PROJECT REPORT

ON

MARKETING STRATEGY OF PUMA AT PUMA SHOES

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the award of degree of

BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

MAHARSHI DAYANAND UNIVERSITY

(SESSION- 2023-2024)

SUBMITTED BY:

AAKANSHA

BBA 6TH SEMESTER

UNIVERSITY ROLLNO.-

GOVERNMENT P.G. COLLEGE FOR WOMEN, ROHTAK

 DECLARATION

I am Aakansha, a student of fifth semester, Bachelor of Business Administration. Roll no.

__________ of “Government P.G. College for Women, Rohtak”, under the Maharshi Dayanand
University, Rohtak that the Project Report entitled on “MARKETING STRATEGY OF PUMA
AT PUMA SHOES” being submitted by me in original piece of work done by me. The matter
presented has not been copied from any other existing report. It has not been submitted for
the fulfilment of the requirements for the award of any requirements or the award of any
other degree or Diploma to any other college/university.

AAKANSHA
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Working on the project on " MARKETING STRATEGY OF PUMA AT PUMA SHOES " was as
our ceo fimmense knowledge to me. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our teachers
guidance and valuable support throughtout the course of this project work. I acknowledge with a
deep sense of gratitude. The encourage ment and inspiration received from our faculty
members and colleagues. I would also like to thank my parents for their love and support.

AAKANSHA
 PREFACE

This marketing strategic plan has been written keeping in mind the Indian operations of Puma
Inc. - the global sports shoe giant. It aims first, at analyzing the sports shoe Company India and
finding a place in it for Puma. It then sets out to describe the target audience for the product
range and finally suggests a host of marketing strategies and activities that will help Puma to
achieve its target of becoming the #1 sports shoe brand in India.

The plan begins with a brief overview of the product category being dealt with, namely
premium quality sports shoes. It also dwells briefly on the history of the company and its
current position and activities.

The project moves on to the crux of the matter - the marketing plan to be followed by Puma in
India. Firstly, the objectives behind this plan and the core strategy are stated. Customers to be
eventually targeted are described and compared with competitors' customer targets. After
starting the objectives and reasoning behind them, the actual marketing programs are described
in detail. This includes aspects such as pricing, advertising, promotion, sales, channels, and the
company website. Suggestions are made on each and every one of these aspects; improvements
and innovations are recommended.

The plan then goes on to the customer analysis section. The customer base is identified and
various segments are pointed out. Various criteria and factors have been taken into
consideration while segmenting the market.
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Sr. No. Topic

1. Introduction

2. Review of Literature

3. Research Methodology

4. Data Analysis
& Interpretation

5. Findings, Suggestion,
Conclusion

 Bibliogarphy
 Annexure
 Questionnaire
 CHAPTER-1

INRODUCTION
 INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

Since the late 1980s, Business School marketing professor Itamar Simonson has looked for
ways to understand how consumers make choices. Much of his work debunks the accepted
theory that giving consumers what they want and making a profit are the most basic principles
of marketing.

Customers may not know what they want, and second guessing them can be expensive, says the
professor who teaches MBA and PhD marketing and consumer decision making courses. In
Simonson's words, "The benefits and costs of fitting individual customer preference are more
complex and less deterministic than has been assumed." That's because "customer preferences
are often ill-defined and susceptible to various influences, and in many cases, customers have
poor insight into their preferences." In one of his recent papers, Simonson tackles the issue of
one-to-one marketing and mass customization. Supporters of these marketing approaches have
suggested that learning what customers want and giving them exactly what they want will
create customer loyalty and an insurmountable barrier to competition.

In an example taken to the extreme in the 2002 movie Minority Report, Tom Cruise's character
runs through a shopping mall past talking billboards that recognize him by name and urge him
to buy products he had earlier expressed an interest in such as jeans and Ray-Bans, the ultimate
in personalized advertising. But Simonson has this to say: "The fact that consumer preferences
are often fuzzy, unstable, and manipulatable is unlikely to change. So, the effectiveness of
methods to give customers exactly what they (say they) want has been grossly exaggerated."
His take on the long-held assumption that individual marketing will supplant targeted
marketing is "not so fast." In studies, he has learned that "even when customers have well-
defined preferences and receive offers that fit those preferences, it is far from certain that the
response to such offers will consistently be more favorable than those directed at larger market
segments."

It's all psychology. Consumers with well-defined preferences may be skeptical that a marketer
could match expectations.
Those who don't know what they want may not ever see the fit with what the seller wants them
to buy. So, individualized offers depend on customers' preferences &; how the offer was
extended &; and on trust. "Effective individual marketing requires not only an understanding of
individual preferences and matching offers to those preferences, but also a thorough familiarity
with the various factors that impact customers' responses," Simonson writes.

This is a tall order, one that some companies have been able to fill, at least to some extent. For
example, Amazon keeps track of customers' purchases and suggests other books they might
like. Dell builds computers from mass-made parts to customers' specifications.

But Simonson argues some companies can take the concept too far, like the Custom Foot chain
of shoe stores that took detailed measurements and specifications from each customer to design
one-of-a-kind shoes. Custom Foot didn't take into account that some customers were put off by
the individualized attention, Simonson says, and felt obligated to buy the shoes because the
store went to so much trouble.

They often didn't come back. So knowing only the customer preferences is not enough. It is
required to understand other aspects of customer behavior. Kipping this in mind, present study
will find out and analyze consumer behavior of Puma shoes with reference to ladies segment.
 ABOUT THE PUMA COMPANY

Puma SE, branded as Puma, is a German multinational company that designs and manufactures
athletic and casual footwear, apparel and accessories, which is headquartered in
Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. PUMA is the third largest sportswear manufacturer in the
world. The company was founded in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler. In 1924, Rudolf and his brother
Adolf Dassler had jointly formed the company Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler
Brothers Shoe Factory). The relationship between the two brothers deteriorated until the two
agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities, Adidas and Puma. Both companies are
currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

Puma has been a public company since 1986, listed at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. French
luxury group Kering (formerly known as Pinault-Printemps- Redoute or PPR) holds 16%,
Kering's largest shareholder Artemis SA owns 29% of the share capital. Since 1 July 2013, the
company has been led by former football professional Bjørn Gulden (CEO).

