Taking place in London on September 6 and streamed worldwide, Conference of the People will feature PUMA’s industry peers, activists, NGOs, experts, ambassadors and consumers, who will discuss tackling waste, using more sustainable materials, stopping climate change, protecting forests and finding ways for the industry to collaborate to achieve results sooner.

“We will focus on Gen Z during this event, as we want to give this generation a voice when it comes to the decisions that have to be made today to shape a more sustainable future,” said Bjørn Gulden, CEO of PUMA. “At the United Nations they call it Conference of the Parties, we call it Conference of the People.”

Ahead of the event, PUMA launched the platform PUMACOP.com, where users can learn more about the event and register their interest to attend. The event will also be streamed live on this platform.

International actress, model and activist Cara Delevingne will host the event alongside PUMA CEO Bjørn Gulden and PUMA CSO Anne-Laure Descours.

“Together with PUMA, I have worked on sustainability topics for several years and together we have launched more sustainable collections such as Exhale,” said Cara Delevingne. “It is important to continue the debate about this topic so we can find solutions to environmental issues such as climate change, waste management and biodiversity.”

Becoming more sustainable as a company has been an important pillar of PUMA’s strategy for many years. Earlier this year, the company announced that it had reduced its carbon emissions between 2017 and 2021 from both its own operations (-88%) and its supply chain (-12%), in spite of strong sales growth in the same period. By 2025, PUMA aims to make nine out of 10 products with more sustainable materials.

The company was the most sustainable brand in the industry according to the latest ranking by Business of Fashion, which analyzed the 30 largest companies in the fashion business.

Conference of the People will start on September 6 at 12pm BST (1pm CET, 7 am ET) at Protein Studios in Shoreditch, London for 225 invited guests. The livestream of the event is free to access for all.

At 26 years old, Woo Sanghyeok already has several medals to his name such as gold at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade and silver at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene. In 2022, he set a personal best and the Korean Record of 2.36 meters at the indoor event in Hustopeče, Czech Republic.

“We are very excited to welcome Sanghyeok to the PUMA family,” said Pascal Rolling, Head of Sports Marketing at PUMA. “We believe he will be among the best high jumpers in the world in the next years.”

At PUMA, Woo Sanghyeok will join a roster of world-class athletes such as 400m hurdles World Record Holder Karsten Warholm, pole vault World Record Holder Armand “Mondo” Duplantis and Jamaican sprinters Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah.

2022 Nine Months Facts

• Sales increase by 18.2% (ca) to € 6,269 million (9M 2021: € 5,038 million)
• Gross profit margin decreases to 46.8% (9M 2021: 47.8%)
• Operating expenses (OPEX) increase by 22.2% to € 2,357 million (9M 2021: € 1,930 million)
• Operating result (EBIT) improves to € 600 million (9M 2021: € 492 million), resulting in an EBIT margin of 9.6% (9M 2021: 9.8%)
• Net earnings improve to € 352 million (9M 2021: € 302 million)

In line with PUMA’s employer value “Be You”, all employees can be themselves, regardless of their gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion, disabilities, age, or sexual orientation.

“It is important for us that our employees do not bring an office personality to work, but we want them to feel comfortable with us as they are,” says Dietmar Knoess, Global Director of People and Organisation at PUMA. “We are delighted to accept the German Diversity Award and will use it as an incentive to further stress the importance of diversity and inclusion in our company.”

Employees in leadership positions at PUMA are regularly trained in topics such as diversity, intercultural communication and inclusion and there are regular events on the topic of Diversity, anti-discrimination and equality.

This year’s summer festival for the company’s employees in Herzogenaurach, for example, was organized, together with the organization Chrisopher Street Day Nürnberg e.V. in order to celebrate Pride Month, diversity and inclusion.

PUMA sees the diversity of its employees is an asset: at the headquarters in Herzogenaurach, the employees come from over 70 companies and the percentage of women in leadership positions company-wide lies at 44%.

“We are delighted to award PUMA with the Germany Diversity Award 2022 in the category ‘Company of the Year’,” says Victoria Wagner, CEO and founder of BeyondGenderAgenda, the organization which awards the German Diversity Award. “Through its outstanding commitment
to diversity, PUMA was convincing in all voting rounds and is a positive example for embedding diversity practices into its business.”

“PUMA’s long-standing relationship with Foot Locker has played an instrumental role in our ability to drive innovation and push the boundaries of sports, fashion, and technology globally,” said Bob Philion, President of PUMA North America. “Our enhanced partnership not only provides us with additional opportunities for collaboration and growth, but it will enable us to provide even greater experiences and inclusion for our evolving customer base around the world.” Through this strengthened partnership, PUMA and Foot Locker have planned a series of exclusive collections and product collaborations with highly influential ambassadors reaching Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Specifics include:

• expanding the basketball and classics categories with continued exclusive access to the LaMelo Ball Signature program, which launched with the MB.02 in October with additional iterations launching later this month and in December;

• launching the first-ever PUMA x POKÉMON collaboration. PUMA and Foot Locker Inc. are partnering with The Pokémon Company International and Niantic, publisher of the popular Pokémon GO mobile game, to turn, for the next six months, 400 Foot Locker, Champs Sports, and Kids Foot Locker stores across the U.S. and the PUMA NYC Flagship store into Gyms and Poké Stops in Pokémon GO. Foot Locker, Champs Sports & Kids Foot Locker are the exclusive destination in North America for the PUMA x POKÉMON collaboration, available now.

