A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF PUMA
SUBJECT: Principles and Practices of Management
ACADEMIC YEAR: 2023-2024
Semester: 1
Submitted by:
KHYATI ALOK GUPTA
UID NO. UGB23-23
Submitted to
Dr. Sushant Waghmare
OCTOBER 2023
MAHARASHTRA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, NAGPUR
INTRODUCTION
Puma SE has had massive popularity in the sports world, gaining it fourth position in the list of
the world’s largest sportswear companies. Following the pursuit of Nike and Adidas, Puma
began its journey back in Germany as a family shoe factory until it slowly reached its stardom as
one of the leading manufacturers of athletic and casual footwear, sports apparel, sports
accessories, etc.
Puma has had fantastic success in all aspects of the sportswear world, especially in the footwear
market. Attaining a whopping 46.4% share in market sales, Puma was able to achieve what it had
originally set out to gain, with their aim to attain the maximum market share, they were well on
their way to reaching the top.
Puma is a German company that operates in the sports goods industry. It was founded in 1924 by
Rudolf Dassler, who had earlier established the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers
Shoe Factory). Brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler were involved in founding Puma.
The name “Puma” comes from the animal puma with its strong front legs, which are used as a
symbol of power throughout South America. The shoe company uses the puma’s speed and
power as its own advertising slogan.
Puma’s mission statement is PUMA creates the best in sport and lifestyle fashion.
The vision statement says, “We want to be the world’s number one in lifestyle fashion.”
How Puma’s Vision Reflects Their Competitive Edge and Exemplifies Their Unique Identity:
Puma is a global athletic company that has been in the industry for over 50 years. The company’s
vision, “igniting the potential in every athlete” signifies how Puma wants to play a role in their
customer’s day to day life, whether it is on the field or off. It also signifies their competitive edge
and exemplifies their unique identity.
The brothers Rudolf and Adolf Dassler established the business "Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik"
(Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) in their hometown of Herzogenaurach, Germany, marking the
first step in a long history fueled by speed and performance. Thus, the world's center for athletic
footwear is established.
In 1919, the brothers establish their workshop in their parents' house; in 1924, they move onto a
more permanent location. Smaller manufacturers could be found all across the town, but most of
them failed to make it past the 1950s and 1960s.
The Dassler brothers split up and go their separate ways 28 years after starting their business.
Rudolf Dassler relocates into one of the family's other buildings. He establishes the "Schuhfabrik
Rudolf Dassler (RUDA)" and turns this storage facility into a factory with the help of 14 people.
The corporation founded by Rudolf Dassler is officially registered in January 1948. The initial
day of operations is June 1, 1948. The PUMA trademark is created and established at the
German Patent and Trademark Office on October 1, 1948, four months later. In a letter to
business associates and clients, Rudolf Dassler declares his intention to rename the company
"PUMA Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler" in December 1948. On January 14, 1949, the new
company's information is entered into the German commercial registry.
EVOLUTION OF PUMA
1949:
Rudolf Dassler devises the idea for football shoes with removable studs.
1950
Many German soccer players wore Puma "Atom" sneakers in the first international match held in
1950 after World War II.
1951.
Luxembourg's Josy Barthel won Puma's first Olympic gold in Helsinki, Finland, in 1952 as a
1500-meter runner.
1966
Cartoonist Lutz Backes, based in Nuremberg, designed the famous jumping cat logo for Puma,
which was first shown to the public in 1967.
1967
With the help of PUMA and the TAHOE brush spike, a number of American athletes were able
to set world marks in the 200 and 400 meters at South Lake Tahoe prior to the 1968 Summer
Olympics in Mexico City.
1968
With the help of PUMA and the TAHOE brush spike, a number of American athletes were able
to set world marks in the 200 and 400 meters at South Lake Tahoe prior to the 1968 Summer
Olympics in Mexico City.
1984
American sprinter Evelyn Ashford, using Puma shoes, won two gold medals at the 1984 Summer
Olympics in Los Angeles.
1989
In May 1989, Rudolf's sons Armin and Gerd Dassler made the decision to sell 72% of their
Puma shares to the Swiss business Cosa Liebermann SA.