As of 2017, Puma SE employs more than 13,000 people worldwide and distributes its products
in more than 120 countries.

Following the split from his brother, Rudolf Dassler originally registered the new-established
company as Ruda, but later changed the name to Puma.

Puma's earliest logo consisted of a square and beast jumping through a D, which was
registered, along with the company's name, in 1948. Puma's shoe and clothing designs feature
the Puma logo and the distinctive "Formstrip" which was introduced in 1958.
 COMPANY PROFILE

Puma company ltd. - A COMPANY PROFILE Puma India Ltd (BIL) is India's largest
footwear company. The company has a few dozen small corporate offices around the world,
and four "international hubs": Boston, Massachusetts (moving to Assembly Row, Somerville,
Massachusetts; Hong Kong; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and global headquarters in
Herzogenaurach, Germany.

Puma Sports India Pvt Limited operates as manufacturer and distributor of sports products in
India. The company offers footwear, apparel, and sports accessories for football, motorsport
golf and everyday use. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Bengaluru, India.
Puma Sports India Pvt Limited operates as a subsidiary of Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport.
Outstanding performances of PUMA athletes and teams have strongly
influenced international sports through innovative PUMA products and creative marketing
initiatives for more than 60 years.

Milestones in PUMA"s sports history were the development of the first football boot with

screw-in studs in 1952 by the company's founder Rudolf Dassler, the legendary "two- stripe"
jersey of Johan Cruyff at the world championship in 1974, the PUMA contact lenses of
Linford Christie in 1996, the skin-tight Catsuit tennis dress of Serena Williams at the US
Open 2002, the revolutionary one-piece Cameroon football shirt in 2004, the Italian national
team winning the Football World Cup in 2006, Ferrari with its seven- times world
champion, most successful Formula 1 pilot and PUMA partner Michael Schumacher, who
dominated the sports for years, the world records of sprint hero Usain Bolt as well as the
Volvo Ocean Race, "the Everest of Sailing" that PUMA's eye- catching sailing yacht il
mostro finished in second place in 2009.

Through creativity and innovative products PUMA has always set standards in sports and

style. Partnerships with federations such as Jamaica, Italy and in Africa provided the brand
with the opportunity to lead the way in creative and innovative global sports marketing.
PUMA was not only able to strengthen its positioning as a sport lifestyle brand, but created a
whole new market by establishing the segment sport lifestyle.

Football

As early as in 1952, PUMA set the first milestone on the pitch by developing the
"Super Atom", the first football boot with screw-in studs. Eight players of German premier

league club Hannover 96 sported the new mass-produced boots during the final of the German
Premier League Championship in May 1954 and heralded a new era of football boot
development - well before Germany’s famous World Cup win in Bern in July that year.

A story to remember is the legendary "Two-Stripe Jersey" that the captain of the
Dutch national team Johan Cruyff created at the World Cup 1974. The Dutch player refused
to play in a three-stripe shirt because he felt closely connected to his sponsor PUMA.
He created a unique Dutch two-stripe jersey which debuted in the final of the World Cup in

Munich.

When Jochen Zeitz took the helm in 1993, he launched a new brand strategy which turned
PUMA into the most desirable sport lifestyle brand through successfully fusing influences
from sports, lifestyle and fashion. The epitome of the new sport lifestyle segment was
PUMA"s cooperation with designer Jil Sander in 1998 when PUMA combined - as the first
sports brand ever - sports and style. The newly introduced trend found its way onto the
international catwalks and especially onto the football pitches where PUMA set new
standards for sports fashion and established the sport lifestyle segment.

Legendary examples of PUMA"s sports fashion were the coloured football boots at the

World Cup in France in 1998 and the sleeveless jerseys, sported by the Cameroon national
team at the African Cup of Nations and the World Cup in 2002. The football fashion was
further revolutionized, when the Cameroon team played in one-piece jerseys for the first time
ever at the African Cup of Nations in 2004. The one-piece kits caused a worldwide media stir
and the international football federation FIFA sued PUMA, trying to ban the sensational
jerseys.

PUMA"s successful fusion of sports and style within the realm of football was crowned

when the Italian national team won the World Cup in 2006: The "Squadra Azzurra " represents
the perfect combination of athletic world class and fashionable flair, further extending
PUMA"s position as one of the three leading football brands.

As the partner of 13 African football federations, PUMA has not only been the leading
sponsor in Africa for many years, but has also used the continent to launch its most innovative
products. The joy of the game, aesthetics, passion and culture are African values that PUMA
also stands for. The World Cup offers a unique platform for PUMA to demonstrate its long-
term commitment to African football and the continent. While Africa has been carrying the
stigma of conflicts and poverty in the global press, PUMA has always emphasized the
positives of the prospects and uniqueness of the continent.
In January 2010, PUMA entered into a partnership with the Environment Programme of the
United Nations (UNEP) to protect biodiversity. The joint Play for Life" campaign was
launched to support projects in Africa and elsewhere. To fund this initiative, PUMA launched
the Africa Unity Kit, the world's first continental football kit" designed to be worn by the 13
African football national teams that PUMA sponsors.

Running

PUMA has always been successful in finding the right partners, who perfectly reflect
and convey the image of the brand around the world. Sprint superstar Usain Bolt and the

Jamaican track and field team perfectly embody that sports, fun and style have always

been key elements in PUMA"s brand strategy.

