With the London Olympic games just days away, German sportswear giant Puma is pinning its hopes on sprint legend Usain Bolt to speed up sales and outpace its bigger competitors Adidas and Nike. Bolt, the world’s fastest man who blew away his rivals to win three gold medals in Beijing four years ago, is also a key plank in the firm’s strategy to shift its focus from lifestyle clothing to sportswear. Sportswear currently accounts for 35 percent of Puma sales but the firm’s boss Franz Koch wants to boost that to 40 percent and the company sees its sponsorship of double world-record holder Bolt as key to that aim.
“We are keen to underline that we are strong in both sectors, lifestyle and performance,” Puma’s head of international sports marketing, Christian Voigt, told AFP. Who better than the charismatic Bolt and the Jamaican team, also sponsored by Puma, to push the firm’s dual-track strategy?
“Usain Bolt and the Jamaican team allow us to build a bridge between lifestyle and performance, a bridge they built themselves,” said Voigt.
“The way of life in Jamaica, its music, its relaxed attitude, its style, its colours. This is also Puma’s spirit,” he said.
And Puma certainly aims to capitalise on Jamaican cultural history, hiring Cedella Marley, daughter of reggae legend Bob, to design the clothes for the team.
With profits hit by the eurozone crisis, Puma is hoping for a strong Olympics to revive its fortunes. In an earnings statement issued in April, it said net profits were down some five percent in the first three months of the year, to 74 million euros ($90 million) on sales of 821 million euros — a gain of six percent.
Puma pins Olympic hopes on Bolt to speed sport sales
