payments. In total, working capital decreased by 6.9% to 
€ 788.7 million (last year: 846.9 million). In May 2020, PUMA  secured a new revolving credit facility of € 900 million through a banking consortium of twelve banks, including a direct participation of the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) of € 625 million.

 

Outlook 2020

We see an improvement in APAC, where especially China and South Korea are recovering; and we see the first stores opening again in some of the European countries. The distribution in Americas is still almost fully shut down. E-commerce is growing at a very high rate, but this growth cannot in any way compensate for the revenue loss in the other channels.

Given that a large proportion of the global sports and sports lifestyle distribution is currently closed, that consumers are still concerned about their health and safety and that we at PUMA are currently achieving only about 50% of normal revenue, we expect the financial performance in the second quarter to be worse than in the first quarter. The development over the coming weeks and months is so unpredictable that we cannot provide a reliable financial outlook for the full year 2020.

PUMA’s mantra is to manage the crisis short term without hindering the mid term momentum. 2020 is and will continue to be a difficult year, where the goal for PUMA is to survive, recover and then emerge stronger with growth again. Different markets will go through these phases at different times and execution therefore must be very locally driven. Management expects all markets to recover by the end of the year and 2021 to be a year of growth again. The industry is expected to be in a strong position after the crisis. People have already now started doing more sports wherever it is possible, even under difficult circumstances. There are many indications that health and sports will be even more important than before the crisis. The casualization trends and the influence of sports brands are also expected to strengthen further. PUMA is well positioned to continue its growth and will continue to invest in full new product ranges for 2021.

 

Herzogenaurach, Germany, May 26, 2020 
PUMA SIGNS LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF ICELAND
Sports company PUMA has entered into a long-term partnership with the Football Association of Iceland (KSI) to become the official technical sponsor for the men’s, women’s and youth teams. 

“I am extremely impressed with what Iceland has achieved,” said Björn Gulden, CEO of PUMA. “Despite a small population, they have great talent, the players a fantastic attitude and they always have a great team spirit. We really look forward to working with them.”

With a population of just 330,000, Iceland qualified for the UEFA EURO 2016 Finals and is the smallest national team to qualify for the men’s FIFA World Cup in 2018. The women’s team have also achieved success by qualifying for three UEFA Women’s European Championships in a row, 2009, 2013 and 2017. Following their rise in the world rankings, Iceland has been embraced around the world, capturing the imagination of football fans with inspirational performances on the pitch and strong support off the pitch.

Fans of the Icelandic team have produced an exhilarating stadium atmosphere with the now iconic ‘Thunderclap’. This spectacle has gained widespread popularity and attention after reverberating all over the world. Following matches, the players join the fans to continue this tradition in a post-match ritual, showcasing the remarkable bond the team have with their fans.

“We are excited and very much looking forward to our partnership with PUMA, one of the world’s leading sport brands. Their enthusiasm for Icelandic football and what we stand for has been impressive. I am confident that together with PUMA we can enjoy further success both on and off the field.” said Gudni Bergsson, FA of Iceland President.

Iceland will join a number of national teams on the PUMA roster such as Italy, Austria, Serbia, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

Herzogenaurach, Germany, July 6, 2020
Paul Spencer takes over as Regional Sales Director Europe
Sports company PUMA announces that Paul Spencer will take over as Regional Sales Director Europe with immediate effect.

Paul joined PUMA in 2007 as a Sales Manager for Lifestyle and quickly progressed to become General Manager of UK, Ireland and Benelux (UKIB) in 2014. Before joining PUMA, Paul worked at Adidas and Nike. With a track record in delivering growth and a passion for driving the business forward, Paul will lead the regional sales team to further accelerate PUMA’s momentum. 
 
Marek Drvota, who has held the position of Regional Sales Director Europe since 2016, has decided to leave PUMA to pursue new opportunities outside of the company. 
 
Paul will continue to be General Manager UKIB until his successor is nominated.