In 1989, the company unveiled the Trinomic sports shoe system, which used hexagonal cells
positioned between the shoe and sole to cushion the runner's foot.
2003: A variety of institutional investors purchase the shares held by the main stakeholder,
Monarchy/Regency.
In the fiscal year 2003, the corporation brought in €1.274 billion.
September 2021: Brazilian football star Neymar signed a deal with Puma.
MARKETING STRATEGY OF PUMA
One of the most prominent manufacturers of athletic footwear, Puma has used ambassadors and
corporate social responsibility tactics to promote its wide range of products.
Their staff of innovative researchers and developers assists them in bringing cutting-edge items
to the market.
Let's go over their marketing plan in more depth.
Let's start by examining the product variety that has allowed Puma to expand into all sports.
1. Diversification of Products
Puma has gone a long way from manufacturing just shoes to branching out into other categories
like fitness gear and hiking gear.
Puma has been making football shoes for football players and different sports equipment for a
long time. Puma also creates racer suits, shoes for Formula One, and bespoke shoes.
2. Representatives of National Brands
To promote their brand, Puma has partnerships with a number of sports stars, including Sunil
Chhetri, KL Rahul, Sushma Verma, and Virat Kohli.
Puma also uses celebrities to promote its goods. Saina Nehwal, for instance, promoted a cork and
badminton racket.
Puma has established a strong brand identity by producing well-known athletes who are idolized
by the majority of Indians. People are persuaded to purchase their items by their brand
advocates.
Creating a sense of pride in the brand that a consumer is buying is another crucial marketing
strategy.
Now let's take a look at some of Puma's awareness-raising CSR initiatives.
3. CSR tactics
Puma has been offering sports scholarships to support the anti-child labor movement and sports
culture.
By 2050, Puma wants to achieve ten sustainable goals, including human rights, exhibiting social
responsibility, being accountable for biodiversity, the environment, and the use of sustainable
materials and less chemicals, among other things
4. Using Research and Development to Gain a Commercial Advantage
Puma began using Clever Little boxes for Shoe Boxes and box covers in order to use less
cardboard, paper, and plastic and emit less carbon dioxide.
5. Puma's Approach to Social-Media
Every social media platform has a certain purpose. Puma has posted all pertinent material on its
social media platforms and has appropriately handled all of its accounts.
Let's examine Puma's Instagram approach.
Puma has 11.7 million Instagram followers, while PumaIndia has 762K followers. Additionally,
they have a number of Instagram sites that showcase their diverse product line, such as Puma
Women, Puma Motorsports, Puma Football, and Puma Sportstyle.
They showcase the athlete participating in that sport donning their merchandise on their many
social media accounts.
DIFFERENT PRODUCT LINES AND THEIR WORKING
Puma has a wide range of products that helps them stay relevant in the market and avoid
saturation of their brand image as the ‘shoe seller’.
The product lines include-
• Sportswear Apparel: Soccer jerseys, basketball outfits, and running gear are just a few
examples of the sport-specific apparel options available at PUMA. They also provide a wide
selection of lifestyle clothing that appeals to those who aren't only sports fans, such t-shirts,
sweatshirts, jackets, and leggings.
• Accessories: PUMA provides a wide range of accessories, such as caps, backpacks, bags,
socks, and sports equipment and shin guards for athletes. These complete their selection of shoes
and clothes, allowing buyers to wear all PUMA has to offer.
• Partnerships and Signature Lines: To produce limited-edition goods or signature lines, PUMA
frequently partners with athletes, celebrities, and designers. These collaborations create buzz and
exclusivity around particular items, drawing in new clients and enhancing the reputation of the
brand.
Puma utilizes innovative technology to capture consumer attention on their products. For
instance,
After years of rigorous wear testing with athletes, Puma developed the ultraweave technology
performance jersey. The very light fabric is designed to deliver optimal [Link] a
special blend of fabric, pattern structure, and applications (trims), Puma defined ultraweave as
the most comfortable and ultra-lightweight sports gear the brand has ever [Link]
expects that this new technology will aid them in their ambition to become the quickest sports
brand in the world.
