Retro sneakers and "endorsements by stars" like Usain Bolt and Rihanna helped Puma "deliver strong sales growth in the fourth quarter and make a confident forecast" for '17 on Thursday, according to Emma Thomasson of REUTERS. Puma CEO Bjorn Gulden "has led a gradual turnaround of a brand that had fallen far behind" market leaders Nike and adidas, although profits "have been dented as sourcing from Asia is paid in a strong U.S. dollar." Gulden said, "I feel extremely confident about 2017. ... I have seen the order book and the reaction from the trade. ... January was very positive." Shares in Puma, which "rallied last month on analyst upgrades and renewed speculation" that majority owner Kering might consider a sale, were up 1.5%. Asked about Kering's intentions, Gulden said that he had "seen no indication that anything was changing at a board meeting on Wednesday." Puma posted a quarterly net loss of €4.6M ($4.9M) on sales of €958M ($1.02B), a rise of 9%, both of which were "slightly better than forecasts" (REUTERS, 2/9). The AFP reported with "a series of high-profile global sporting events, 2016 was a showcase" for Puma’s sponsored teams and athletes. Bolt "bore the brand’s leaping cat logo" at the Olympics in Rio, while Euro 2016 saw French top scorer Antoine Griezmann and teammate Olivier Giroud "sport its yellow boots, among the five teams it sponsored." Puma also enlisted model Cara Delevingne and singer The Weeknd as celebrity ambassadors, while shoes designed by Rihanna "repeatedly sold out worldwide within mere hours of hitting the stores." Sales in the Americas and Asia grew by 8.3% and 8.5%, reaching €1.3B ($1.39B) and €904M ($964M), respectively, with double-digit growth in China (AFP, 2/9).