 

Herzogenaurach, Germany; July 29, 2020
PUMA’s Second Quarter Sales and Profitability heavily affected by COVID-19

2020 Second Quarter Facts

  • Sales decrease by 30.7% currency adjusted to € 831 million (-32.3% reported) 
  • Gross profit margin declines to 43.9%, caused by higher discounts, inventory devaluation and return provisions due to COVID-19 as well as negative currency impacts
  • Operating expenses (OPEX) are reduced by 9.0% to € 484 million (last year: € 532 million) due to actions taken at the end of the first and during the second quarter
  • Operating result (EBIT) decreases to € -114.8 million (last year: € 80.3 million)
  • Net earnings decline to € -95.6 million and earnings per share to € -0.64 respectively 
  • PUMA announces international supermodel Winnie Harlow as new brand ambassador
  • As an initiative of PUMA’s #REFORM platform (launched 2018 to fight for equality, respect and fairness), PUMA and Formula 1 partner Mercedes-AMG Petronas unveil black race gear as statement against racism and discrimination 

PUMA signs long-term partnerships with the football federations of Iceland and Paraguay

 

2020 Half-Year Facts

  • Sales decrease by 15.4% currency adjusted to € 2,131 million (-16.3% reported) 
  • Gross profit margin declines to 46.2% (last year 49.2%), caused by higher discounts, inventory devaluation and return provisions due to COVID-19 as well as negative currency impacts
  • Operating expenses (OPEX) decrease by 0.5% to € 1,037 million (last year: € 1,042 million) due to cost savings in the second quarter
  • Operating result (EBIT) decreases to € -43.6 million (last year: € 222.8 million)
  • Net earnings decline to € -59.4 million and earnings per share to € -0.40 respectively 
  • PUMA secures additional € 900 million revolving credit facility in May to be prepared for a potentially longer-lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • PUMA announces new sustainability targets 10FOR25 

 

Bjørn Gulden, Chief Executive Officer of PUMA SE:

“The second quarter of 2020 was the most difficult quarter I have ever experienced. A virus that shut down 85% of all global sports and fashion retail business was an experience that I had never expected. Priority number one was the health and safety of our people, number two to ensure financing and liquidity to survive the crisis and finally to run the business short-term as well as possible without destroying the mid-term momentum of our brand.
I am proud of how our people have worked through this difficult time. Flexibility, pragmatism, decisiveness and a positive spirit have been the key characteristics of our people. The quarter started with a 55% decline in sales in April, May improved, but was still heavily down with -38%. The real improvement came in June which was down “only“ 6%.
Flexibility with our wholesale partners, promotional activities in our own retail stores and a larger focus on e-commerce have been the short-term strategy.
Full investment in product development for 2021, continued investment in marketing, digital sell-in meetings with our retail partners and a high degree of local decision-making is the current strategy for the mid-term.
The uncertainty surrounding the virus and the fact that the number of infected people globally is still increasing makes it impossible to determine an accurate financial outlook for the full year. We continue to feel that there is a positive global sentiment towards PUMA among both  our consumers and our retail partners worldwide and we will continue to do everything we can to please them.”

Second Quarter 2020

Sales in the second quarter of 2020 decreased by 30.7% currency adjusted to € 831.1 million (-32.3% reported), with sales declining in all regions and all product divisions. PUMA had a weak start into the quarter, with April sales down 55.2% year-on-year and May sales down 37.5%. Since then, business improved to being down “only” 6.0% in June. Despite a strong recovery in Greater China with a growth of 15.6% currency adjusted, sales in the Asia/Pacific region declined 14.2% currency adjusted in the second quarter, mainly caused by a weaker sales development in Japan and India. With most of the owned and operated PUMA stores and retail partner stores being closed in April and May, the business environment in EMEA and Americas deteriorated significantly with sales in the second quarter declining 30.0% and 43.1% currency adjusted respectively. All product divisions showed a double-digit decline in currency adjusted sales, with Footwear being down 34.1%, Apparel 32.2% and Accessories 18.2%. 