At the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing, Usain Bolt set a 100m world record of 9.69 seconds,
smashing his own mark from May that year and sprinted 200m in the world record time of
19.30 seconds, beating Michael Johnson's 1996 record by two hundredths of a second. He
won his third gold medal as Jamaica shattered the world record in the 4x100m relay in 37.10
seconds.

In close collaboration with Usain Bolt, PUMA developed the Theseus II, the ultimate running
shoe. Running the 100m and 200m both, the Jamaican sprinter needed a versatile shoe that
provided support for power, as well as firmness to hold his foot in place around

the turn. PUMA produced a gold version of the shoe for Beijing, which helped power him

through the greatest sprints of his life so far.

At the World Athletics Championships 2009 in Berlin, Usain Bolt wrote sports history again
when he smashed the 100m and 200m world records. The PUMA Yaam sprint spike that
propelled him to victory was developed by a team of PUMA designers and technicians who
studied and measured Bolt's stride and foot form. The vibrant orange sprint spike, designed to
contrast the Olympic Stadium's signature blue track and Usain's way of achieving outstanding
performances, mixing sport and style, caused a global stir.
Sailing

At sea, PUMA participated with an own boat in one of the world's toughest sailing races, the
Volvo Ocean Race in 2008. As the first multi-category company, PUMA entered into sailing
and combined high performance sports with cutting-edge technology, styling and adventure.
The 11-men strong crew - the PUMA Ocean Racing Team - raced 10 legs and visited 10
countries in Africa, Asia, South and North America. During nine months, they covered 37,000
nautical miles (68,524 km) before finishing the race in second place in June 2009 in St.
Petersburg.

Over 5 million people visited the Volvo Ocean Race stopover villages and witnessed PUMA"s
il mostro, PUMA City and PUMA"s innovative market initiatives, PUMA used the 11 port
destinations of the Race to activate complex onshore marketing strategies. Such activities set
a new marketing benchmark in the growing sport of sailing. At the same time, while the sport
of sailing is often perceived to be very exclusive, PUMA aimed to break down this
misconception. PUMA"s retail expertise manifested itself by providing a unique shopping
experience in PUMA City, a mobile architecture at the stop- over ports. Retail expectations
were exceeded, after sales in PUMA City on a single day in Boston topped daily sales in any
PUMA store ever worldwide. PUMA City is an innovative, mobile container building and has
accompanied the sailing crew during parts of the Race, being shipped to and assembled at the
stop-over ports in Alicante and Boston to host celebrations, press events, entertainment and
in-port race viewing.

Motorsport

In Motorsports, PUMA underpinned its excellent competence to combine top performance

sports with lifestyle when it developed highly functional Formula 1 collections as the first
sports brand Page ever. With the support of Ferrari and Michael Schumacher as well as a
strong portfolio of other racing teams, PUMA successfully established Motorsports as a new
segment within a short time and became the leading Formula 1 sponsor. Formula 1 driver
Sebastian Vettel caused a sensation in 2008 when the 21-year old won the race in Monza,
wearing golden PUMA shoes, and became the youngest Formula 1 champion in history.
Tennis

On the international tennis courts, PUMA caused a stir in 2002, when the company dressed
the top player Serena Williams in a skin-tight black "catsuit" at the US Open in New York
and changed the fashion in a sport that had seen players traditionally dress in white. In 1998,
PUMA took the then 16-year old American tennis player under contract and went together
with her all the way from rank 42 to number one in the world tennis ranking list.

The following report describes and analyses Puma business 's generic and
distinctive marketing strategies, as well as providing accurate industry, competitor, market,
and SWOT analysis'. Evaluation of Puma business's marketing strategy is conducted, thus

analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the strategy. Lastly the report
recommends probable future courses of actions obtainable to Puma business, in order to get
better profits and stop mistakes in the future.

According to the company's annual report "The Puma business was originally founded
by legend fashion designers who first patented a disinfectant fashion in France which is still

marketed today as Puma Fluid. Puma was granted the Royal Warrant in France and is still a
proud supplier to the Royal Household".

If we analyzed then we come to know that Puma be familiar with that ultimately the consumer
buys products which solve consumer desires and requirements. These desires repeatedly
expand and it is vital that products are developed to assemble these requirements. Puma has
two research & growth centers in France and the UK where the solitary focal point is to
produce ground-breaking new products.
According to the annual report of Puma Business:

Puma Group Management Team

The Industry Analysis

Puma is in the department store/large retailer industry, an industry that has very high levels of
competition. Although this industry is extremely competitive and growing at a fast pace in
Australia, it is still not as large as the department store industry elsewhere in the world, such
as the USA. This is partly due to the fact that there are boundaries in this industry, particularly
in Australia, as there are few retail stores that can classify themselves as large department
retail stores. Puma is a very competitive and key participant in this industry, as it is both a
producer and a seller. The large retailer industry can be very volatile due to the impact the
environment has on its participants. Due to the introduction of the GST in year 2000, retail
turnover has been increased and there has been a sharp sales slump in the retail sector (Inside
Retailing, 2001). According to the estimation of ARA, total sales were up 5%; however there
had been a drop in department store sales of 3% for the seven months prior to July on the
previous corresponding period. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) also estimated that

department store turnover was up 27.8%, or approximately $1 billion.

Competitor Analysis

The main competitors of Puma stores are middle- upper class department stores that stock a
wide variety of products. Competition mainly comes in the form of premium positioned stores
in the high-class category. In Australia, the main higher class competition would come from
Nicholas Goodwin and Michel Jones, which are both fashionable stores that offer alike
products at a competitive price.

