Puma seems to be a brand that focuses primarily on sports and performance

Mumbai: German sportswear maker Puma said it remains India’s largest sports and apparel brand with a 10% growth in sales in the last calendar year despite staff turnover among top management and slowing demand for discretionary products.

For the fiscal year ended December, revenue stood at ₹3,274 crore, according to registrar filings, far higher than rivals Adidas, Nike, Reebok and Skechers, and fast-fashion brands Zara and H&M.

Puma said it is shifting its strategy from lifestyle and athleisure to a brand focused primarily on sport and performance.

“One of the things we are going to do going forward is really be at the forefront of performance. We need to be credible in the sports side because that will allow us to play in the athleisure side,” Karthik Balagopalan said in his first media interaction after taking over as MD of Puma India last year. “We get about a quarter of revenue from sports performance products, which could shift to a third going forward.”

The company recently partnered with the Athletics Federation of India as their official kit partner to equip over 400 athletes with footwear, apparel and accessories. The brand has also tied up with the Indian Olympic Association as their official footwear partner, providing athletes with podium and travel shoes along with accessories for the Olympics.

India is one of the fastest growing and largest international markets for footwear companies. Globally, India is one of the fastest growing and top three markets for Puma Group. Last year, Puma’s former managing director Abhishek Ganguly, along with Atul Bajaj, sales and operations head, and Amit Prabhu, chief financial officer, quit to start their own sports business. Balagopalan joined at a time when most lifestyle and apparel segments saw sales growth slow after three years of revenge shopping. “The demand has been a bit muted and challenging, but if you look at the overall growth rate of the category, we are still in the high single digits. When it comes to health and fitness, consumers are not shying away from spending on it and our strategy is leaning towards that,” Balagopalan said, adding that he expects a recovery by the festive season.