The German sports brand Puma made a record profit last year but warns of less profitable times in 2023. Due to cost increases, shopkeepers and distributors have built up large sports shoes and clothing stocks.
They now have to get rid of them before they buy new Puma products.
Last year, the operating profit, from which interest payments and taxes, for example, have not yet been deducted, amounted to 641 million euros. Never before has this result been so high. Moreover, turnover was almost a fifth higher at 8.5 billion euros—the brand’s products sold particularly well in South America and Europe.
However, the increased stocks will pressure Puma’s profitability this year. Due to higher transport and materials costs, sportswear industry stocks have grown by 50 percent. As a result, the increased stock must be sold in part at a discount.
The sports company is also struggling with a volatile market due to the war in Ukraine, the threat of a slump, high inflation and interest rates. Nevertheless, Puma does not expect this to deteriorate this year and that the markets in China and the United States, for example, will return to normal.