“We delivered our first quarter results fully in line with expectations. While the
market continues to be volatile, we delivered growth and gross profit margin
improvement despite significant currency headwinds and high prior year
comparables. Our retail partners are still working through elevated stock levels, but
as our sell-through was higher than our sell-ins, we jointly improved the inventory
levels in the wholesale channel. We expect that we will improve sell-in in course of
Q2. Our double-digit growth in DTC with fewer discounts confirms the continued
strong demand for the brand and thus continued good sell-through.
Our strong momentum in performance categories driven by exciting innovations and
newness is ongoing and we are further growing our market shares. For our
Sportstyle category, 2024 is a transition year to build the future success in the
elevated distribution. Our go-to-market and demand creation processes are starting
to improve and are crucial as a foundation for the success in Sportstyle. We already
see that sales of our trending terrace and skate styles Palermo and Suede XL are
accelerating month over month and we are very excited to launch our vintage running
franchise Easy Rider and low profile shoes Mostro, Speedcat and Inhale this year.
With our good order book for the second half of the year and the great start of our
brand campaign, I feel very confident about our sequential quarter-over-quarter
improvement in 2024.
We are focusing our efforts on building the foundation for the next chapter of growth
based on increased brand desirability. The launch of our first brand campaign in a
decade was an important first step and the first results came in above our
expectations. I could not imagine a better year than the 2024 Year of Sport to advance
PUMA’s brand elevation journey. We are looking forward to celebrating this summer’s
events with our employees, consumers, retail partners and brand ambassadors.”
ARNE
FREUNDT
CEO
PUMA SE
PUMA Q1 2024 FACT SHEET