The gross profit margin declined by 540 basis points to 43.9% in the second quarter (last year: 49.3%) caused by higher discounts, inventory devaluation and return provisions due to COVID-19 as well as negative currency impacts.

Operating expenses (OPEX) decreased by 9.0% to € 483.5 million due to various actions taken to adjust the cost base to the current market situation. However, general and administrative expenses increased due to higher provisions for expected credit losses of trade receivables.

The operating result (EBIT) decreased from € 80.3 million last year to € -114.8 million due to a strong decline in sales and gross profit margin, which could not be compensated by the reduction of OPEX.

Net earnings declined from € 49.7 million to € -95.6 million and earnings per share were down from € 0.33 in the second quarter last year to € -0.64 correspondingly. 
 

First Half-Year 2020

PUMA started the year with a very positive order book for 2020, with strong and balanced growth in all regions. In China, after a good start to the year with double-digit growth in wholesale, e-commerce and owned and operated stores, the Chinese market shut down in the last week of January. Over the next six weeks, the whole business in China, except for e-commerce, basically disappeared. As China started to recover in mid-March, COVID-19 spread globally and by the end of the month basically 80% of PUMA’s, owned and operated retail stores and those of our retail partners, were closed. As a result, sales in April declined sharply by 55% compared to last year. With an increasing number of stores being opened over the course of May, first in EMEA and later in North America, sales improved in the month of May but remained still weak with a decrease of 38%. More store openings in June and a generally more positive sentiment led to a substantial improvement and a monthly decline in sales of only 6%. At the end of June, 85% of PUMA’s owned and operated stores were open.

Overall, sales in the first half-year of 2020 decreased by 15.4% currency adjusted to € 2,130.9 million (-16.3% reported). All regions showed a double-digit decline in sales with EMEA being down 12.1%, Americas 20.9% and Asia/Pacific 13.0%. Sales also declined in all product divisions with a currency adjusted decrease in Footwear of 15.2%, in Apparel of 18.6% and in Accessories of 9.0%. 

The Wholesale business decreased by 17.5% currency adjusted to € 1,589.3 million. PUMA's Direct to Consumer business (DTC), which includes owned and operated stores as well as e-commerce, declined by 8.5% currency adjusted to € 541.6 million. This represented a share of 25.4% of total sales for the first half of 2020 (23.6% in the previous year). Supported by intensified performance marketing and successful promotions, our e-commerce business increased strongly by 70% currency adjusted.

The gross profit margin declined by 300 basis points from 49.2% to 46.2% in the first half of 2020, caused by higher discounts, inventory devaluation and return provisions due to COVID-19 as well as negative currency impacts.

As a consequence of the cost savings in the second quarter, operating expenses (OPEX) in the first half of 2020 decreased by 0.5% and amounted to € 1,036.8 million.

The operating result (EBIT) decreased from € 222.8 million last year to € -43.6 million in the first half of 2020 due to a strong decline in sales and gross profit margin while OPEX were slightly reduced.

Net earnings declined to € -59.4 million (last year: € 144.1 million). This translates into earnings per share of € -0.40 compared to € 0.96 in the first half of 2019.

Working Capital

We were able to decrease our working capital by 17.8% to € 652.1 million (last year: 792.9 million). The lower sales due to COVID-19 were the main reason for the increase of our inventories by 21.2% to € 1,288.9 million, but also caused the decline of trade receivables by 18.8% to € 572.5 million. Trade payables increased by 22.8% to € 908.5 million due to extended payment terms with our suppliers.

 

Cash Flow and Liquidity Situation

The free cash flow in the first half of 2020 decreased to € -206 million (1-6/2019: € -104 million). This development was mainly due to the negative earnings before taxes (EBT), while cash outflows for working capital and capital expenditures were reduced. PUMA’s cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2020 amounted to € 437 million (last year: € 366 million). In addition, at the end of the second quarter, PUMA had unutilized credit facilities amounting to a total of € 1,263 million (last year: € 357 million).

