Sports News: Puma To Reenter Basketball Market In The U.S.

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GERMANY — German sportswear giant Puma, which is currently owed by Kering plans to rejoin the basketball market as it makes a push to grow in the United States and China and bring its profitability closer to that of larger rivals Nike and adidas.

In recent years, Puma has  put a big focus on soccer and running and makes a large amount of its sales in Europe.

After pulling out of basketball 17 years ago, Puma has hinted for some time that it was considering returning to major American sports.

Puma said it will partner with athletes and celebrities linked to basketball, noting that basketball shoes still dominate U.S. footwear sales although Nike and Under Armour have been hit by a shift away from basketball performance shoes to more retro styles in the last few years.

Nike has the contract to supply NBA uniforms.

Puma made the announcement as it issued new medium-term targets at a capital markets day.

Puma said it sees “substantial upside” for the brand in the U.S. market, while it expects Greater China – where basketball is also popular – to be its top market by 2022, according to slides prepared for the presentation to investors.

Last November 2017, we reported that Kering was set to sell Puma for almost $7 billion (see it here). Kering also owns Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Puma, Brioni, Christopher Kane and other brands

Photos Credit: Courtesy

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Donovan

Donovan is the CEO and Editor-In-Chief of www.dmfashionbook.com. For all general inquiries please email don@dmfashionbook.com Donovan has a BA in Journalism & Media Studies from the prestigious Rutgers University. He's currently studying entertainment and fashion law.