Tie-up with Virat Kohli's brand One8 contributes 10% of Puma India sales in 2019, helps sports firm clock 23% growth in revenues

Mumbai: The association with One8, the brand run by cricketer Virat Kohli, has contributed a full 10 percent of Puma India sales for the global sportswear brand Puma in 2019 fiscal year, helping the German brand clock an overall 23 percent growth in revenue, and corner the numero uno slot. The achievement comes amidst plunging sales across all segments from soaps to biscuits to automobiles, leave alone premium sportswear. The achievement is also significant as unlike rivals Nike and Adidas, Puma was a late entrant, beginning operations only in 2006 in the country coupled with the fact that Puma has done such collaboration for the first in the country. According to the company, Puma’s collaboration with the Indian cricket captain saw a massive rise in sales in FY2019 with sales through One8 accounting for almost 10 percent of its overall sales, and cementing the leadership position by a wider margin. With an annual turnover of Rs 1,413 crore in FY2019, Puma has taken a full 14 percentage points to lead over the immediate rival Adidas which recorded a revenue of Rs 1,250 crore, while the same is almost double that of Nike’s with a Rs 831 crore revenue. Puma’s sales gap with Adidas was just 2.4 percent in FY2018.

“We have cemented our leadership position as the country’s number one sports brand with revenue growth of 23 percent at Rs 1,413 crore in FY19, in a market where retail spending has been sluggish due to the general slowdown,” Puma said on Monday.

It attributed the performance to the better show in tier 2 & 3 markets, while its online sales soared 27 percent, offline clipped at 15 percent, and the ’like to like’ stores sales rose 17 percent across its 373 outlets, it said, adding overall growth was also boosted by categories like women’s. “It’s been a great partnering with Puma to launch One8. I’ve had the opportunity to create my own personalised collection in collaboration with Puma and become the first sportsperson to partner with Puma for a product line such as this,” Kohli, who is also the global brand ambassador for Puma told PTI through a statement. [caption id=“attachment_7783901” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Virat Kohli. AP[/caption] Abhishek Ganguly, managing director of Puma India chipped  in saying, “our collaboration with Kohli’s One8 saw an exponential rise in sales in FY19, accounting for almost 10 per cent of our total sales.” And the German company expects the good show to continue with its global chief executive Björn Gulden expecting a major bump in sales in 2020 with the Olympics and T20 championships around the corner. “India is a strategic market for us and we are thrilled to see the performance. Being the No 1 brand in India is a reflection of how well we understand our consumers and how pleased they are with our products,” Gulden was quoted in the statement. Unveiling the global sales numbers last week, Gulden described 2019 as “the best year in Puma’s history” as worldwide revenue surged to  5.5 billion euros, up 18.4 per cent and he highlighted India as a strong driver of growth in Asia. “The year 2019 has been fantastic for us globally and in India. Our partnership with Kohli has been one of the most successful for us globally. Puma One8 continues to grow steadily,” Ganguly said, adding the tie-up with the cricket captain is the first of its kind for Puma in the country where they have also created a complete line with him. PTI BEN