 

Outlook 2020

Even though the business in the second quarter developed slightly better than we had expected, the uncertainty remains very high: globally, COVID-19 infections are on the highest level since the outbreak of the pandemic. While the current trajectory could even suggest full recovery before year end, the risk of a second wave with major lockdowns remains very high. As the development over the coming weeks and months continues to be unpredictable, we cannot provide a reliable financial outlook for the full year 2020. 

PUMA’s mantra is to manage the crisis short-term without hindering the mid-term momentum. 2020 is and will continue to be a difficult year, where the goal for PUMA is to survive, recover and then emerge stronger with growth again. Different markets will go through these phases at different times and execution therefore must be very locally driven. Management still continues to expect markets to recover by the end of the year 2020 and 2021 to be a year of growth again. The sporting goods industry is expected to be in a strong position after this crisis. People have already now started doing more sports wherever it is possible, even under difficult circumstances. There are many indications that health and sports will be even more important than before. The casualization trends and the influence of sports brands are also expected to strengthen further. PUMA is well positioned to continue its growth and will continue to invest in full new product ranges for 2021.


 

Brand and Strategy Update 

The COVID-19 pandemic presented PUMA with several challenges that affected different parts of our business. When the pandemic started in China in January, some of our factories there had to shut down or could not operate on full capacity. As the virus spread to other parts of the world, large sporting events were either cancelled or postponed and most of our owned and operated stores had to be closed at some point in the second quarter. We had to quickly react to these changes. PUMA’s strategic focus in the first half of 2020 has clearly been on surviving and managing the crisis short-term without hindering our mid-term momentum. Therefore, we have determined three key objectives: mitigate sales impact wherever possible, secure supply chain as well ensure financing and manage costs.
We continued to invest in a full line of products for the upcoming seasons. Our regular sell-in meetings, during which we usually welcome sales managers from all over the world in Herzogenaurach, had to be held digitally for the first time. We also looked for ways to design and develop our products digitally without the need for people to travel to the factories and with a reduced number of samples to be physically shipped from our factories in Asia. Communication with our retail partners such as pre-line and sell-in meetings have also mainly taken place digitally. The feedback we have received so far from our retail partners for our Spring/ Summer 2021 collections was very positive. 

We maintained a strong dialogue with all of our manufacturers, customers, landlords, banks and all other partners to ensure that we took measures together to sustain the entire value chain. To ensure that our manufacturing partners could continue to operate, we cancelled as few orders as possible, while securing more favorable payment terms. We also worked with both our retail partners and manufacturers to slow down shipments and extend payment terms to share the burden across the whole value chain. 

To further strengthen our e-commerce business in this exceptional time, we quickly and strongly increased investments into performance marketing. We responded quickly to the increased demand on our e-commerce store, adapted our offering to the stay-at-home situation by giving more space to leisurewear as well as sports apparel and also improved the speed of our e-commerce platform puma.com. Our e-commerce business delivered very strong growth in the first two quarters.

We also made good progress with the upgrade of our logistics network, as we opened our new distribution center in Indianapolis, USA. The center will speed up delivery times, as 90% of US customers can now be reached within two days. We continued to work on our central European warehouse in Geiselwind, Germany, which is on track to be operational in the second quarter of 2021.

The strong decline in sales in the first half of 2020 led to a significantly higher demand for financing and a clear focus on costs. We reduced costs and cash outflow wherever possible and secured additional financing to ensure that we, together with our partners, could survive the crisis. In May 2020, PUMA secured a new revolving credit facility of € 900 million through a banking consortium of twelve banks, including a direct participation of the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) of € 625 million. We used short-time work programs, furlough and temporary lay-offs to reduce costs. The suspension of dividend payments and the suspension of 100% of the Management Board’s salary as well as the reduction of salaries of our senior management by 25%-35% in April and May were essential measures to reduce cash outflow.

With many of our ambassadors and consumers being confined at home, we looked for new ways of engaging with our audience. We created a series of live videos on social media platforms, which we called #StrongerTogether. These live videos included talks with our football ambassadors Sergio Agüero and Nikita Parris, yoga sessions with sportstyle ambassador Cara Delevingne, interviews with Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen or workouts with pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis and others. Apart from supporting PUMA’s social media channels and e-commerce, these videos also created significant coverage in traditional media outlets.

