This story is brought to you by PUMA.
June, 2020. PUMA Southeast Asia’s General Manager Sanjay Roy's eyes are glued to the texts on a computer screen. Before him is a news report on the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic-induced global lockdown has impacted over 4.2 billion people by bringing many economic activities across the world to a grinding halt.
Sanjay closes the news report and opens an excel sheet, eyes narrowed on PUMA's sales figures. The sports brand demonstrated triple-digit growth in Southeast Asia in 2020 compared to 2019.
As the new general manager of the multinational sports brand's arm in Southeast Asia, it was up to Sanjay and his team to figure out strategies to not only ensure PUMA's survival during the pandemic, but maintain this exponential growth.
Enter 'Forever Faster'.
If there's an ethos that’s been pivotal in PUMA's ability to beat its performance every year, it’s been 'Forever Faster'.
"'Forever Faster' is more than just being quick," Sanjay says, adding that the ethos is PUMA's mantra. "We aim high, and when we score our goals, we aim even higher."
Founded in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler, the sports brand is synonymous with being "fast". The mission for PUMA has been straightforward since Day One: To be the Fastest Sports Brand in the World.
Despite the uphill task ahead for the new general manager, there was a silver lining: e-commerce is growing. According to a joint report by Google, Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, and global business consultants Bain & Company, Southeast Asia's internet economy is slated to be worth US$1 trillion by 2030.
PUMA had already anticipated this digital boom since 2019 and had readied preparations.
Riding the digital wave – in style.
Under its 'Forever Faster' ethos, the brand undertook a digital transformation which saw it become a lot more efficient, nimble, and fast.
To make sure PUMA is a step closer to be the Fastest Sports Brand in the World, it began investing in digital initiatives that not only embody the spirit of "Forever Faster", but also engaged Southeast Asians in fun, memorable ways.
For instance, the PUMA RIDER campaign featured Southeast Asia's first virtual influencer, Maya. Maya was created from millions of faces mapped in the region from multiple online sources via Instagram to create the virtual influencer's face.
On the augmented reality front, PUMA initiated an Instagram campaign to transform its users into "PUMAN" through the platform's AR face filter feature.
Dubbing the campaign #PUMANSOFSG, the sports brand partnered with six influencers in Singapore to get fans to submit Instagram stories with their PUMAN faces to enjoy discounts at 10 retail stores in the island state. This has made PUMA the first sports brand in the region to creatively utilize the then-latest customized AR face filter feature.
Meanwhile, the sports brand also attempted to merge the digital and physical world during the pandemic through a clever campaign: Creating your own EDM track by shaking your head.
The initiative was in line with its regional campaign dubbed, "Foot Tapping" and it saw many in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia bobbing their heads to EDM tunes.
These initiatives were made possible due to the sports brand’s prudent investment in its digital transformation and most importantly, its employees.
Fun fact: PUMA is also behind the term "foot-tapping", a fun trend that sees people creating music through the tapping of their feet.
Like the cat that represents PUMA, Sanjay's team was able to remain agile, dodging all sorts of challenges the pandemic threw their way.
Despite comprising a diverse team of individuals from many nationalities and backgrounds, everyone had a shared similarity: They loved working at PUMA and desire not just to see the brand excel, but also the teammates around them go far.
In Sanjay's team, for instance, ideas are not shot down. They are celebrated with everyone given a voice to figure out various strategies.
These strategies both focused on gaining market share as well as figuring out ways PUMA can contribute to tackling societal challenges.
"The “Forever Faster” mantra is timeless. The ethos behind it has helped PUMA achieve multiple ground-breaking innovations in sports and fashion throughout the past 70 years – achieving somewhat of a culture of “firsts”," Sanjay explains.
While pioneering products is still at the heart of PUMA’s “Forever Faster” mantra, Sanjay says his team continues to explore new ways to better connect with Southeast Asians in an increasingly digitalized world.
Internally, Sanjay also made sure that his team members were equipped with new skillsets – especially when it came to producing creative digital content – and pursuing new, engaging projects from the digital sphere.
The idea is simple: So long as employees find meaning in what they do, the joy that they exude would be infectious. And this, in return, will show across various levels.
The numbers don't lie.
Despite only operating in two countries while going up against competitors with online presence in six countries back in 2020, PUMA beat the odds when it was named the 5th Best Selling Sports Brand in Shopee and Lazada Southeast Asia for the 12.12 campaign. This marked a great start for the brand.
Fast forward to 2021, PUMA has been the fastest growing sports brand on Shopee Malaysia, courtesy of its awesome performance during mega campaigns, all the way from 6.6 to 11.11.
Outdoing itself, the brand has been named the 1st Best Selling Sports Brand in Lazada Malaysia’s 11.11 sale for the year 2021 – placing higher than the 4th place from the same category in 2020.
While 2021 turned out to be a good year for PUMA Southeast Asia, 2022 might see the brand surpass itself again, thanks to its 73-year-old ethos: Forever Faster.
Learn more about how PUMA manages to stay ahead of the game and remains “Forever Faster” here.
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