Jochen Zeitz, CEO and Chairman of PUMA AG: “Starlike has been very successful in delivering strong growth over the past few years while substantially increasing PUMA’s desirability and establishing us as a top 3 player in the market. With this mutually beneficial joint venture we will build on this strong position to further maximize the PUMA brand potential.”

Michael Lin, Chairman of Starlike: “Starlike is excited to start the new partnership with PUMA. With PUMA’s global strength and Starlike’s dynamic performance, we believe the combination will lead us to a great triumph in the future.

Hit Union combines deep local knowledge of the special Japanese textile market with an extensive manufacturing background. This joint venture will establish Japan as the 2nd largest market for PUMA and it immediately establishes PUMA in the top three brands in its segment in the country.

In 2003 PUMA bought back its footwear and accessories license in Japan and founded a fully owned subsidiary, PUMA Japan K.K. The aim of the joint venture is to have the critical Japanese business fully aligned under one umbrella while being able to continue to use the tremendous apparel expertise of its current license partner and thus to quickly explore the further potential of the PUMA brand in Japan.

Jochen Zeitz, CEO and Chairman of PUMA AG: “Hit Union have done an outstanding job with our business in the past, and now with our new partnership as well as our direct involvement in the management of all aspects of our brand, we will ensure that we jointly capitalize even more on future opportunities. Since Japan, and Tokyo in particular, is the epicenter of trends in the Asia/Pacific region, our focus is on further strengthening our position in this key market.”

Katsuyuki Tanabe, President and CEO of Hit Union: “Over the past years, PUMA apparel has become one of the leading brands in the Japanese market. Now with this joint venture partnership we look forward to being able to further accelerate our growth and desirability throughout Japan.”

The aim of this partnership is to jointly explore the tremendous potential of the PUMA brand with its high brand awareness in the critical China market as well as to further enhance its already solid position in Hong Kong.

Jochen Zeitz, CEO and Chairman of PUMA AG: “Swire Pacific has successfully gained initial traction for PUMA in its markets and they possess very valuable market know-how that, combined with our knowledge, will allow us to further accelerate our rapid expansion in this highly important area. Our goal is to at least quadruple sales in the next 5 years and to firmly establish PUMA in the top 3 of the industry’s global brands in China.”

Christopher Pratt, Executive Director of Swire Pacific’s Trading and Industrial Division: “This is a very exciting development. PUMA is a leading edge Sportlifestyle brand which has seen remarkable global growth in the past years. The new venture has set ambitious targets for growth in the China market in the coming years and I have every confidence they will be achieved.”

“We are delighted with this partnership, it is truly a cooperation between two strong brands that complement each other,” declares Jochen Zeitz, CEO and Chairman of PUMA AG. “This partnership will ensure a unique brand visibility for PUMA in the run-up to, and during the World Cup. Once again, PUMA is forging new paths in marketing.”

“PUMA and dba are refreshingly innovative companies – our brands sit alongside each other superbly. I am therefore highly delighted at our cooperation, because it will attract great attention among dba passengers and all sports fans in Germany during the footballing summer of 2006,” declares the Chairman of the Supervisory Board at dba, Hans Rudolf Wöhrl.

A further factor of the cooperation will enable donations to be collected on all dba flights for the campaign ‘UNITED FOR AFRICA’ which will support more than 5,000 aid projects in Africa. Passengers’ attention will be drawn to the donation campaign through an on-board announcement, the distribution of bank transfer forms by the dba flight attendants during catering, and coverage in the in-flight magazine.

“With ‘UNITED FOR AFRICA’, we are delighted to be supporting the most important German aid campaign for the African continent. What convinced us was the fact that we are not only supporting just one, but 30 experienced organisations with this one partnership,” says Hans Rudolf Wöhrl.

Based in Sabae-City, Japan, the Charmant Group has 50 years of experience in spectacle frame production and today is one of the world’s leading integrated frame manufacturers, covering design, production, marketing and distribution. They already have extensive expertise in selling licensed brand names such as Boss, Hugo, Elle or Esprit. The group has an international operating presence and distribution coverage in almost 100 countries. Luxottica Group, the global leader in eyewear, is also part to the agreement and will become the exclusive retail and wholesale distributor in the key North American market in addition to distributing the new PUMA collections through its entire retail network worldwide.

Jochen Zeitz, CEO and Chairman of PUMA AG: “Eyewear is a logical extension of our brand, yet requires significant category-specific know-how and infrastructure, which Charmant Inc., as truly international player, is able to offer. Over the past decades Charmant has acquired a strong reputation for high quality eyewear. The new collection will blend technical innovation with our unique PUMA personality and will help us to further develop and strengthen our licensing business globally as part of Phase IV of our long-term business plan.”