However, due to the fact that John Adam has just recently announced that two of
its Australian stores will close down at the end of 2001, Puma has experienced a slight fall in
the competition in this industry sector. On the other hand the middle class sector of
the industry is still highly competitive, with the likes of main rivals Sports girl, Kmart,
Target and Harvey Norman insuring the need for regular in-store monitoring and
maintenance.
Market Analysis

Puma main customer base, thus their main target market; are predominantly female. As the
products are of best standing, i.e. premium pricing and brand categories; the market
is customer based, not demand-based. The products fulfill wants and desires based on image,
not needs. Customers seek the product and service benefits of the image of
Puma. Geographically speaking, the market for large department store such as Puma is
mainly concentrated in large shopping centers or downtown. In a large shopping center
or downtown shopping district, the market is strong, with good profit potential.

Department stores positioned as premium are hard to imitate and start because they are built
on the prestige of the brand.

Puma is the main producer of enthusiast driving shoes and race suits. They are the primary
producer for Formula One and NASCAR clothing. They won the rights to sponsor the 2006
FIFA World Cup champions, the Italian national football team, making and sponsoring the
clothing worn by the team. They entered a partnership with Ferrari, Ducati and BMW to make
Puma-Ferrari, Puma-Ducati and Puma-BMW shoes. On 15 March 2007 Puma launched its
2007/2008 line of uniforms for a club, and Brazilian football club Grêmio will be the first to
use the laser-sewn technology, similar to that worn by Italy at the 2006 World Cup, because
their season starts six months earlier than European clubs.
PUMA SHOES and unconventional designs inspirations, McQueen is the perfect match for
PUMA: Together we take on the challenge to successfully combine different trends in sports,
fashion as well as sport history and technology into unique collections which convince
through their distinctive style. For instance, McQueen's footwear collection is inspired by the
anatomy of the foot, perfectly unifying elegance with an extraordinary design as well as
comfort and functionality. Mihara. The Japanese designer Yashuhiro Mihara aims to fuse
sport and fashion with innovative creations and intends to deliberately break boundaries.
Mihara shoes feature a sportive-Avant- grade design and the slogan of his collection is called
"out of sports, out of fashion", a sure hint that his shoes are neither trainers nor leather shoes.

The "Rudolf Dassler Schuh fabrik" collection is inspired by the timelessness that is sports

and its character is stamped by the influence of cultural styles such as Cubism and Bauhaus,
Dadaism and Jazz, Modernism and Avant-garde. With its natural and puristic style the
collection takes us back down memory lane to the unforgettable hours of major Sport events.
The Dassler collection is provocative and modern, going back to the origin of sports and with
its name remembering the founder of PUMA, Rudolf Dassler.

PUMA - The Black Label

PUMA - The Black Label footwear is an authentic sport-fashion collection featuring modern
interpretations of PUMA iconic sneakers with fashion-forward shapes that fuse form and
function. The Black Label styles are truly innovative, urban and versatile and they combine
performance elements with fashion trends.

Established by Henry Dunker in Helsingborg, Sweden at the end of the 19th century, Tretorn
takes inspiration from its Scandinavian roots and carries this vitality of spirit throughout its
collection of leisure shoes, rubber boots and tennis balls. Tretorn's expertise in rubber-made
products demonstrates a consistent commitment to quality and brand over hype, offering a
collection most appreciated by those with a practical sensibility and a lifestyle largely enjoyed
outside.

Manufacturing Facilities: PUMA uses outsourced production facilities in over 40 countries.

Official Company Language: English

Registered Office: Herzogenaurach, Germany.

.
 COMPANY OVERVIEW

Organizations that were promoting fair trade and worker's rights did not criticize PUMA's
employment practices in their developing world factories, predominantly relating to workers in
China, Turkey, El Salvador, and Indonesia.

The company has made some steps towards greater transparency. In 2000, PUMA began
auditing all of its suppliers on a yearly basis, and makes the results available in its sustainability
reports. Since 2005, it has publicly provided a list of its suppliers.

PUMA has made a strong commitment to respecting workers rights in some areas. For
example, PUMA has obtained the Ethical Clothing Australia accreditation for its Australian-
made products. This labour-friendly accreditation applies to only a tiny percentage of PUMA's
total production.

In May 2011, The Guardian released an article saying that Puma was the "world's first major
company to put a value on its environmental impact".

According to the article the company "has made a commitment that within four years, half its
international collections will be manufactured according to its internal sustainability standard,
by using more sustainable materials such as recycled polyester, as well as ensuring its suppliers
develop more sustainable materials and products."

Puma is also known for boosting positive environmental practices in in its supply chain through
financial incentives. The innovative Supply Chain Finance scheme implemented links the
sustainability performance of key suppliers to the costs at which they can access finance. Such
scheme won the company an "Innovation Award" in Supply Chain Finance in 2016. PUMA SE
is engaged in designing, developing, selling and marketing footwear, apparel and accessories.
The Company's segments include Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Americas (North
and Latin America) and Asia/Pacific. The Company offers performance, as well as sportstyle
products across six business units: Teamsport, Running and Training, Golf, Motorsport,
Fundamentals and Sportstyle, and Accessories and Licensing. The Company is engaged in the
sale of products from the PUMA and COBRA Golf brands through the wholesale and retail
trade, as well as from sales directly to consumers in its own retail stores and online stores. The
Company markets and distributes its products across the world primarily through its own
subsidiaries. The Company distributes its products in approximately 120 countries. For various
product segments, such as fragrances, eyewear and watches, the Company issues licenses
authorizing independent partners to design, develop and sell these products.
 THE HISTORY

Christoph von Wilhelm Dassler was a worker in a shoe factory, while his wife Pauline ran a
small laundry in the Franconian town of Herzogenaurach, 20 km (12.4 mi) from the city of
Nuremberg. After leaving school their son, Rudolf Dassler, joined his father at the shoe factory.
When he returned from fighting in World War I, Rudolf was trained as a salesman at a
porcelain factory, and later in a leather trading business in Nuremberg.

