Puma to expand in metros, tier 11 cities; focus on e-retail

German sportswear firm Puma on Wednesday said it would go for a balanced approach for its expansion in India by opening new stores in tier II & III cities, while also adding to existing developed metro markets.

Besides, the brand would also make its e-commerce platform Puma.com more richer in terms of contents and offerings in the next six months. "We would expand into tier II and III places as well as focus also on the existing developed metro cities," Puma India Managing Director Abhishek Ganguly told Agency.

However, he said, "Dependence on the metros is reducing as the other cities are growing."Puma, at present, is operating 340 stores in 115 cities. It added 10 cities to its network in the last six months, Ganguly added.

According to him, Puma, is the only company among the leading brands in India, which is profitable. "We are the only brand, which is profitable here. We have started to make profit within four years of operations. This was because of our sustainable and strong performance," Ganguly said.

The company's digital platform has grown by up to three times in the last one year, he said."This is going be more improved in the next six months...we would make it richer in terms of contents and offerings," Ganguly added.

At present, Puma's 15 percent revenue comes from online segment, which includes its contribution from other e-commerce websites.

Ganguly said that the sales from Puma's brick-and-mortar format grew by 13 percent last year and added that both the models - online and offline - would coexist. Moreover, Puma would continue to introduce leading brand into the Indian market from its global kitty.

"We need to stay relevant globally. Moreover, the taste of people here is also getting global. They keep a track of our global launches," Ganguly said. This year, Puma has introduced 'Ignite' brand of running shoes here. Last year it had introduced its leading shoe brands - Mobium and Faas - in India.

"We could introduce Arsenal's jersey here in the second half of this year," Ganguly said.