We welcomed several new partners during the first six months of 2020. At the start of the year, PUMA signed a multi-year partnership with Grammy Award winning artist J. Cole, who combines the worlds of music and sports and will create products and marketing campaigns for the brand. We also welcomed Canadian model Winnie Harlow as an ambassador, who already headed the marketing campaigns for two new footwear franchises, the Kyron and the Mile Rider. In football, Dutch football club PSV Eindhoven as well as the national federations of Iceland and Paraguay joined the PUMA family. In other teamsports, we expanded our presence by signing the German Handball Federation. In track and field, we signed a partnership with the South African Athletics Federation and long-jump World Champion Tajay Gayle. PUMA also signed Jamaican Omar McLeod, the reigning Olympic Champion in 110m hurdles and the 2017 World Champion.

Even though regular competitions were cut short in the first half of 2020, our track and field athletes still entered the history books. PUMA athlete Armand “Mondo” Duplantis broke the indoor pole vault world record in February by clearing 6m18cm. In June, Norwegian hurdler Karsten Warholm ran the fastest 300m hurdles in history in a solo race.

In the first half of the year, product highlights included our Rudolf Dassler Legacy Collection, which features some of the most iconic shoes from PUMA’s history, such as the Fast Rider, the Ralph Sampson and the Roma. Alongside PUMA ambassador and LGBTQ+ activist Cara Delevingne, we launched the “From PUMA with Love” pack to celebrate Pride Month. The Rider, which was re-introduced in late 2019, became one of our most important footwear styles in the first half of 2020. This year, it was launched in several new styles and colors.

We also presented new collections with a focus on sustainability. Our sportswear collection with First Mile is made with recycled yarn that is manufactured from plastic bottles collected in the First Mile network. Our collaboration with London-based design school Central Saint Martins implemented cutting edge dyeing technologies such as “Dope Dye” and digital printing, to reduce the use of chemicals and water. Still at an experimental stage, our innovation department presented the “Design to Fade” biodesign project, which explored sustainable alternatives for dyeing and making textiles. On a corporate level, we have set ten new sustainability targets for 2025, which will further improve the social and environmental aspects of our supply chain. Examples of these targets include PUMA’s commitment to further lower its CO2 emissions and using 75% recycled polyester across all apparel and accessories products by 2025. We are also in the process of phasing out plastic bags from all of our retail stores globally.

The pandemic has once more confirmed that local relevance is key and the market situation can vary significantly between regions. To reflect this, we empowered decision-making by local management even more. Additionally, different countries have different sports that people follow and participate in. One of the best examples of local relevance is our partnership with Virat Kohli, the captain of the Indian cricket team. Cricket is by far the most relevant sport in India and by partnering with Virat, PUMA gains credibility as a sports brand in the Indian market.

We have taken decisive action to face the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. With our strong business model and supporting fundamental industry trends, such as casualization and an increased focus on health, we are well positioned to emerge stronger from the crisis and continue our growth.

Herzogenaurach, Germany, August 12, 2020
PUMA appoints Ben Hughes as General Manager UKIB
Sports company PUMA has appointed Ben Hughes as General Manager for the United Kingdom, Ireland and Benelux (UKIB) with immediate effect. In this role, Ben takes over from Paul Spencer, who has assumed the position as PUMA’s Regional Sales Director Europe.

Since 2014, Ben has had the role of Head of Sales for UKIB and played a significant role in the development of the UKIB business. “Ben has an impressive growth track record and enjoys great respect from our major accounts in the UK, which makes him the right person to lead the UKIB business and continue PUMA’s growth momentum,” said Arne Freundt, Regional General Manager EMEA. 

Ben joined PUMA in 2008 as Key Account Executive for JD Sports before he took on various Teamhead roles covering Performance & Sportstyle.

