Entering the Fray
Puma set the athletic industry abuzz with a whirlwind week of news marking its return to basketball.
Why Puma is making a full-court press for the basketball market.
Puma bounced back into the basketball category last week with an explosive tipoff. The company kicked off a series of headline-making events by honoring New York Knicks legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier with a lifetime contract. In addition, it confirmed that it had signed NBA rookies Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III, Michael Porter Jr. and Zhaire Smith.
The roster of newcomers are set to play in the brand’s new shoe, the Clyde Court Disrupt. The model is an updated take on the classic Clyde sneaker, featuring an engineered knit upper — and is scheduled to release on Oct. 1.
Furthermore, Puma revealed that music mogul Jay-Z will serve as the creative director of basketball.
“We believe the basketball business is based on the culture, and not just the court,” said Adam Petrick, global director of brand and marketing for Puma. “Our take is, we can be successful if we are focused on telling stories and building product around that 360 culture — the fashion of basketball, the music of basketball and all the other stories around the court.”
Puma’s unique intersection of sports and lifestyle has turned out to be a winning strategy in recent years — its Fenty Puma by Rihanna and Selena Gomez partnerships are prominent examples. Those factors helped the label nab FN’s Marketer of the Year award in 2017.
While it has clearly found a successful formula, the brand — which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year — will be put to the test in basketball.
Its rookie roster is unproved, and the market is highly competitive, dominated by stars like Nike’s LeBron James and Under Armour’s Stephen Curry. (Puma’s last bigname hoops deal was its 1998 Vince Carter endorsement.)
“The basketball business remains challenged, and the conventional method of big rookie signings has not panned out in recent years,” said Matt Powell, senior industry adviser for sports at The NPD Group Inc.
When asked if now is a good time for Puma to re-enter the category, B. Riley FBR analyst Jeff Van Sinderen said there is room for Puma to be a player in the category.
“A relatively low percentage of ‘basketball’ sneakers are actually worn to play basketball, so in effect, the basketball category is really just a genre of sneakers worn largely for fashion. ‘Star’ endorsements help, and if the product is well-executed, why shouldn’t Puma be able to sell some?” he said.
“Puma arguably can make a technically solid basketball sneaker like any of the majors, and they have a brand to underpin that. Real street cred for technical product doesn’t happen overnight, but Puma doesn’t need to dominate the marketplace,” Van Sinderen added.
With multiple new sponsorship deals to juggle, Petrick is prepared to expand the organization.
“We’ve got a solid team who understands how to have a great relationship with players,” he said. “We always focus on thinking about our players as members of our family, so we are obsessed with making sure that our family are all taken care of,” he said.
“We believe the basketball business is based on the culture, and not just the court. ” — Adam Petrick, Puma