Puma fashions sport-lifestyle niche in mainland push

Set to encompass print, out- of-home, digital and the opening of a flagship store in Shanghai in time for the Olympics, the creative work aims to bring awareness about Puma in China.

“We have been working with a brief from Puma’s international office which asked us to use athletes from the Swedish, Jamaican and Moroccan teams - all of whom are coming to the Olympics - and mix them with Chinese culture through putting them in Peking opera masks,” said Canon Wu, chief creative director at Can Create.

Puma is carving out a different niche in the China market in comparison to other Western sportswear brands.
Wu said the brand does not want to concentrate solely on sportsbuffs, but is looking to position itself as a more high-end, “sports lifestyle brand”, complete with a strong fashion slant.

While Wu said the main challenge Puma faced in China was brand awareness, she recognised that the possibilities inherent in the sports lifestyle segment had not gone unnoticed by Puma’s traditional competitors.

“Nike and adidas also have similar thoughts,” she said. “But it really will be Puma’s differentiation point, as their competitors might try to tap into this niche market, but their sports lifestyle lines remain very sports focussed.”