In 1924, Rudolf and his younger brother, Adolf, nicknamed "Adi", founded a shoe factory.
They named the new business "Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik" (Dassler Brothers Shoe
Factory) which was the only business at the time that manufactured sports shoes. The pair
started their venture in their mother's laundry. At the time, electricity supplies in the town were
unreliable, and the brothers sometimes had to use pedal power from a stationary bicycle to run
their equipment. In 1927, they moved into a separate building.

The brothers drove from Bavaria to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin with a suitcase full of
spikes and persuaded United States sprinter Jesse Owens to use them, the first sponsorship for
an African American. Owens won four gold medals. Business boomed; the Dasslers were
selling 200,000 pairs of shoes annually before World War II.

Both brothers joined the Nazi Party, but Rudolf was slightly closer to the party. A growing rift
between the brothers reached a breaking point during a 1943 Allied bomb attack.

Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were already in. "Here
are the bloody bastards again," Adi remarked, apparently referring to the Allied war planes, but
Rudolf, due to his apparent insecurity, was convinced his brother meant him and his family.
When Rudolf was later picked up by American soldiers and accused of being a member of the
Waffen SS, he was convinced that his brother had turned him in.
 SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT ANALYSIS PUMA, INC.

STRENGTHS

Puma is a very competitive organization. Phil Knight (Founder and CEO) is often quoted as
saying that 'Business is war without bullets.'

Puma has a healthy dislike of is competitors. At the Atlanta Olympics, Reebok went to the
expense of sponsoring the games. Puma did not. However Puma sponsored the top athletes and
gained valuable coverage.

Puma has no factories. It does not tie up cash in buildings and manufacturing workers. This
makes a very lean organization. Puma is strong at research and development, as is evidenced by
its evolving and innovative product range. They then manufacture wherever they can produce
high quality product at the lowest possible price. If prices rise, and products can be made more
cheaply elsewhere (to the same or better specification), Puma will move production.

Puma is a global brand. It is the number one sports brand in the World. Its famous 'Swoosh' is
instantly recognizable, and Phil Knight even has it tattooed on his ankle.

WEAKNESSES

The organization does have a diversified range of sports products. However, the income of the
business is still heavily dependent upon its share of the footwear market. This may leave it
vulnerable if for any reason its market share erodes.

The retail sector is very price sensitive. Puma does have its own retailer in Puma Town.
However, most of its income is derived from selling into retailers. Retailers tend to offer a very
similar experience to the consumer. Can you tell one sports retailer from another? So margins
tend to get squeezed as retailers try to pass some of the low price competition pressure on to
Puma.
 OPPORTUNITIES

Product development offers Puma many opportunities. The brand is fiercely defended by its
owners whom truly believe that Puma is not a fashion brand. However, like it or not,
consumers that wear Puma product do not always buy it to participate in sport. Some would
argue that in youth culture especially, Puma is a fashion brand. This creates its own
opportunities, since product could become unfashionable before it wears out i.e. consumers
need to replace shoes. consumer could go to the store along the street to compare prices for the
exactly the same item, and buy the cheaper of the two. Such consumer price sensitivity is a
potential external threat to Puma.
 Chapter-2
Review of literature
 Review of literature

Introduction

Review of literature shows the previous studies carried out by the researcher in this field.
Previous studies are previewed in order to gain insight in to extent of researcher. The research
problem can be more understood and made specific referring to theories, reports, records and
other information made in similar studies. This will provide the researcher with the knowledge
on what lines the study should proceed and serves to narrow the problem.

The study of consumer behavior has evolved since the Information Processing Model
(Bettman, 1979) assumed that the individual is logical in his/her buying process. This model
was criticized because it failed to treat different consumption phenomena motivated by
symbolic meanings (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982). Individuals are not always looking for
efficiency and economy, but also for distraction, aesthetic, expression, etc. (Boyd and Levy,
1963). Calling for a broadening of theoretical frameworks of consumer behaviour, many
authors pleaded in favour of the study of all consumption forms (Holbrook, 1986), being
inspired by European semi logy and American semiotic (Levy, 1959, 1963, 1981; Hirschman,
1980; Kehret- Ward, Johnson and Louie, 1985; Mick, 1986; Holbrook, 1986; O'Shaughnessy
and Holbrook, 1988; Nöth, 1988; Stern, 1988; Grafton-Small and Linstead, 1989). These are
the study of signs, meanings and production of symbols. Fantasy, emotion and pleasant aspects
of consumption were then tackled from an experiential point of view. The Experiential View
phenomenological perspective that perceives consumption as a primary state of consciousness
having a variety of symbolic meanings, responses and hedonist criteria (Holbrook and
Hirschman, 1982; Olshavsky and Granbois, 1979). The basis of the is a Processing Model is the
optimization of the utility of a product under the basis of a utilitarian evaluation of its tangible
characteristics. Nevertheless, it neglects emotional aspects.

On the other hand, the Experiential View leaves out different factors such as:- economic
conditions, expectations, some elements of the marketing mix (price, distribution), perceived
risk and conflicts, but mostly the social influence of the consumers' reference groups (Holbrook
and Hirschman, 1982; Business Central Europe, 1994) which is the aim of the Symbolic
Interactionism Perspective. Acquisition, possession and consumption are activities taking place
in a process of impressions creation or identity management which is, according to Belk
(1978), an interactive process concerning both the image of goods consumed and that of the
individuals consuming them. The Symbolic Interactionism Perspective deals with the
relationship between consumers and the products they consume, and suggests that a significant
proportion of consumption behaviors consist of social behaviors, and vice versa (Solomon,
1983). This leads us to consider the importance of socialization processes (family, reference
groups) through which individuals learn the meanings of symbols and those of consumption.
With the aforementioned meanings being negotiated and built through interactions with others,
consumption is not only an individual activity, but also a social process of goods definition
(Gallant and Kleinman, 1983). Since individuals are often motivated to acquire products
according to what they mean to them and to members of their social reference groups (Leigh
and Gabel, 1992), their behavior is subject to the pressures of cultural norms and the
expectations of socialization institutions rules such as those coming from family and other
reference groups (Faber, O'Guinn and McCarthy, 1987.