 

 

 

 

Herzogenaurach, Germany, September 11, 2020
PUMA to appoint Nina Graf-Vlachy as General Manager DACH
Sports company PUMA will appoint Nina Graf-Vlachy (38) as the new General Manager of the DACH area (Austria, Germany, Switzerland), starting October 1. In her new role, she will report directly to Arne Freundt, General Manager EMEA.

Graf-Vlachy, a Slovenian national, started her career at PUMA in 2013 and took charge of the Global Strategy Department in 2015. In that role, she laid the foundations of PUMA’s new women’s strategy. She has been in charge of the global Go-To-Market team since 2018, where she improved PUMA’s product creation and go-to-market processes. Before joining PUMA, she obtained a PhD in chemistry and worked as a Project Manager at the Boston Consulting Group.

Nina Graf-Vlachy will take over the role of General Manager DACH from Matthias Bäumer, who became General Manager BU Teamsport in June 2020.

Herzogenaurach, Germany, September 12, 2020
“THE KING IS BACK”: PUMA signs long-term Partnership with Football Star Neymar Jr.
Global sports company PUMA has signed a long-term partnership with Brazilian football player Neymar Jr. and NR Sports, the company which holds the image rights of the athlete, one of the most successful athletes of his generation, who will wear PUMA’s legendary PUMA KING football boot.

Neymar Jr. will not only wear PUMA boots on pitch, but will be a brand ambassador off-pitch, wearing PUMA’s most important lifestyle, training, and sport-inspired footwear and apparel products.

“Neymar Jr. joining our PUMA Family is fantastic”, said Bjørn Gulden, CEO of PUMA. “He is one of the best players in the world and extremely influential for the global football and youth culture. We are very excited and look forward to working with him both on and off the pitch."

In a message to his fans on his social media channels entitled “The KING is Back”, Neymar Jr. spoke about the impact that football greats such as Pelé and Maradona have had on his life, and  his decision to follow in their footsteps by partnering with PUMA.

“I grew up watching videos of great football legends such as Pelé, Cruyff, Matthäus, Eusébio and  Maradona” Neymar Jr. said. “These were the KINGs of the pitch, the KINGs of my sport. I wish to bring back the legacy that those athletes created on the pitch. They each played in PUMA, and each of them created their magic in The KING.”

 

 

He continued: “Every time I lace my boots, my KING boots, I will do anything to achieve all of my dreams to honor my name and that of all those great ones who wore the KING before me. This will be my PUMA history. The KING is back!”

Neymar Jr. has won several trophies in Brazil, Spain and France, as well as the Champions League™ and the Copa Libertadores™. He also won the Olympic Gold Medal with the Brazilian National Team in 2016. He has scored 61 goals in 101 matches for Brazil, making him the third highest goal scorer for his national team.

He currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain™ (PSG) and has won three French league titles, two Coupe de France, and two Coupe de la Ligue. He played an important role in leading the club to its first ever Champions League Final™ in 2020.

Herzogenaurach, germany, 22 september, 2020
PUMA appoints Johan Kuhlo as General Manager EEMEA Distribution
Sports company PUMA has appointed Johan Kuhlo (39), currently Head of Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations, as General Manager EEMEA Distribution with immediate effect. Johan will be based in PUMA’s regional hub in Salzburg and report directly to Arne Freundt, General Manager EMEA

Before joining PUMA in 2015, Johan was a Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group after holding several positions in Marketing and Sales at L’Oréal. At PUMA, he has played an integral part in defining more effective organizational setups, managing the spin-off from Kering in 2018 and, most recently, coordinating the company’s crisis management in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
Taking over from Johan, Moritz Schneidmüller, Teamhead Global Go-To-Market Strategy, will be promoted to Head of Corporate Strategy with immediate effect. Moritz started his career with PUMA in the Corporate Strategy department, where he worked from 2011 until 2014. Afterwards, he held various project management and strategy-related roles across Cobra PUMA Golf, Global eCom, Corporate Strategy and Global Go-To-Market. Moritz will report directly to PUMA CEO Bjørn Gulden.

 
herzogenaurach, germany, 06 october, 2020
PUMA ANNOUNCES COLLABORATION WITH STYLE ARCHITECT AND CULTURE DEFINER JUNE AMBROSE

Global sports company PUMA announces a new partnership with creative director and iconic image maker, June Ambrose. June will help PUMA redefine what it means to be stylish in sport; leaning on her 25+ years of creating culture defining moments, June will bring a fresh look to athletes and audiences’ attire. 

