Fashion
Germany’s Puma’s Q3 sales drop 10.4% as brand executes strategic reset
The gross profit margin fell by 260 basis points to 45.2 per cent, primarily due to elevated promotional activity in the wholesale channel, inventory write-downs, and increased freight costs. This was partially cushioned by a favourable mix shift towards direct-to-consumer (DTC).
Puma’s Q3 2025 sales have declined 10.4 per cent on a currency-adjusted basis to €1,955.7 million (~$2.27 billion) amid distribution clean-up, reduced wholesale exposure, and fewer e-commerce promotions.
The brand reported a net loss of €62.3 million (~$72.3 million) and a 45.2 per cent gross margin.
CEO Arthur Hoeld reaffirmed 2025 as a ‘year of reset’.
Operating expenses, excluding one-time costs, decreased 2.6 per cent to €850.6 million, reflecting early benefits from the cost-efficiency programme. However, marketing costs rose as a share of sales due to reduced revenues. Adjusted EBIT dropped sharply to €39.5 million from €237.0 million a year earlier, while reported EBIT came in at €29.4 million after accounting for €10.1 million in one-time restructuring costs. Consequently, the EBIT margin fell to 1.5 per cent. Net loss stood at €62.3 million compared with a €127.8 million net profit in the same period last year. Earnings per share came in at negative €0.42.
The company faced multiple challenges during the quarter, including muted brand momentum, elevated inventory levels across the trade, and lower-quality distribution, as part of its ongoing strategic reset aimed at strengthening long-term brand health by reducing undesirable wholesale business, curbing promotions, and improving inventory quality, Puma said in a press release.
Wholesale revenue decreased 15.4 per cent (currency-adjusted) to €1,385.7 million, reflecting reduced exposure to low-margin channels in North America, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Latin America. The company also phased out undesirable business and executed significant takebacks to clear excess inventory from trade partners.
DTC sales, however, grew by 4.5 per cent (currency-adjusted) to €570 million, driven by a 5.6 per cent increase in e-commerce and a 3.9 per cent rise in owned and operated retail stores. This boosted the DTC share to 29.1 per cent from 25.1 per cent in Q3 2024, as the company shifted focus towards higher-margin, brand-controlled channels.
Sales fell across all key regions due to the ongoing reset. In the Americas, sales decreased 15.2 per cent (currency-adjusted) to €678.1 million, largely due to reduced exposure to mass merchants in North America. The US market was particularly affected given its significant share of wholesale business. The Asia/Pacific region recorded a 9 per cent decline to €367.1 million, primarily due to a drop in Greater China’s wholesale business, partially offset by growth in DTC. In the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region, sales declined 7.1 per cent to €910.6 million, impacted by takebacks and the deliberate scaling back of low-quality wholesale business.
All product divisions were affected by the strategic reset. Footwear sales declined by 9.9 per cent (currency-adjusted) to €1,045.8 million, with broad-based softness across most categories. Nonetheless, the Speedcat family within the Sportstyle Prime segment performed well, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. Performance categories such as Basketball and Performance Running showed resilience, driven by successful launches like the HALI 1 basketball shoe and Velocity NITRO 4 running shoe.
Apparel sales decreased by 12.8 per cent to €635.5 million, reflecting weaker performance in Sportstyle, while growth in Training—bolstered by Puma’s exclusive HYROX partnership—along with Motorsport and Basketball, provided partial offsets. Accessories declined 6.1 per cent to €274.4 million.
For the first nine months of 2025, Puma’s sales decreased 4.3 per cent (currency-adjusted) to €5,973.9 million, while reported sales dropped 8.5 per cent. Wholesale declined 8.6 per cent, while DTC rose 8.4 per cent—driven by strong e-commerce growth of 14.2 per cent and retail growth of 5.2 per cent. DTC’s share of total sales increased to 28.8 per cent from 25.5 per cent.
Gross profit margin for the nine months decreased 130 basis points to 46.1 per cent due to higher promotions and currency headwinds. Adjusted EBIT fell to €102.0 million from €513.2 million, while one-time costs and impairments led to a reported EBIT loss of -€10.7 million. The company posted a net loss of €308.9 million for the period, compared to a €257.1 million profit in 2024.
“At the end of July, we stated that 2025 would be a year of reset. Since then, we have taken important steps to clean up Puma’s distribution, improve our cash management and reset our operational expenses. By expanding our cost efficiency programme, we are moving quickly to address challenges and make the business more efficient and resilient. With third-quarter results meeting our expectations, we remain committed to executing these measures with discipline,” said Arthur Hoeld, chief executive officer (CEO) of Puma.
“I strongly believe the Puma brand has incredible potential with more than 77 years of history, one of the best product archives in the industry and huge credibility in many major sports. We have identified the areas in which we need to take decisive action and outlined our strategic priorities to become one global sports brand with globally resonating product ranges and inspiring storytelling across markets. With these strategic priorities, we have the clear ambition to establish Puma as a Top 3 sports brand globally, returning to above industry growth and generating healthy profits in the medium term,” added Hoeld.
Puma has expanded its cost-efficiency programme to include a targeted reduction of approximately 900 additional white-collar roles globally by the end of 2026. The company expects these actions, alongside its distribution reset and focus on brand consistency, to create a leaner and more agile operating structure, added the release.
Despite ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, Puma confirmed its full-year 2025 outlook, expecting sales to decline by a low double-digit percentage on a currency-adjusted basis and a reported EBIT loss for the year. Capital expenditures are projected around €250 million.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
Despite rising renewable installations, global textile decarbonisation remains slow and uneven.