Thus, Symbolic Interactionism Perspective considers the human spirit as fundamentally social,
and dependent on shared symbols. The symbols being generated at a global level (Geertz, 1973;
Solomon, 1983; McCracken, 1986, 1988; Leigh and Gabel, 1992), the Symbolic Interactionism
Perspective accepts as precept the fact that society and its culture precede every individual
action, and that a cultural consensus results from interactions, communication, and negotiation
between social actors (Charon, 1989). If, at a conceptual level, the consumption good becomes
an instrument of communication, at an operational level, image variables may be regarded as
the intangible attributes of the product that carry cultural and social meanings. According to
Erickson, Johansson and Chao (1984), an image variable is defined as "some aspect of the
product that is distinct from its physical characteristics but that is nevertheless identified with
the product". The image variables emerge from four cognitive representations individuals have
of their environment: the symbolism of advertising, the celebrity endorsement, the brand, and
the country of origin of the product.

The made-in is considered by Dichter (1962) as the fifth element of the marketing mix, and is
defined as the country where are located the corporate headquarters of the organization doing
the marketing of the product or the brand (Johansson, Douglas and Nonaka, 1985). The country
of origin carries a rhetoric that influences consumers' preconceptions towards the products of a
country.
Its meaning can be conceived as an indication serving as a basis of evaluation (Bilkey and Nes,
1982), when one considers a product as a bundle of information. The images of a foreign
country that are formed by consumers are made of cognitive, affective and behavioral
components. The first one represents the perceived characteristics of the country. The second
one concerns the
the appreciation or or not of those characteristics, and the third one corresponds to the actions
about the country that the consumer feels are appropriate.

A tendency to evaluate positively the local production compared to imported production, and
biases in favor of industrialized countries have been found in previous studies (Bilkey and Nes,
1982; Cordell, 1992). This does not mean the consumer will not buy the product, but rather that
he is not inclined to do so (Schooler, 1971). "When entering foreign markets, sellers often face
quotas, tariffs, and nontariff barriers. In addition, they may face an intangible barrier in the
form of consumer bias on the the basis of product origin" (Schooler, 1971).

The informational value of the country of origin was also found to vary according to the level
of involvement of the consumer in purchasing the product and the presence of other cues such
as brand name, guarantee and price (Ahmed and d'Astous, 1993). In a recently published
metaanalysis of country-of-origin effects, Peterson and Jolibert (1995) conclude that the
average effect size is lower (0.19) for purchase intention, higher (0.30) for quality/reliability
perceptions and context dependent. More specifically, they found that the characteristics of the
study (research design, type of respondents, study cues, sample size, stimulus context etc.)
influence the relative effect of country of origin to a lesser degree for quality/reliability
perceptions than for purchase intention the type of respondent.

Stanford GSB marketing professor Itamar Simonson and Ran Kivetz, an assistant professor at
Columbia University, asked a group of 195 Columbia students to do; eat a lot of
sushi.Participants were offered a "frequent diner" program that would reward them for their
patronage at various university dining locations and given a card that would track their
purchases. They were randomly assigned to one of two groups those in the "low" requirement
group were told they would have to purchase 12 sandwiches to get two free movie tickets,
whereas those in the "high" requirement group were told they would have to purchase 12
sandwiches and 12 orders of sushi to get two free movie tickets. So, the second group had to do
much more to receive the same reward. Kivetz and Simonson also asked participants how much
they liked sushi relative to the typical student. The result? Students who liked sushi were much
more likely to join the "frequent diner" program that required them to purchase both 12
sandwiches and 12 orders of sushi. "It shows a common mistake that consumers make & if they
see an offer that seems to fit them better than other consumers, for example, a program that
requires sushi-lovers to eat sushi that fit completely colors their assessment of how attractive
the offer is," Simonson says. "As a result, by creating what appears like personal fit, marketers
can attract consumers to frequency programs and many other promotional offers." Kivetz and
Simonson replicated these findings regarding influences on participation in frequency, or
loyalty, programs in studies with travelers interviewed at domestic airports.

The theme that pervades Simonson's work is that customers may not know what they want and
second- guessing them can be expensive. In his words, "The benefits and costs of fitting
individual customer preference are more complex and less deterministic than has been
assumed." That's because, Simonson says, "customer preferences are often ill-defined and
susceptible to various influences, and in many cases, customers have poor insight into their
preferences." In another recent paper, Simonson tackles the issue of one-to-one marketing and
mass customization. Supporters of these marketing approaches have suggested that learning
what customers want and giving them exactly what they want will create customer loyalty and
an insurmountable barrier to competition. In an example taken to the extreme in the 2007
movie Minority Report, Tom Cruise's character Anderson runs through a shopping mall past
talking billboards that recognize him by name and urge him to buy products he has expressed
interest in such as jeans and Ray-Bans; the ultimate in personalized advertising. But Simonson
has this to say: "The fact that consumer preferences are often fuzzy, unstable, and
manipulatable is unlikely to change. So, the effectiveness of methods to give. customers exactly
what they (say they) want has been grossly exaggerated." His take on the longheld assumption
that individual marketing will supplant targeted marketing is "not so fast." That's because
consumers are very difficult to figure out, science fiction and technology notwithstanding.
"Further more, even when customers have well defined preferences and receive offers that fit
those preferences.

