As brands across the globe step up focus on direct-to-consumer channels, Puma India has been witnessing strong traction for its products on its company-owned online store. Growing focus on health and fitness among consumers is also helping the sportswear brand rake in sales during the pandemic.

Talking about the recent demand trends, Abhishek Ganguly, General Manager, Puma India and South-East Asia, told BusinessLine , that in the past few months online sales for its products across all digital platforms has been gaining strong traction during Covid-19 times. “Our mono brand site has emerged as one of the fastest growing channels. Our focus on making Puma.com an important part of our e-commerce strategy in the country has helped us during the pandemic,” he said. The company has been witnessing new online users buying its products through its own company-owned website, as well as other e-commerce digital platforms with an uptick in need-based purchases.

“One of the significant trends which has been positive for us during this crisis is the fact that people are increasingly focusing on health and wellness. We believe consumers’ habits of training and working out and increased interest in fitness and sports is expected to stay for the longer terms, even when we come out of the pandemic,” Ganguly said. The sports brand has seen an increase in demand for athleisure, fitness and sports performance products. This trend has also helped the sportswear category to be one of the fastest to recover despite the current challenging times.

Customer expectations

Ganguly said that customer expectations from a retail brand has swiftly evolved due to Covid-19, and the company has been adopting a slew of strategies to meet these evolving needs. The company, for instance, is enabling the brand’s retail stores to connect with consumers through digital platforms, showcase the catalogue to take orders on chat, and fulfilment of these orders is being done through home delivery.

“We have realigned business processes and customer convenience and safety is the core focus. We are focusing on getting closer to the customer whether it is through contactless doorstep delivery, taking orders through whatsapp video calls, or setting up pop-up stores at residential complexes,” he added.

While the offline retail sector has been seeing improvement in demand gradually, however, local level weekend lockdowns in some states still persist and the industry has been raising concerns about their adverse impact.

Replying to a query on strategies for the festival season, Ganguly said: “We have a strong product launch calendar. We are working closely with our retail partners to ensure they have the right inventory for the festival season. We are tracking our business on a monthly basis and making adjustments to maximise the opportunity. Customers are spending their wallets on need-based purchases currently and our focus is on offering them the right product.”

comment COMMENT NOW