How Puma scored over Nike, Adidas in the Indian market

“Covid-19 has definitely been a big challenge and while we had a great run before the pandemic struck, it took us by surprise,” Abhishek Ganguly, managing director (India and Southeast Asia) at Puma India, told Moneycontrol.

Amid pandemic-related challenges, the company was able to post a robust recovery in 2021, aided by its digital push and consumer trends towards athleisure and fitness.

Digitally fit

Puma India kept digital at the core of its strategy even before the pandemic and this helped the company as movement curbs were introduced and retail stores were shut to check the spread of the virus, Ganguly said.

“We were one of the first movers (in the sportswear and lifestyle segment) to the e-commerce channel and started selling our products much before our counterparts. And not just for retail, even for marketing, 100 percent of our media spends have been going towards digital for a while now,” said Ganguly.

“Puma India has been agile and tapped all the new ways of reaching out to consumers. We have invested in an omnichannel supply chain and personalised communication as part of our digital strategy.”

As a result, according to Ganguly, the company now draws about 43 percent of its business from online channels as opposed to 25 percent in pre-pandemic 2019. The company claims to have witnessed growth on its website Puma.com also, which grew 175 percent in 2021 over 2020 and now contributes 8 percent of overall revenue.

“Marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra and Ajio are also very important channels for us and we are the largest sportswear brand on these platforms,” said Ganguly.

In offline retail, Puma India runs about 411 exclusive brand outlets, of which 51 were opened in 2021. To boost sales in offline channels, the company has opened experiential stores with an F1 simulator, introduced personalisation counters and also launched limited-edition products including designer collaborations in its top stores.

“We have a very localised approach for India. We have collaborated with sportsmen, celebrities, influencers and even launched merchandising lines in association with them,” added Ganguly.

According to the company, its collaboration with cricketer Virat Kohli for merchandising line One8 has been the most successful till date.

During the pandemic, Puma India sponsored IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai City Football Club during ISL Champions Season 2020-21 and launched 1DER merchandising line in association with KL Rahul.

‘Sporty’ fashion

Besides the company-led initiatives, growth in fitness consciousness among consumers and the emergence of athletic leisure or athleisure were the other factors that helped Puma India’s growth over the past few years.

“The lines between fashion and sports are blurring and we have been quick to tap this trend by launching products that cater to this segment,” said Ganguly.

Puma has launched ranges such as Rider and RS-X, which tap sneakerheads or consumers who collect sneakers as a hobby. The company introduced loungewear essentials targeting this market.

Athleisure and sportswear contributed equally to the company’s business in India. In 2021, Puma India drew 55 percent of its sales from footwear, 39 percent from apparel, and the rest from accessories.

The rising fitness consciousness among consumers also presents an opportunity to Puma and other companies in the segment.

“Indians today are far more active than they were five years ago. We see people taking up running, cycling, going to gyms and we are launching products to address these needs,” said Ganguly.

Puma’s global sales increased 32 percent to 6.8 billion euros in 2021.

The sports and activewear market segment is projected to increase to $13 billion by FY24 at an annual growth rate of about 14 percent. As per industry estimates, the category had been an outlier in the apparel retail category since the onset of the pandemic and grew 15-18 percent, while demand for other apparel categories suffered.