Puma strengthens its position in Indian markets.

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(Free-Press-Release.com) December 29, 2011 -- PUMA Sports India Pvt. Ltd. entered India in 2005, which was a much late entry compared to its competitors. Very young, dynamic, 33-year old Rajiv Mehta, Managing Director, PUMA Sports India Pvt. Ltd, joined the company in 2005 and has formed a young and energetic team to push PUMA into new territories in India. Positioning itself as sports lifestyle brand, Puma has grabbed the No. 2 position in India. Meher Castelino speaks to Rajiv Mehta, MD, PUMA Sports India, as he takes us through the brand's journey.

Share with us a brief background about Puma India since it started in the country in 2005. What was the operating module followed in India?

We took over in late 2005 from Planet Sports to establish a subsidiary. We thought that we could do much better than the status quo given the focus a brand brings to a country. Hence we set up a small team and began attacking the market from all directions. We wanted our own retail stores, we wanted to be present in Large Format Stores such as Shopper’s Stop and also we wanted to have our own distribution so we targeted all three avenues of growing.

Puma started out in India in 2005, much later than its competitors. Reebok came in 1995, while Nike entered India in 2004. So, what was the reason for a late entry? Did you miss the early bird advantages or was a late entry beneficial?

You win some and you lose some. Of course having entered the country years back both Reebok and Nike had an advantage. Reebok had a large number of stores with very low rental while Nike when they took over as a subsidiary they already had close to a 100 stores running, thanks to their licensee. For us, we had no stores and our business in India was negligible. In that sense yes, we were at a disadvantage. But look at the bright side. We knew of which locations to avoid from the competition’s mistakes, we knew the rentals already, the purchasing power was on the rise so it was the beginning of a much needed consumerism! And we had no legacy in the country and hence a clean slate to start off with! So I personally feel that there were more advantages than not of having come in at the right time, neither too late, nor too early!

According to you, how easy or difficult was it to crack the Indian market especially with your high price points?

I think it is a myth that our pricing is higher. We do have some premium product but then with the kind of material used, the design elements and the co-lab associations, we can command those prices. We always price according to the market needs. In fact our full price sell through has been the best in the industry. We entered the Indian market with a very distinct need to differentiate from sports. Being a sportlifesty

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