Photo: Footwearnews.com
With Anta Sports' backing, Puma could return to growth mode by the end of 2027.
Anta Sports could help Puma return to growth mode, particularly in the Chinese market, by strengthening its direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategy. Based on this, HSBC analysts upgraded Puma shares from "hold" to "buy," according to Footwearnews.com.
This year, Anta Sports acquired a 29,06% stake in the brand, subject to receiving the necessary regulatory approvals, which are expected by the end of 2026.
The German sportswear brand is still in a transition period due to ongoing inventory optimization, reduction of unnecessary wholesale distribution, and cost control measures. HSBC analysts noted that strategies under new management could open significant growth opportunities by the end of 2027, beginning with a focus on the Chinese market.
"Anta has a strong track record of transforming global brands, including Fila, Descente, Kolon Sport and Amer Sports, as well as Arc'teryx, Salomon and Wilson," the analysts noted, noting that these brands were acquired and then "relaunched after strategic repositioning with a particular focus on the Chinese market, where they have all now achieved success."
Anta's business model is based on a "single focus, multiple brands, globalization" strategy, and the company consistently utilizes transformation and scaling methods for brands that previously underperformed and struggled with market positioning. The transition to a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model also helps optimize supply chains, increasing efficiency and profitability.
In the case of the Finnish group Amer Sports, which a consortium led by Anta acquired in 2019, the transformation resulted in “Arc’teryx becoming the defining global outdoor brand in China, while Salomon conquered the market by transforming itself from a purely performance-focused brand to a lifestyle and fashion-focused one.”
Anta plans to seek two of Puma's seven board seats, which would allow it to exert influence over the business. Puma currently has a market share of just 1,3% in China, and brand awareness is limited.
With its experience in the Chinese market and its extensive distribution network, Anta will be able to assist Puma in its expansion. And with only 150 company-owned Puma stores, the German brand appears to have significant potential for expansion. Puma also operates approximately 770 franchised stores in China.
"Anta's portfolio brands have demonstrated the ability to scale store networks more effectively than many global competitors," the analysts write, citing Salomon as an example.
Under Anta's leadership, Salomon stores were opened in just two months, while most global brands take around nine months from planning stage.
The HSBC report noted that in 2025 alone, Salomon opened 90 branded stores, 45 of which are brand-owned and operated directly by the company, and all stores have been profitable since opening.
HSBC's report noted that Greater China accounted for 7% of the group's sales in 2025, down from 15% in 2020, but that the share is expected to reach 10% by 2028, driven by an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23% between 2026 and 2028.
Last year, Puma opened a new, expansive flagship store in London. The company also promoted Maria Valdez to Chief Brand Officer. And in April, Puma hired new executives: Bertin Blanc as Vice President of Global Wholesale and Laurent Fricker as Vice President of Sportswear, continuing its wellness strategy.
Puma reported slightly better-than-expected first-quarter 2026 results, although its second-quarter sales forecast was weaker than the first, with improvement expected in the second half of the year.
Anta is the third-largest sportswear company in China after Nike and Adidas. It is now also the largest shareholder in Puma, followed by Frasers Group with a 5,77% stake.
Anta Sports could help Puma return to growth mode, particularly in the Chinese market, by strengthening its direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategy. Based on this, HSBC analysts have raised…
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"When Customers Are Few: How Fashion Store Owners Can Squeeze the Most Out of Every Customer"
In recent years, offline retail in clothing, footwear, and accessories has been operating under conditions of a steady decline in incoming traffic. By the end of 2025, offline store traffic in Russia had declined by 8-15%, with the offline segment's purchase rate declining more sharply than the overall market, according to Retail.ru. According to statistics from individual shopping centers, the decline by the end of last year was between 15 and 25%. How can salespeople effectively engage with customers in such challenging conditions? We'll explore service strategies in low traffic conditions with SR expert Elena Vinogradova, who specializes in purchasing and sales in the fashion business. The expert shares proven methods with practical examples of speech modules. Elena is confident that, in a context of declining traffic, high-quality service is becoming the main competitive advantage for the shoe industry.
Offline vs. Marketplaces: How to Survive and Win in 2026?
In Russia, e-commerce's share has grown from 5% in 2019 to nearly 23% in 2024 and continues to grow, with e-commerce market analysts predicting it will reach over 30% by 2029. Offline retail, meanwhile, can not only survive but also grow by 20-30% annually if it stops offering clothes on hangers and shoes on shelves and starts selling unique experiences. We discuss this topic with Shoes Report regular contributor Elena Vinogradova, an expert in fashion buying and sales and the author of the Fashion Business Blog, a blog for retailers and buyers.
The main colors of women's shoes for the fall-winter 2026/27 season
Fashion continues to embrace the language of emotion. The upcoming Fall/Winter 2026/27 season promises to be emotional and slightly reflective. Vibrancy gives way to depth, and ostentatious luxury is replaced by enveloping warmth. Five key shades of women's footwear reflect precisely these sentiments: trust in naturalness, attention to texture, and a desire to find beauty in nuances. Let's turn to the professional forecast of seasonal, cutting-edge colors from the international trend bureau Future Snoops. The selection of the Fall/Winter 2026/27 palette from Future Snoops presented in this article is an emotional map of the coming season, speaking of trust and fragile honesty, balance, inner strength, and warmth that requires no occasion. These five shades transform the seasonal footwear styles into a unique color language that can help the brand and its customers express themselves and their emotions.
Revisiting classic standards of retail lighting through the lens of modern technology
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Sales of additional goods and services can add up to 20-30% to a store's turnover.
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From July 27 to 29, the Euro Shoes@CAF_Eliteline 2026 exhibition will be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
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Micam and Livetrend presented a selection of footwear trends for the spring-summer 2026 season
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“How do you charge your consultants for personal or general sales?” Is one of the most popular questions causing a lot of controversy and gossip on the online forums of retail business owners. Indeed, how to properly form the earnings of sellers? But what about bonuses, where to get a sales plan from, do employees allow them to buy goods at discounted stores? In search of truth, the Shoes Report turned to a dozen shoe retailers, but no company wanted to disclose its motivation system - the process of its development was too complicated and individual. Then we asked four business consultants, and finally became convinced that the topic of seller motivation is very complex, because even our experts could not come to a common opinion.
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Bayer is no longer a new, but still a popular and sought-after profession. It’s fashionable to be a buyer. Buyers are at the origins of the emergence and development of trends. If the designer offers his vision of fashion in the season, then the buyer selects the most interesting commercial ideas. It is on buyers that the policy of sales of stores and what, in the end, the buyer will wear depends on. This profession is surrounded by a magical fleur, often associated with a lack of understanding of what exactly is the work of a buyer.
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Retail Arithmetic
Before you begin to solve specific problems, you need to find out how accurately all the leaders of your company understand the basic terminology of retail.
How to fire a worker without tears, scandal and trial
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