Consumers with well-defined preferences may be skeptical that a marketer could match
expectations. Those who don't know what they want may not ever see the fit with what the
seller wants them to buy. So, individualized offers depend on customers' preferences; how the
offer was extended & and on trust. "Effective individual marketing requires not only an
understanding of individual preferences and matching offers to those preferences, but also a
thorough familiarity with the various factors that impact customers' responses," he writes.

This is a tall order, one that some companies have been able to fill at least to some extent. For
example, Amazon keeps track of customers' purchases and suggests other books they might
like.

Dell builds computers from mass-made parts to customers' specifications. But Simonson argues
some companies can take the concept too far, like the Custom Foot chain of shoe stores that
took detailed measurements and specifications from each customer to design one-of-a-kind
shoes. Simonson argues that Custom Foot didn't take into account that some customers were
put off by the individualized attention and felt obligated to buy the shoes because the store.
went to so much trouble.

They often didn't come back. Indeed, an Internet search produces no Website. Simonson, who
has received many prestigious awards for his research on consumer behavior and marketing,
teaches MBA and Ph.D. marketing and consumer decision-making courses. The loyalty
program article is slated for publication in the Journal of Marketing Research this year. Online
customization gives consumers the opportunity to select a product.

Many companies are looking at online customization as the future of online business Janis
Crow, Kansas State University marketing instructor, researched how people make choices on
the Internet. She recently studied consumers in an online environment and their ability to
customize several products pizza, shoes, and electronic devices.

Crow said that her study posed two questions for respondents: first, how difficult is it to
customize a product, and secondly, how likely is the person to purchase the product he or she
has customized? All participants in the study chose to customize products. In terms of
customers' likelihood to purchase, a greater number of customers made purchase decisions
when there are more options to choose, she said. However, it was slightly more difficult when
more features were offered.
She created a website where people could customize products to their individual preferences
and needs. Crow selected three generic products: pizza, shoes, and a Personal Digital Assistant
(PDA). Thirty-one college students took part in the study.

"Students could customize the three products, and I provided a drop-down box on the site with
attributes to choose from," she explained. Consumers could click on a drop-down box to
customize a product they would want to purchase, she said. She found that more people relied
on the default choices rather than selecting other choices that were offered. She said, some
research suggests that many people do not want to put a lot of effort into purchase decisions.
"A lot of times, people may not have preferences already in mind," she said. When consumers
have the chance to create preferences.

In the future, Crow says she will be studying strategies that consumers go through during
purchase decisions. "I will be studying decision processes to develop computer aids that could
help the consumer reach their purchase decision," she said.

Although her current project involves analyzing the consumer behavior of college students in
an online environment, in future projects she plans to analyze other demographic groups."
Customization will be a key business opportunity in the future for businesses online or in more
typical shopping environments," Crow said. She hopes her research will help consumers in
making purchase decisions and help businesses determine products to offer and how to offer
them. Hong Kong companies, including leather consumer goods suppliers, have shown a
growing interest in tapping the mainland consumer market after China's accession to the World
Trade Organization and gradual opening of its domestic market. For Hong Kong companies
targeting this vast market, a good understanding of the behavior of mainland consumers is
necessary in order to formulate an effective and suitable market strategy.

In view of this, the HKTDC conducted a survey study in four major mainland cities in February
2007. The study was composed of two interlocking surveys.
The first survey (survey on shoppers) successfully interviewed a total of 1,000 shoppers of
leather consumer goods in four major cities, namely Beijing (BJ), Chengdu (CD), Guangzhou
(GZ) and Shanghai (SH). The second survey (survey on retailers) interviewed
managers/officers-in-charge department stores in these four cities.

list of reviews

AAKER (1991): According to Aaker (1991) brand awareness can be also referred to as the
degree of consumers familiarity with a brand. Therefore it is important that a link between
product class and brand is implicated because the scope of brand awareness is very wide,
ranging from an unsure sensation that the brand name is recognized, to a conviction that is
the only one in the product class. Brand awareness refers to the strength of brands presents in
the consumers measurements.

LASSAR (1995): Limit the reference of the image dimension to the social dimension, calling
it social image as social image contributes more to brand equity. Social image is defined as
the consumer’s social group holds the brand. It includes the attributions a consumer makes
and a consumer thinks that others make to the typical user of the brand.

HAEMOON OH (2000): The author introduces a comprehensive customer value

framework and tests an extended value model with lodging products. The extended value
model in this study newly incorporates the concepts of brand awareness, as compared to
brand or product class, and price fairness. Based on Baron and Kenny’s guidelines for
mediation analysis, this study found the traditional customer value process to be useful for
lodging research and marketing.

KELLER (2003): According to the keller (2003) stated that brand awareness can be referred
to as the ability of a consumer to distinguish a brand under various conditions. Keller also
noted that brand awareness is built and increased by familiarity with the brand as a result of
repeated vulnerability which eventually leads to customers experience with the brand.
STEPHENN WEBB: Brand awareness and perception is important when trying to market a
productor service into a new or already established market. This study focal point rests on the
ultimate questions, “How does brand awareness and perception affects consumer
purchasing?”. The process involves a comprehensive understanding of the most current
literature on marketing and marketing theories, as well as through review of three company
rebranding case studies and a comparison between them all, and an indepth look at the design
elements and features of branding and the branding process.

SUPRIYO PATRA, SAROJ KUMAR DATTA (2012): The phenomenon of celebrity

endorsement has attracted a lot of attention from researchers across the globe. It has been
studied from different perspective in different cultural context. In the indian context, the
phenomenon started gaining prominence with the opening of our economy in the early
1990’s. The Hindi film stars from Bollywood and 10 the Indian cricketers are the most
prominent celebrities and are in great demand among advertiser and their advertising
agencies as brand endorses.