Coal-heavy thermal processes, especially in large tier-2 facilities, continue to dominate emissions, while renewables still form a small share of total energy use.
Progress hinges on accelerating coal exit, electrification, and targeted action in high-impact facilities.
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Arvind Fashions Limited has reported strong Q3 FY26 performance, with revenue rising 14.5 per cent YoY to ₹1,377 crore (~$149.6 million), driven by robust direct-to-consumer growth.
EBITDA increased 18 per cent, with margin expansion to 14.2 per cent.
Retail like-to-like grew 8.2 per cent, online B2C nearly 50 per cent, while nine-month revenues reached ₹3,901 crore (~$424 million).
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From a global sourcing and export perspective, Sanjay Jain, Group CEO of PDS Ltd, welcomed the integrated vision outlined in the Budget. “As a sector that provides direct employment to over 45 million people and supports nearly 100 million livelihoods indirectly, these measures are both timely and impactful,” he said. Jain highlighted the thrust on public capital expenditure, champion MSMEs, Samarth 2.0 and Tex-Eco, adding that PM MITRA parks and cluster modernisation will help reduce import dependence and strengthen MMF apparel and technical textiles. “This Budget reinforces confidence in India’s journey towards becoming a globally integrated, high-quality manufacturing hub,” he said.
Highlighting supply-chain realignments, Priyavrata Mafatlal, vice-chairman of Arvind Mafatlal Group and MD of Mafatlal Industries, said the Budget improves planning visibility for manufacturers. “The thrust on fibre supply, scale and value addition will help stabilise input costs, improve margins and enable positive investment decisions,” he said. Mafatlal also welcomed the focus on skilling aligned with automation, digitalisation and AI, calling it essential to bridge the industry’s employability gap.
India’s textile and apparel industry views the Budget 2026–27 as a strategic signal focused on manufacturing depth, MSME-led growth and long-term competitiveness rather than headline announcements.
Industry leaders highlighted cluster revival, MSME financing, skilling and sustainability as key positives, while flagging unresolved concerns around power costs and fibre competitiveness.
Gautam Ganeriwal, executive director of Sitaram Spinners Pvt Ltd, said the Budget reflects learning from ground realities. “Every Budget needs to be read not for announcements, but for intent. From a textile industry lens, today’s Budget carries a clear signal: India wants manufacturing depth, not just manufacturing headlines,” he said. Ganeriwal highlighted the Integrated Programme for Textiles, revival of 200 legacy clusters, strengthened MSME finance through TReDS, and professional support via Corporate Mitras as meaningful interventions. However, he noted that cost competitiveness remains unresolved, citing power tariffs, cross-subsidies and fibre cost distortions, while calling for the removal of import duty on cotton and MMF raw materials.
From a policy and advisory lens, Kanishk Maheshwari, co-founder and MD of Primus Partners, said textiles have emerged as a spotlight sector. “The focus on modernised infrastructure and skill upgradation will provide a significant boost to foreign investments and link indigenous textile units to global value chains,” he said.
MSME-focused reforms were another major theme. Rohit Mahajan, founder and managing partner of Plutos ONE, said the ₹10,000 crore MSME Growth Fund marks a decisive shift from subsidies to scale-led competitiveness. “The integration of GeM with TReDS and the move to make receivables tradable as asset-backed securities directly address working capital challenges and lower the cost of capital for MSMEs,” he said, adding that such reforms will support tariff-resilient, export-ready enterprises.
Echoing long-term optimism, Nitin Jain, founder of Ivyn, said the revival of 2,000 clusters, creation of the MSME growth fund and establishment of mega textile parks signal sustained commitment. “These measures will modernise the textile and garment ecosystem, enabling scale, innovation and global competitiveness,” he said.
Industry stakeholders said that while the Budget sets a strong structural direction for textiles, garments and MSMEs, effective implementation, power-sector reforms and fibre cost competitiveness will be critical to translating intent into sustained growth.
New-age D2C fashion brands have welcomed the Budget, saying its export-oriented measures, cluster modernisation and sustainability focus create a stronger foundation for Indian brands looking to scale globally while building value-added manufacturing at home. Siddharth Dungarwal, founder of Snitch, said the Budget takes a decisive step towards positioning India as a global textile and apparel powerhouse. “The focus on export enablement, duty rationalisation for leather and synthetic goods, and the removal of the courier export value cap will significantly benefit brands and manufacturers looking to scale internationally,” he said.
Dungarwal added that the integrated policy approach covering fibres, skilling, cluster modernisation, sustainability and technical textiles reflects a long-term vision for the sector. “For new-age D2C brands and exporters, this Budget creates the right foundation to compete globally while building value-added manufacturing capabilities in India,” he said.
From the perspective of women-led D2C businesses, Tejasvi Madan, founder of Beyond Bound, said the Budget could go further in addressing the specific needs of emerging fashion exporters. She called for a dedicated export-readiness programme for D2C fashion brands, faster GST refunds and duty drawback timelines, and simplified cross-border payment and forex compliance.
Madan also highlighted the need for special credit lines and incubation support for women-founded apparel start-ups, along with plug-and-play shared manufacturing facilities and capital subsidies for flexible, small-batch production. “Incentives for sustainable and circular fashion, R&D support for next-generation fabrics, modern skilling for athleisure and technical apparel, and a ‘Made in India Activewear’ global branding mission would significantly accelerate responsible growth,” she said.
Industry observers said the Budget’s export facilitation measures and manufacturing-led focus provide momentum for India’s fast-growing D2C fashion ecosystem, while targeted policy refinements could further help home-grown brands compete in global markets.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
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