PUMA has blamed a challenging business climate in Europe and an unusually long winter in Asia for a 2.3 per cent drop in first quarter sales to €782 million.
Pre-tax profits for the period declined to €75 million, compared to €103 million in 2012.
The brand’s sales in the Americas improved by 1.8 per cent to €260 million, while EMEA sales fell by 4.8 per cent to €348 million.
In the Asia/Pacific region, sales declined by 2.9 per cent to €173 million.
India, supported by excellent sales in running and team sports, and Australia delivered positive performances, but they could not quite offset the less satisfactory numbers from Japan, where there was an unusually harsh winter, and China, where fitness and training products in particular did not perform as expected.
PUMA’s retail sales increased by 13.9 per cent to €135 million, representing a 17.3 per cent share of total sales.
The brand said this rise in sales was supported by “excellent results” from its ecommerce business, particularly in North America.