The jersey's base chassis weighs 72 grams, but its lightweight woven fabric with a four-way
mechanical stretch was able to accomplish an exceptional weight [Link] to Puma,
this will increase the speed and energy of the players and teams donning the jerseys.
Furthermore,
We observed positive portfolio development in clothing and accessories, particularly in the areas
of Prime, Core, and Motorsport clothes, where we showcased many unique [Link]
commemorate Pride Month, we introduced the "From PUMA with Love" bundle with PUMA
ambassador and LGBTQ+ campaigner Cara Delevingne. The Unity Collection, which used
straightforward black-and-white patterns with colorful accents inspired by foreign flags,
emphasized PUMA's history in athletics. PUMA and the New York design company KidSuper
collaborated to mix vintage tailoring, football culture elements.
PUMA’S QUALITY CONTROL PROCESS
With the help of Increff, PUMA was able to connect WMS and OMS with their current ERP
system, gaining a scalable multi-system integration capabilities and a single view of inventory.
Even during periods of high sales, the live inventory-order sync capability assisted in providing
improved stock management with real-time (less than 30 second) inventory updates.
Other noteworthy aspects of Increff Assure include:
● Inventory Serialization: Perfect tracking of each piece from the point of entry into the
warehouse to the point of final delivery is ensured by Unique Piece Barcode (UPB) tracking.
Each location and activity is linked to the barcode, allowing for the tracking of the object's entire
course and the creation of an ideal linear forward-going pick path for effective packing and
picking.
● Completely Scan-based Operations: No chance of delays or mistakes in human decision-
making. Within SLA, Increff Assure provides 100% first-time-right operations and 99.9%
accurate order fulfillment.
● One Interface for Comprehensive Operations: Improved channel integration is ensured by
clever formula-based inventory exposure across several sales channels. Accurate return
reconciliation, full traceability, and order prioritizing according to SLA and/or channel type
support effective multi-warehousing.
● Uninterrupted Cycle Counting: Regular processes can continue in parallel while cycle counting
is completed without compromising inventory exposure or halting any inventory. This is made
possible by Increff Assure. After GRN, a product may be made live right away without affecting
the internal process.
● Manpower Management: No prior warehouse experience is necessary; training takes two
minutes per screen. Even with unskilled labor, fully scan-based procedures ensure 99.9%
accuracy in order fulfillment and bin level inventory. We have assisted businesses in reducing
their storage expenses by 20–25 percent," Agarwal says.
Retailers may take action at every stage of inventory management with the help of customizable
dashboards that offer insightful and actionable reports.
DEALING WITH ADIDAS AND NIKE, ITS BIGGEST COMPETITION IN
THE INDIAN CONTEXT
The two biggest names in athletics and accessories worldwide, Adidas and Nike, may be familiar
to you. To everyone's astonishment, however, Puma dominates the Indian market for sporting
goods. It does feel a little strange. However, it has a fascinating backstory.
In 2006, Puma became the final company to join the sportswear industry in India, starting with a
meager revenue of ₹22 crores. By then, every other major sports brand was well established in
India. Adidas had a market capitalization of ₹186 crore, Reebok had ₹354 crore, and Nike had
₹99 crore. In 2020, the large feline outperformed all its rivals to claim the top spot with ₹1413
crores! So, how did Puma succeed?
Some of the most well-known brands are Adidas and Nike, which lead the world in athletic gear
and accessories. Surprisingly, Puma is the dominant brand in the Indian sports product sector. It
seems strange, doesn't it? However, there's a fascinating backstory to it.
Recognizing Indian Sports Market and Desire
Three things are most loved by Indians: Value for Money, Tea, and Cricket. The primary cause
of the Indian sports market's sluggish expansion is the final explanation. Most Indians do not
take sports very seriously, in contrast to North Americans. Since there aren't many sports
available in India, people often just own one pair of shoes for all activities. Shoes are the most
essential item for each sport.
