German sports and athleisure brand PUMA reported a massive global revenue growth of 18.9% for the full year 2022 to € 8.46 Bn compared to € 6.80 Bn in the Covid-19 impacted 2021. Gross Profit margin however decreased marginally to 46.1% compared to 47.9% during the comparitive periods. Opex, as a percentage to total revenues, interestingly decreased to 38.9% against 40%. Earnings before interest & taxes brought in € 557 mn to the brand, which employs 20,000 people across the world. During the full year 2019 and 2020, the company had revenues of € 5.5 Bn and € 5.2 Bn. For 2022, the wholesale business (distribution / department stores / shop in shops) grew 22.7%, DTC – by 7.8%, physical stores by 11% and e-commerce by 2%.
Arne Freundt, Chief Executive Officer of PUMA SE: “2022 was a record year for PUMA. We accelerated our growth across all product categories and worldwide despite a volatile market environment. This success is thanks to our amazing PUMA Family team and to our great partnerships with athletes, retailers, and suppliers. While facing some economic headwinds in 2023, we remain hungry and will advance the execution of our successful strategy. We will focus on elevating our brand strength and on winning market share in the U.S. and China. I’m honored to have the chance to lead this fantastic company and take PUMA together with my great team to new heights.”
Across global markets, PUMA’s biggest share of revenues came from the US market with a growth of 28.3% while the Asia Pacific region had a degrowth of 2.2%, largely attributed to a prolonged lockdown in Mainland China and Hong Kong. The brand’s flagship category, footwear grew 30.8% for the full year while its apparel business had a modest growth of 10.1% and accessories, even less at 5.4%.
PUMA kept its eight strategic priorities unchanged in 2022:
- brand heat,
- product ranges that are right for our consumers,
- a comprehensive offer for women,
- quality of our distribution,
- speed and efficiency of our organizational infrastructure,
- re-entry into Basketball to improve our position in North America
- a focus on local relevance as well as sustainability.
With Scuderia Ferrari, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes AMG Petronas, PUMA partnered with the most successful teams of the 2022 Formula 1 season. The increasing popularity of motorsport, and Formula 1 in particular, amplifies these strong partnerships, especially in the United States, where Miami hosted its first Grand Prix in 2022, which was immediately sold out.
Whether it is Web3, the Metaverse or NFTs, the virtual world is becoming increasingly relevant for the brand’s young audiences. In 2022, PUMA unveiled its largest Web3 collaboration to date with 10KTF and launched “PUMA and the Land of Games” on the online gaming platform Roblox. This virtual environment was also used to launch a real product, Manchester City’s new third kit.
