Leading sports brand Puma made a fantastic revelation on Monday when it revealed that it has signed a 2 year deal with a champion boxer, Mary Kom. Mary Kom, who is a six-time world champion in boxing, has only had a few brand endorsements in her career. Some of the better-known ones are BSNL and AIBA.
The renowned boxer one her sixth gold medal in boxing last year in the world championships held in Delhi. When asked about her endorsement of Puma, she said “being a woman and a mother I have faced several challenges that I have powered through thanks to my family and team. As a brand has always believed in supporting and encouraging women, which made it a perfect fit for me. I am really excited to come on board with a brand that so perfectly reflects my very own ethos.”
The managing director of Puma, Abhishek Ganguly told the media why the brand chose Mary Kom. He said, “she embodies the spirit of the Puma woman – determined, goal-oriented, confident, and forever gunning for the next big challenge.” He further went on to elaborate by saying “Having consistently defied all odds to achieve a wide range of records and medals, she is an idol for women all over India. With this association, we want to work with Mary in achieving our vision of inspiring a much larger audience of Indian women.”
Mary Kom’s biggest achievements
Mary Kom is currently the only female boxer to have won world championships a record-breaking six times. She is also the only boxer to win a medal at each of the 7 AIBA championships so far. She has also been awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2013, Arjuna Award for sports in 2003 and the Padma Shri in 2008. She was also declared as an MTV Youth Icon in 2008 and won Limca’s People Of The Year award in 2007. Her biographical film was released in 2014, starring Priyanka Chopra in the lead role.
Puma’s market share and performance in India
Although India was the 8th largest market for Puma in 2016, the brand continues to lag a little behind Adidas and Nike (which is the market leader). 30% of their sales happen through e-commerce websites and market places. The brand has over 200 brick and mortar stores in India that are spread across Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities.
