Puma: 70 Years of Sports Style & Performance - Essay Sample

Introduction

Puma is a German multinational company known for its manufacture of sports and athletic wear for sport related activities all over the world. With over 70 years of history, Puma has become entrenched as a sports style and performance industry producing designs to identify it as the fastest sports brand in the world. Puma is one of the biggest names in the sports and athletic wear industry with the company logo of the leaping cat being one of the most discernible emblems around the world. "The production of athletic products such as footwear, accessories, and apparel for different sports while still maintaining the company's move to diversify the products to not only include sportswear but also a plethora of fashion and lifestyle options has increased its popularity over the years" (Grainger and Andrews,2). The German-based brand subjugates the sportswear industry with its products featuring on the best and most talented athletes as well as public figures hence classified as the third most successful in the industry dwarfed by Nike and Adidas. For over sixty years Puma has become recognized not only as a great brand in sportswear but also as a brand that seeks to differentiate itself from the competition through the assertion of conscious efforts to meet both sports and lifestyle needs of consumers.

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Puma's history dates back to 1924 when two brothers Rudolf and Adolf Dassler founded Dassler Brothers shoe factory producing slippers and outdoor shoes saw the market gap for athletic shoes. The business boomed in the 1920s and 1930s Olympics with Jesse Owens winning four gold medals wearing puma shoes. "In 1948 however a fraternal dispute compelled the split of the company" (Grainger & Andrews, 2). Adolf Dassler went on to invent Adidas, the rival company to Puma which was left to Rudolf Dassler. The heritage of Puma has carried on over the years from its inventive product designs to the becoming of a public company and even the naming of singer Rihanna as the creative director of the women's edition in 2014. The Key management of the company involves Bjorn Gulden as the CEO and Michael Lammermann as the CFO.

The global sportswear market is highly competitive with a key competitive brand such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok and Puma striving to build brand loyalty through creating distinctive brand personalities. Adidas and Nike have become the biggest rivals in the industry with each running viral marketing campaigns to stay ahead of such as the All in, campaign by Adidas and the "phenomenal Just Do It campaign by Nike that has led to Nike enjoying significant market share as the market leader" (Borts, 15). Nike and Adidas have proven to be more expensive brands while puma provides products at affordable prices. Puma has always been a top competitor but "experiences low sales and low brand loyalty due to the high competition form the advertising behemoths that are Nike and Adidas" (Dawes, 8). Adidas and Nike as market leaders have each chosen a brand positioning that focuses on their designs with Adidas maintaining on the aspect of sports performance and heritage and Nike taking up performance-driven style to provide innovation and inspiration to athletes. Puma has mixed the influence of sports, lifestyle, and fashion to eschew its performance as the aestheticization of sportswear.

"Puma is positioned as a premium product due to the premium pricing strategy taken up by the company that is designed to rival with competitors and offer premium and affordable goods to consumers and due to its brand name, the prices are acceptable and convincing in the market" (Bhasin, 1). The positioning is set to satisfy clients with marketing strategies centered on the distinct logo to signify the production of quality goods through collaboration with designers such as Alexander McQueen. Promotions through social media and sponsorships of sports such as football help in the increase of sales of puma products around the world. Although Pumas market share did decline in the face of competition from Adidas and Nike, it has managed to establish its own unique aspect to the market leading to an increase in revenue and a greater development in the market.

Works Cited

Bhasin, Hitesh. "Marketing Mix of Puma - Puma Marketing Mix." Marketing91, 11 Dec. 2018, www.marketing91.com/marketing-mix-puma/. Accessed 26th June 2019

Borts, Andrew. Nike, Inc.-Athletic Footwear and Apparel. Diss. 2018. run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/36379/1/Borts_2018.pdf. Accessed 27th June 2019

Dawes, John. "Brand Loyalty in the UK Sportswear Market." International Journal of Market Research 51.4 (2009): 1-12. johndawes.info/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Brand-Loy-sports.pdf. Accessed 27th June 2019

Grainger, A., and D. Andrews. "Postmodern Puma." M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 6.3 (2003): 1-10. journal.media-culture.org.au/0306/08-postmodernpuma.php. Accessed 27th June 2017