Puma on target despite sales dip

The profits of German sports brand Puma dropped with 7% over the first three quarters of this year. The company made a profit of 90 million Euros, whereas last year Puma gained revenue of 96,6 million Euros. On a global level the sports brand’s profit increased with 0,5%; footwear sales were down by 4.6% to € 404.1 million, apparel was almost on last year’s level totalling € 246.9 million, and only the sales of Puma’s accessories improved by 36.0% to € 90.1 million.

On a comparable basis, licensed sales were flat. Due to the take-back of the former license market Korea, the licensed business was down by 35.6% currency neutral to € 67.8 million. Based on the remaining licensed business the company managed a royalty and commission income of € 7.1 million in 1Q versus € 9.7 million in 2007. Puma might be able to turn things around for the rest of 2008, reporting that its orders increased 6.5% to € 1,170.4 million. Like-for-like, footwear going up by 10.2% to € 677.9 million and apparel improving with 14.3% to € 418.2 million. Also the outlook on major sports events such as European Champions League and the Olympics could revive its sales.

CEO Joche Zeitz commented: “In the midst of an overall economic environment that continues to be challenging, Puma has shown resiliency in both growth and desirability. Despite a difficult 2008 outlook, we will continue to invest in our planned initiatives to capitalize on major opportunities with global sporting events and fully maximize Puma’s long-term potential.” Puma is looking to give the brand an extra push by investing in its marketing strategy.

Image: pumatalk.com

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