Puma hopeful for Latin America
17/04/2009
Puma chief executive, Jochen Zeitz, has said he his hopeful that the market in Latin America will hold up well for the brand in the face of the global economic slowdown.
His company achieved sales growth of 8.1% in Latin America last year, reaching a total of €651 million, while sales in the US fell by 4.1%.
During a tour of business operations in Mexico, Mr Zeitz told media there that Latin America was an attractive market for Puma, with Mexico, Brazil and Argentina as the most important countries.
He said: "No one can tell what is going to happen in the future, but we are certainly seeing a significant drop in the global economy, which is affecting everyone. All companies have to react to that; we are reacting by tightening up our processes and being conservative. But I think Puma is a brand that has a degree of protection against the financial climate. In Latin America, there are countries that have suffered similar crises in the past and they seem better prepared for the current situation. They seem to have more flexibility than other countries."
At the same time, he insisted that Puma had to be careful with its spending in the current climate, choosing carefully where its resources will go, but Mr Zeitz made it clear that he regarded Mexico as a good place for Puma to invest to achieve further growth.
As a means of helping his company achieve this, he called on the authorities in Mexico to take a firmer stance against counterfeit sports apparel and shoes, pointing out his company's relationship with the government was a good one, but that "greater coordination" of efforts was needed.
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