• PUMA x PAW PATROL™, a new collection of playful and sporty styles for kids will be available at exclusively at Kids Foot Locker and Foot Locker in North America starting November 25.

• creating and launching upcoming athlete capsules with Mikey Williams;

• building exclusive product programs to be released in the coming months with social media star and music artist Dixie D’Amelio and hip-hop artist Cordae;

• launching PUMA x CoComelon, a new collaboration coming out next Spring and inspired by CoComelon’s favorite characters, which will create a close connection with the younger generation available exclusively at Kids Foot Locker.

“We are very excited to build on our already strong partnership with PUMA,” said Andrew Gray, Executive Vice President, Global Lockers and Champs Sports, Foot Locker, Inc. “By expanding and strengthening our collaboration with PUMA, we continue to advance our strategy to diversify our product selection and bring new and innovative products to our consumers.” In addition to building hyper-relevant creative partnerships and product collections, PUMA and Foot Locker will continue to advance shared marketplace opportunities, which include:

• adding hype drops and marketplace exclusivity through franchises, such as the RSX, shared marketing partnership investments, and elevated in-store and online experiences for PUMA and Foot Locker customers; 

• Investing in product creation and marketing to help support Foot Locker’s Leading Education & Economic Development (LEED) Initiative, the company’s commitment to invest in, amplify, and empower the Black community, and PUMA’s REFORM platform to drive social change.

PUMA and Foot Locker have jointly supported a portfolio of ambassadors, athletes, and brands to create exclusive product concepts and market activations across the Foot Locker portfolio. This collaboration has brought together product, marketing, digital, and customer experience in innovative new ways including launches such as L.O.L Surprise.

Shop the latest PUMA collections now at Foot Locker.

Since first breaking the pole vault world record in February 2020, Mondo has been in a class of his own. He won gold at the 2020 Olympic Games, the 2022 World Athletics Championships – both indoor and outdoor –the 2022 European Championships and the Diamond League. He also improved on his world record performance twice in 2022, which now stands at 6.21 meters.

At only 23 years old, Mondo, who started pole vaulting in his parents’ backyard as a child, says he still has more to achieve in his sport.
“I’m very grateful for the position I’m in right now, but I feel that there is still a lot more work ahead of me and that I can reach much higher goals,” Mondo told PUMA after winning the award. “I’m going to try to keep pushing the limits, pushing the barriers, and see how far I can go. I really believe that I still have more in the tank.”

Mondo, who has been a PUMA Athlete since 2019, performs in PUMA’s EvoSpeed Tokyo Nitro shoes, which combines PUMA’s responsive, nitrogen-injected foam midsole with a state-of-the-art carbon-fibre infused upper and a lightweight spike outsole.

Current world records in PUMA shoes are triple jump (Jonathan Edwards, 1995), 1,000m (Noah Ngeny, 1999), 3,000m Steeplechase (Saif Saaeed Shaheen, 2004), 100m and 200m (Usain Bolt, 2009), 400m hurdles (Karsten Warholm, 2021), and pole vault (Mondo Duplantis, 2022).

“As General Manager of our Sportstyle business unit, Maria has demonstrated a strong product expertise, a great service attitude towards our retail partners and a deep knowledge of our target consumer”, said Arne Freundt, Chief Executive Officer at PUMA. “I am convinced that her positive energy and relentless pursuit in pushing things forward make her the ideal candidate for this new role.”

Maria has been with PUMA since 2010 and worked as Senior Head of Product Line Management Footwear before becoming General Manager Sportstyle in 2019. Before her time at PUMA, she worked in product development and marketing for both L’Oréal and Inditex.

Starting January 1, 2023, PUMA’s Board of Management will consist of four members, including Arne Freundt (CEO), Hubert Hinterseher (Chief Financial Officer), and Anne-Laure Descours (Chief Sourcing Officer).

“We are very grateful to be recognized as a Top Employer in 22 countries, four regions and also globally for the first time,” said Dietmar Knoess, Global Director of People and Organization at PUMA. “We offer an inclusive and attractive workplace and aim to constantly improve to give our people what they need to thrive in their careers.”

Led by its Employer Value “Be You” PUMA offers its staff a fair work environment and equal opportunities, regardless of who they are or where they are from. People from 75 nationalities work at PUMA’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach Germany. Globally, 44% of leadership positions are filled by women.

PUMA is dedicated to constantly improve the health and wellbeing of its employees and offers a wide range of services and benefits. For example, PUMA employees have access to a large variety of courses, free access to a gym and sports courts, while flexible working hours allow for a better work/life balance.

The Top Employer survey covers six areas and 20 topics such as People Strategy, Work Environment, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Diversity & Inclusion and Wellbeing.