On March 6, 2020, Kareena Kapoor Khan made her highly anticipated debut on Instagram in collaboration with Puma. The actress, who has a massive fan following, shared her first post on the platform featuring herself in Puma sportswear. Within hours of the post, it had garnered thousands of likes and comments, signaling a successful start to her social media journey. And interestingly a new story for Puma also began.
Not that Kareena Kapoor, or any of the other ambassadors like Virat Kohli, Sunil Chhetri, Anushka Sharma were the reason that the German sportswear and lifestyle brand saw a complete turnaround. But it was definitely one of the reasons, said experts.
Being visible at the right place at the right time and with the right people.
The major pivot for the brand happened in the last two years.
Puma has performed remarkably well since the pandemic started with over 145 percent in FY22. It has also ranked within the top 100 brands in India in TRA’s Brand Trust Report 2023, ranked at 88th position from among 1000. In the previous report the brand was at 122nd rank.
N. Chandramouli, chief executive officer at consumer analytics and brand insights agency TRA Research says, “The brand’s India focus and differentiated offerings are one of the biggest reasons for its success.”
The brand not only climbed the charts in brand reports but also left behind other popular brands in the category in terms of topline.
Based on ROC (Registrar of Companies) data, Puma India achieved a revenue of Rs 2980 crore in calendar year 2022, recording a 46 percent growth from the previous year.
This growth is particularly impressive as Puma India recorded an incredible 145.3 percent growth in just two years since the pandemic began. What makes the figure striking is that Puma India’s total revenue now surpasses the combined revenues of Nike, Adidas, and Reebok in the country. Furthermore, the brand has even exceeded the earnings of Decathlon, India’s largest sports goods retailer, which earned Rs 2936 crore in FY22.
The Indian-ness of the brand as Chandramouli said is one major contributing factor to its success story.
Abhishek Ganguly, managing director, Puma India and Southeast Asia agrees.
“We attribute this success to a few factors, starting with its focus on Indian consumers. By partnering with Indian influencers, athletes, and celebrities in the fashion, music, and sports industries, Puma was able to create a relatable brand image and promote a sense of pride and esteem among Indian consumers,” he said.
But it wasn’t a roadblock free ride for the brand.
Building Platforms and D2C
“Back to when we started in 2006 our brand had very little recognition and visibility in the offline marketplace. But we wanted to connect with consumers in a deeper way, so we created platforms for them to engage with our brand and with each other. For example, our “Propah Lady” campaign was a platform for women to break stereotypes and lead their lives on their own terms,” said Ganguly.
The brand is now running another sports-focused campaign “Let There Be Sport” and have issued a white paper with sports measurement and analytics company Nielsen Sports in a bid to change the culture around sports in India.
Not having a product first tactic is the key to their success alongside their approach to marketing.
“Our marketing approach is not focused on allocating a specific percentage of our budget towards advertising campaigns. Instead, we take a holistic approach to marketing and strive to ensure that every aspect of our consumer interaction is positive and impactful. If you were to ask us whether we have spent a significant amount of our budget on marketing as a percentage of our sales since the beginning, the answer is no. However, we have always been committed to investing in our marketing efforts to build our brand and achieve the market share that we have today,” Ganguly said.
On a couple of occasions, the brand has also implemented unconventional marketing strategies.
Towards the end of last year, Anushka Sharma criticized Puma India on social media for using her image in their promotional material. Sharma requested that Puma only use her image after officially appointing her as a brand ambassador. Her partner, Virat Kohli, who is also an endorser for Puma, shared her post and urged the brand to address the issue.
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Initially, it appeared that the brand had made a mistake until Puma announced the following day that Sharma had officially joined the team and that the social media exchange had been planned as a publicity stunt.
In an earlier chat with Storyboard18, Harshil Karia, founder of digital marketing agency Schbang had mentioned how it’s essential for brands to use surprising and attention-grabbing tactics to capture the interest of consumers, especially for those that have a strong digital presence.
“For a few categories it works well where core audiences get dry humour and the buying TG already has a predisposition to stand up specials and the like. Thus, I imagine, works well for a brand like Puma,” he had said.
But it cannot be all marketing and storytelling. So what drove the sales?
Puma’s multichannel approach has enabled it to build both its physical and digital sales channels, with a focus on offering the right products and prices for each channel.
It seems it has become “a digital-first company” for the past six to eight years, investing in its web store and partnerships with online retailers like Myntra and Flipkart Fashion. Finally, Puma’s India-for-India strategy has allowed it to quickly create and source products for the Indian market, with 50 percent of its products made and sourced locally, Ganguly added.
Breaking down the sales coming in from each channel, Ganguly said, “Approximately 56 percent of our business comes from offline sales. Out of this, 46 percent is generated by our 490 exclusive stores, while the remaining 44 percent is from ecommerce. Of this ecommerce segment, around 7-8 per cent comes from our own platforms including our web store and shopping app. The remaining 36 per cent is generated through marketplaces.”
What’s in the future for Puma?
Among other things, the forward looking plans for the brand includes building their ‘Let There Be Sports’ platform.
“Our second priority for this year is to continue investing in the running ecosystem. This includes everything from product development to increasing visibility of our products, and participation in races. Running is the most convenient sport in India, and we want to associate ourselves with this movement,” Ganguly said.
Their third priority is to focus on direct-to-consumer e-commerce, whether it is through their app or web store.
Ganguly said they have seen the importance of D2C not only from a commercial standpoint but also from a brand standpoint. So, in the coming months, Puma aims to increase the share of its direct-to-consumer online business from its current level.
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