German sports brand Puma is entering swimwear segment, a largely unexplored market in India. The company's Indian arm is eager to repeat the Chak De! India experience through its product placements.
Puma is introducing 20-30 designs of swimwear for men and women, comprising performance as well as leisure wear.
Rajiv Mehta, Managing Director, Puma Sports India, said, "There are a very few performers for the brands in India, but the category has immense potential in the leisure space. The beachwear concept is picking up, as people travel often and also look forward to swim at hotels."
He said that swimwear was a virgin opportunity for Puma as not many brands had focused on it in India. Currently, Speedo, the American swimwear brand, dominates the domestic market.
Mehta said, "We are identifying other similar sports categories and will launch one of them by the third quarter of this year. Puma is a sports lifestyle brand and does not compete with Reebok and Nike but other lifestyle labels such as Esprit, Nautica and Gant."
He mentioned that the association with the last year's blockbuster, Chake De! India, enabled to create brand awareness about Puma, which has entered India only two years ago.
"Going forward, Puma will associate with 2-3 movies annually for product placements. The couple of projects are slated for release by August-October this year," he said.
Puma operates in 20 exclusive brand outlets and is looking at closing this year by 35 stores. Mehta said, "The company has focused on generating repeat sales. We have been able to achieve 10 per cent increase in per store earnings since the last two years."
Currently footwear accounts for 60 per cent of the business for Puma, while apparel comprises 35 per cent. Puma intends to skew this ratio equally in the next three years.
It has roped in India's ex-skipper Saurav Ganguly as its brand ambassador and is looking forward to sign another cricketer for endorsements. Similarly, it has streamlined advertising around television and magazines and is contemplating developing an interactive communication medium for online promotions.