Kaoru Horikawa, CEO and Chairman of the Charmant Group: “We are extremely pleased with the new license agreement and we look forward to working with our new partner. PUMA is one of the most successful Sportlifestyle companies and this co-operation will help us to further expand our business in design and lifestyle oriented market segments. PUMA’s unique and sophisticated design language will inspire our product team to create totally new and innovative eyewear designs ”

PUMA has over the past years successfully established business relationships with licensees in several sports and lifestyle related areas. Its current licensing portfolio includes watches, fragrances, bodywear and socks.

PUMA is extremely pleased to partner-up with Ducati, as the brand not only stands for outstanding performance resulting in high core credibility, but also incorporates the sportlifestyle aspect in their products. With a total of 12 Riders’ and 14 Manufacturers’ world championship titles, Ducati Corse represents an unparalleled racing team. With iconic motorcycles such as the Monster, Ducati Motor Holding is a premier, design-led brand that focuses – like PUMA – on the desirability of its products.

“We aimed at teaming up with a brand that is deeply rooted in the core business of motorsport without neglecting the sportlifestyle component. Like PUMA, Ducati is known throughout the world for pushing the boundaries of both performance and style, and we believe that this partnership is a perfect way to bring innovative Moto products to our consumers”, says Jochen Zeitz, CEO of PUMA AG.

Ducati Motors Holding CEO Federico Minoli: “We are extremely pleased to have PUMA as new partner and supplier. Besides the racing team, there are other parallels between PUMA and Ducati which make them an ideal team: Both brands are consumer-driven, design-led and both are thirsty for innovation and engineering newness.”

The common performance and sportlifestyle collection will be launched in spring 2007 and distributed in selected Ducati and PUMA retail stores as well as in wholesale partner stores. This partnership is a further milestone in PUMAs long term mission to be the most desirable sportlifestyle brand in the world.

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”.

“With Right To Play, we have found a highly credible partner to drive social change worldwide and in Germany”, says Bjørn Gulden, CEO of PUMA. “Right To Play shares our values in sports and we are proud to support Right To Play in transforming the lives of children and young people through the unique power of sports and play.”

Community Engagement is part of PUMA’s 10FOR20 sustainability targets to create positive impact. As part of this cooperation, PUMA has donated 9,000 footballs for Right To Play programs in nine countries including Ghana, Pakistan and Thailand . On April 27, PUMA hosted the first internal Community Engagement day at the company’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Employees from various departments had the opportunity to experience the power of sports for learning and development. In order to demonstrate how individuals can make a positive impact, Right To Play shared their expertise of play-based learning approaches.

"We are very excited about this partnership and grateful to PUMA for their support.", says Right To Play Founder and four-time Olympic speed skating champion Johann Olav Koss. "Beyond the financial support and in-kind donations, we value the expertise and engagement of PUMA’s employees to increase quality of education for children and youth through play and sports."

PUMA will continue to promote employee volunteering and fundraising initiatives with Right To Play. “This partnership is not only about what we do, but also how we do it. Every PUMA employee is invited to get involved and contribute to empower children and youth worldwide.” says Dietmar Knoess, Global Director HR at PUMA.

Right To Play

Right To Play is a global organization committed to improve the lives of children and youth affected by conflict, disease and poverty. Right To Play was founded in 2000 by four-time Olympic gold medalist and social entrepreneur Johann Olav Koss. The organization pioneered a unique play-based approach to learning and development which focuses on quality education, life skills, health, gender equality, child protection and building peaceful communities. Right To Play operates in 20 countries, advocating for children’s rights and transforming the lives of more than one million children each week using play and sports. Right To Play Germany is supported by a number of leading athlete ambassadors, such as Nico Hulkenberg, Anna Schaffelhuber, Severin Freund and Uschi Disl (www.righttoplay.de).

Bjørn Gulden, CEO of PUMA says: “Time makes or breaks athletes, which is why the right partner for watches and wearables is particularly critical to our brand. We are pleased to team up with Fossil Group, whose strong focus on innovation will help us make products that fit the needs of our consumers and the world’s fastest athletes.”

“PUMA is one of the world’s leading sports brands. We are excited to partner with them and bring our world class design and distribution capabilities to the PUMA watch collection,” said Kosta Kartsotis, CEO of Fossil Group.

The new products will be available, amongst others, through select department stores, specialty retailers and e-commerce channels in Fossil Group’s extensive global network.

PUMA's previous collaboration for PUMA watches with MYWA Swiss Watch & Jewelry ltd ended in December 2016.