Puma hit by 'muted demand' and currency fluctuations

German sportswear brand Puma said it saw “muted consumer sentiment and volatile demand” in 2023, and expects that to continue into this year (Puma)

German sportswear brand Puma said it saw “muted consumer sentiment and volatile demand” in 2023, and expects that to continue into this year.

Sales grew by 6.6% to €8.6 billion, falling off in the fourth quarter of the year. But the business - which counts Jack Grealish among its brand ambassadors - was hit hard by currency fluctuations in Argentina, which it said cost €400 million.

Sales slowed at the end of the year, with revenue in the fourth quarter declining.

The business made a €304.9 million profit, down 13.7% from 2022.

Looking ahead, the business said: “We expect geopolitical and macroeconomic headwinds as well as currency volatility to persist in 2024. These conditions already led to muted consumer sentiment and volatile demand in 2023 and we expect these effects to continue in 2024, particularly in the first half of the year.”

The business will launch its first “global brand campaign” in a decade this year, and  the business said will focus on growing market share rather than short-term profitability.

Arne Freundt, Chief Executive Officer of Puma, said: “In a volatile environment that impacted the whole industry, PUMA delivered strong growth and profitability fully in line with the outlook. Without the extraordinary devaluation of the Argentine peso, which had a significant one-off accounting impact, our results would have been even stronger.

“This outcome reflects the strong underlying performance of Puma and we were only able to achieve this because of our amazing PUMA Family and all of its fantastic partners.”

Puma shares, listed in Frankfurt, are steady at €42.56 today. They are down 15.7% for the year to date.