June will take a holistic brand approach, extending her design eye across categories and age groups for girls and women’s collections throughout 2021 and beyond. June came to PUMA through her long-standing relationship with JAY-Z, who serves as the creative director for PUMA Hoops.  

"Jay (Jay-Z), Emory Jones and I have had many conversations about style, sport, purpose and legacy,” said June Ambrose. “From these conversations, Jay then introduced me to Bjørn Gulden (PUMA CEO) and Adam Petrick (PUMA’s Global Director of Brand and Marketing). Adam and I talked about our visions and my impact on the culture at large, and it was from these interactions that I knew a collaboration with PUMA would be beautiful and transcend far beyond product.”

June’s role as a creative partner highlights PUMA’s continued focus on creating premium offerings that merge style with performance. June will lend her expertise to a number of moments and collections with PUMA throughout 2021 including, but not limited to, an exciting exclusive for PUMA Hoops and a Title Nine collection inspired by June’s passion to celebrate bold, fearless women everywhere who rise above and go the distance no matter how big the challenge might be, while also being stylishly fit.

“I want my work with PUMA to drive a dialogue around Title Nine and equality. To have the opportunity to do this by launching a collection for an underserved division, for women's basketball, is incredible,” said Ambrose. “I want athletes and all women to feel fearless and inspired when they wear the pieces that I've designed. I want to create 
a space where young girls and women feel empowered on and off the court."

“June is an icon at the intersection between fashion, music, culture and purpose,” said Adam Petrick, Global Director of Brand and Marketing at PUMA. “Having the opportunity to bring an individual with such talent into the world of sports is unique and we are excited to see how she can redefine what it means to create a sportswear collection.”

The partnership will also transcend product; working closely with June, PUMA will commit to using its platform for social impact, empowering youth and pushing for equality in sport.

“The connection between style and sport is timeless and it's something I've always wanted to put my spin on,” said Ambrose. “Beyond the collections, it's important to me that the collaboration is rooted in social impact, and PUMA's work in the social justice space to empower youth through sport makes them the perfect partner.”

 

BOSTON, MASS., OCTOBER 14, 2020
Top 2020 NBA Draft Prospect LaMelo Ball Joins the PUMA Hoops Family
LaMelo to represent PUMA on and off the court including signature products

LaMelo Ball will be entering this year’s NBA draft as one of the most sought out athletes, after becoming one of the youngest Americans to play professionally abroad in Lithuania and Australia. At just 19 years old, Ball is redefining the next generation of basketball through his electrifying playing style on the court and his personal style off the court.

“LaMelo’s physical gifts and dynamic play on the court, as well as his unique sense of personal style, make him a natural fit for PUMA,” said Adam Petrick, Global Director of Brand and Marketing at PUMA. “We are thrilled to add him to our roster of talented athletes and at just 19 years old, we can’t wait to see his impact on the broader culture surrounding basketball.”

As part of the partnership, PUMA will collaborate with Ball to create products that incorporate PUMA’s culture first approach – blurring the lines between sports, culture, music and fashion. The first collab will be a PUMA x LaMelo Ball T-shirt and hoodie set to release November 18 in correlation with the 2020 NBA Draft. 

“I don’t know what normal is. I personally chose a different path to achieve my success because that defines who I am,” said Ball. “I know some people think I am mysterious or ‘not from here,’ and I might have to agree. I am someone who likes to be different and consider myself to be one of one. That’s the message I want to share in my upcoming projects with PUMA.” 

PUMA and LaMelo’s approach to their partnership will fall under the “Not from Here” creative concept, which LaMelo came up with himself to represent his “one of one” attitude. 