Indians prioritize value for money while selecting athletic shoes over characteristics, advantages,
comfort, and usefulness. This one-size-fits-all funda hinders a wide range of items, which in turn
reduces demand for sports shoes.
How Puma Leaped Into Success
Indians also enjoy making bold style statements. It serves as a means of showcasing their social
status and preserving relationships. Instead of purchasing two pairs of comfortable athletic shoes,
the typical Indian will purchase five pairs of fashionable sneakers for various social gatherings
throughout the year. This contributed to the development of a new shoe category designed
exclusively for the Indian market, one that was very fashionable but devoid of elements essential
to athletics.
Puma began creating items with the understanding of the psychology underlying Indian
consumer behavior, specifically with regard to the fashion market. The firm had great success
with that method! While Adidas invested in Sachin Tendulkar's ambassadorship and Nike
supported the Indian cricket team, Puma focused primarily on improving and changing their line
of products.
Organizational Structure
Product Design and R&D Functional Structure – Puma’s product design and research and
development (R&D) functions follow a functional structure. Specialized teams focus on product
design, innovation, and development. These teams collaborate on creating and improving athletic
footwear, apparel, and accessories. – Efficient product design and development processes.
Specialized expertise in product innovation.
Corporate Leadership Hierarchy: Puma's leadership is organized into several levels of power and
decision-making that function within a hierarchical framework. The organizational structure
consists of senior management, executive leadership, and other departments and divisions,
including marketing, finance, and product design.
Promotion and Structure: Puma's branding and marketing activities are divided into sections that
are in charge of particular product categories or geographical areas. Marketing departments
create strategies that are suited to certain markets and consumer groups. Promoting Puma's image
and values is the main goal of branding initiatives. tailored branding and marketing plans for
various markets and clientele groups. prompt adjustment to local market circumstances. expertise
in marketing sportswear.
Accounts and Finance Functional Administration: The Finance and Accounting departments are
run by specialist teams that handle financial planning, financial reporting, and auditing. Financial
responsibilities such as risk management, financial reporting, and budgeting are handled by each
team.
Retail and Store Operations Divisional Structure: Puma operates its retail and store operations
using a divisional structure, with divisions handling various retail shop types and areas (e.g.,
flagship stores, Puma outlets). Within its assigned region, each division is in charge of retail
operations, store management, and customer service. customized retail tactics for various
markets and shop types. prompt adjustment to the demands of the local market. expertise in
managing retail stores.
Functional Structure of Supply Chain Management: Puma's supply chain management operations
are organized according to a functional structure. Transportation, inventory control, logistics, and
procurement are handled by specialized teams. These groups oversee the movement of goods
from vendors to distribution hubs and storefronts. effective logistics and supply chain
management. specialized knowledge of distribution and [Link] obstacles to cross-
functional cooperation between other business units and the supply chain. might not be in line
with certain business units.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CEO (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Arne Freundt (*1980) has served as PUMA SE's CEO since November 2022.
Arne started working with PUMA in 2011. Before joining the board in 2021 as Chief
Commercial Officer, he held positions as General Manager overseeing the Global Direct-to-
Consumer business, Corporate Strategy, and the Region EMEA. Arne was employed at Siemens
Advanta Consulting before joining PUMA.
CSO (CHIEF SOURCING OFFICER)
Since February 2019, Anne-Laure Descours (*1965) has served as PUMA SE's Chief Sourcing
Officer (CSO).
Sustainability, all sourcing-related operations, and product development are under Anne-Laure's
purview. The French national has worked in the sourcing sector for over thirty years. Anne-
Laure was employed by foreign sourcing companies including Li&Fung (Trading) Ltd. and Otto
International before joining PUMA. In 2012, she became a Director of Sourcing Apparel APAC
at PUMA.
CFO, (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER)
Since June 2021, Hubert Hinterseher (*1978) has served as PUMA SE's Chief Financial Officer
(CFO).
Hubert has spent sixteen years working for PUMA. He is in charge of Business Solutions, IT,
Finance, and Law. Hubert was the Global Director of Financial Controlling prior to being
appointed Chief Financial Officer. Before PUMA, he