Puma, which will be the official kit supplier to 15 national athletic teams at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has just opened its first concept store in China. Located in Beijing like the flagship store already opened by Nike and the flagship due to be opened by Adidas, it will be the first of a series of concept shops in this country, where it set up a joint venture with Swire Resources in January 2006. The new operation allowed the brand to double its sales in China last year, where the sporting goods market is projected to reach $6.8 billion in 2008. The goal is to quadruple the turnover in five years, although the growth rate is slowing down. Puma’s sales in China are set to grow by 50 percent in 2007 and by 40 percent in 2008. The number of points of sales should hit 1,600 next year, up from 700 at the end of 2006 and 1,200 at the end of 2007.

Topics