PUMA also will be teaming up with Ball to support various giveback programs that will encourage youth to stay active through basketball skill camps, equipment and clothing donations, court refurbishments and more. 

 

 

Herzogenaurach, germany, october 16, 2020
PUMA APPOINTS MARIA VALDES AS GENERAL MANAGER SPORTSTYLE
Sports company PUMA has appointed Maria Valdes (36) as the new General Manager of the business unit Sportstyle, the company’s largest business unit by revenue.

Maria has been with PUMA for ten years and most recently worked as Senior Head of Product Line Management Footwear in the business unit Sportstyle. Before joining PUMA, she worked in product development and marketing for both L’Oréal and Inditex. In her new role, she will report directly to PUMA CEO Bjørn Gulden. 

After more than 18 years with PUMA, Reinhard Dischner, the current General Manager of the business unit Sportstyle, has decided to leave the company at the end of the year. Until then, he will stay with PUMA to ensure a smooth transition to Maria. 

“It is great to see that we were able to fill this important role from within the organization,” said PUMA CEO Bjørn Gulden. “This ensures a smooth transition and continuity, which are important, especially in these turbulent times. I wish Maria all the best in her new role and I would like to thank Reinhard for the great job he has done for our company. He played a very important role in our success.”

Herzogenaurach, Germany; November 17th, 2020
PUMA SIGNS GLOBAL POP SUPERSTAR DUA LIPA

 

Today’s global pop superstar Dua Lipa has joined the PUMA family and will be the newest face of the company’s women’s business. Dua will collaborate with the global sports brand to help inspire women around the world, not just by being featured in global campaigns, but through important inclusive initiatives close to her heart.

“I am so excited to announce my partnership with PUMA,” said Dua Lipa. “From performance rehearsals to hiking in the hills, it's important to feel comfortable & look good. I’ve got so many ideas for the projects and campaigns I’ll be taking part in and look forward to bringing them all to life with my PUMA family.”

Dua Lipa and PUMA share the same values of being determined, confident, joyful, and brave. Dua is not only a powerful influence for millions of young women, but she has also been an advocate to raise awareness around women’s issues and gender equality. This is why in 2021 she will be the headliner of PUMA’s “She Moves Us” campaign, focusing on inspiring women who move together to achieve and connect through sport and culture.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dua to our family”, said Adam Petrick, PUMA’s Global Director of Brand and Marketing. “We were drawn towards her creativity, passion, and drive and the way in which she resonates with the young female consumer. But most importantly, we were moved by her authentic passion to close the gender gap and look forward to supporting her through several brand initiatives we have planned together. We think she embodies what today’s consumer is looking for in a role model.”

Dua Lipa has been built an extraordinary career in a very short time. She released Future Nostalgia, her #1 UK sophomore album, this year to worldwide acclaim. Upon release, Future Nostalgia was the most streamed album in a day by a British female artist globally in Spotify history and has over 4.5 billion streams to date. Dua is the biggest female artist in the world on Spotify and is currently the third biggest artist overall with nearly 60 million monthly listeners. The album’s certified platinum lead single “Don’t Start Now” is a worldwide hit with one billion streams on Spotify, and a #2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, a career high for the pop star. Dua followed the success of “Don’t Start Now” by releasing smash UK single “Physical,” and her US Top 40 #1 “Break My Heart.” Future Nostalgia is the follow up to Dua’s eponymous 2017 debut, which is certified platinum and spawned 6 platinum tracks. She made BRIT Award history in 2018 by becoming the first female artist to pick up five nominations, with two wins for British Breakthrough Act and British Female Solo Artist and received two Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Dance Recording in early 2019.

PUMA kicks off their multi-year partnership with Dua Lipa as presenting sponsors of her fun-filled “Studio 2054” virtual performance where both she and her dancers will wear PUMA. As a surprise to her fans, PUMA is offering a limited batch of discounted tickets for the performance. To access these tickets, click here.

Subscribe to Corporate