Pandemic or not; awareness for health, fitness will rise: Puma India MD Abhishek Ganguly

Puma India draws about half of its sales from athleisure category and the segment will remain a focus for the company going forward. [Representative image]

The COVID-19 tailwinds have given a push to the sports and fitness wear categories as consumers opt for more comfort wear while also showing a renewed interest in fitness activities due to health concerns. According to Abhishek Ganguly, managing director, Puma India and Southeast Asia, though the orientation towards health and fitness has not been high in India, but the awareness has increased with the pandemic, and consumers going forward, too, will continue to invest in remaining fit.

“We are witnessing this not just in our business. If you look at running-related keyword searches on Google, it is higher than that before the pandemic. If you look at views as well as uploads of fitness videos on YouTube, it has more than doubled as compared to the pre-pandemic days,” said Ganguly.

And as a result, he added, they are also buying products to do these activities.

Riding this trend, Puma India, is witnessing higher growth than the pre-COVID-19 period, while its e-commerce channel has grown by three times since the last year. The growth momentum, informed Ganguly, has especially been high since July-August as the second wave of the pandemic waned.

“There is a lot of positivity because of which we continue to invest in launching new products, opening new stores and signing more athletes,” he added.

The sale of athleisure products, particularly, has taken off since the onset of the pandemic, as consumers stayed at home and opted for comfort wear instead of formal clothing.

“The lines between gyms and runaways are getting blurred. Whether you look on streets or airports, people are wearing more athleisure. And while this was an ongoing trend, now with the pandemic as consumers work in a hybrid set up, they have also started wearing it for professional meetings,” said Ganguly.

Puma India draws about half of its sales from the athleisure category and the segment will remain a focus for the company going forward.