RONG HUANG, EMINE SARIGOLLU (2014): Combining survey data with real-market
data, this research investigates brand awareness, which relates to consumer behaviors and
welfare, from three perspectives. First, it examines the relation between brand awareness and
market outcome. Second, it explores the relation between brand awareness and brand equity.
Finally it investigates the effects of marketing mix elements on brand awareness. Findings
reveal consumer’s brand usage experience contributes to brand awareness, implying that
experience precedes awareness in some contexts. The results also confirm positive
association between brand awareness and brand equity.

MUHAMMAD QASIM SHABBIR, ANSAR ALI KHAN, SABA RASHEED KHAN

(2017): Brand has become a necessary part in our daily life. The product, when becomes a
brand, promises quality, trust and distinct place in a range of choices. Brand equity can
corrode substitute brands. Brand equity makes a faithful with the product irrespective of its
price. A sample on 200 customers, using structural equation modeling approach, brand
loyalty and brand image are found to have positive effects on awareness.

JAMES F PETRICK (2018): This study accessed whether a celebrity writer endorsement
affects festival destination. Subjects were non-residents who attended a local literary festival.
Among celebrity attributes, expertise was revealed to be most related to brand equity and
destination attachment. Additionally, loyalty to the festival was found to affect attachments to
the festival destination, while festival brand awareness had a positive impact of festival brand
loyalty.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

of major Shopping locations, Department stores were the most preferred type of retailers,
followed by outlets in shopping malls and chain stores. Product variety, guaranteed quality,
brand choice, price, services and store environment were cited as the major reasons for visiting
a leather consumer goods store.

SHOPPING TIME

Thirty-eight percent of respondents visited leather consumer goods shops at least once a
month.
Shopping during weekends is common. Other popular shopping occasions include National
Day (1st October), Chinese New Year (January/February), New Year's Day (January) and
Labour Day (1st May).

MARKETING CHANNELS

Promotional activities in shopping malls and department stores are the most popular
promotional and sales activities, followed by discount/price reduction, TV commercials,
discount coupons, promotional stands, exhibitions, buy-one- (or more) gets-one-free.
 Chapter-3

Research & methodology

Research Design: (Theory)

Research design is an overall plan or scheme prepared by the researcher for executing
the research study. It is an important stage in the process of conducting research as
it facilitates systematic work on the research project. It is necessary as it facilitates the smooth
conduct of research. Research design may be designed as the sequence of steps taken ahead of
time to ensure that relevant data will be collected in a way that permits objective analysis of
different hypothesis formulated with respect to the research problem.

Data Collection

Data Collection helps your team to assess the health of your process. To do so, you
must identify the key quality characteristics you will measure, how you will measure them,
and what you will do with the data you collect.

Data Collection is nothing more than planning for and obtaining useful information on key
quality characteristics produced by your process. However, simply collecting data does not
ensure that you will obtain relevant or specific enough data to tell you what is occurring in the
process.

A. PRIMARY DATA:

Primary data is important for all areas of research because it is unvarnished information about
the results of an experiment or observation. It is like the eyewitness testimony at a trial. No
one has tarnished it or spun it by adding their own opinion or bias so it can form the basis of
objective conclusions.

Once the primary data has been gathered, analysts study it using other research methods. They
look for relationships between factors that may suggest the designs for new studies. When
they combine the primary data from more than one study, they are using integrative methods.
Their findings present secondary data, a synthesis of several streams of primary data.
Following are the techniques used for collecting primary data:
1. Observation:

i. Natural Setting
ii. Field experiment

2. Communication
i. Personal Interview
ii. Telephonic Interview
iii. Self-administered questionnaire

a. Open ended questions

b. Closed ended questions

c. Filter

B. SECONDARY DATA:

Secondary data is when the investigator does not collect data originally for the
research enquiry but uses data already collected and available in published or unpublished
from, data.

Use of secondary data in a research enquiry saves time, finance and labour. However, some
people doubt the accuracy of secondary data. If reliable and suitable secondary data is
available, there is no harm in using secondary data for any research enquiry. Most research
requires the collection of primary data, and this is what students concentrate
on. Unfortunately, many dissertations do not include secondary data in their findings
section although it is perfectly acceptable to do so, providing it has been analysed. It is always
a good idea to use data collected by someone else if it exists + it may be on a much
larger scale and could contribute to the findings considerably. The sources of secondary
data can be classified as:
TYPE OF RESEARCH

1. Descriptive

SOURCE OF DATA COLLECTION

1. Primary Data

2. Secondary Data

Primary data:-

The data collected for first time is known as primary data. It is by visiting existing customer
and expected customer of Comet Shoes pvt. Ltd. And making them fill up the questionnaire

Secondary data:-

The data which has been already collected by someone is known as

secondary data:

1. Books

2. Websites

3. Brochure
Research instrument

The instrument use for data collection is structured questionnaire. Question is open and close
ended depending upon the information that needed to be elicited. I am also using the scaling
technique to assess the attitude of the customer.

Sampling

Keeping all the constrains in mind a sample size of 100 people .The sampling procedure is
systematic sampling
 CHAPTER-4
DATA ANALYSIS &
INTERPRETATION
 DATA ANALYSIS

1.BRAND POSITIONING OF PUMA SHOES ..?

Particulars Respondent

Puma 32

Relaxo 25

Nike 43

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
puma relaxo nike

Interpretation:-
The most preferred brand in the market is Nike (43%) followed by Puma (32%) & Relaxo
(25%).
2. WHAT TYPES OF SHOES DO YOU LIKE TO PURCHASE MOSTLY?

Particulars Respondents

sports 47

Canvas 18

Formal 35

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Interpretation:-
In the above graph we find out which type of shoes company purchase. 47% company purchase
the order of sports shoe.18% company purchase the order of canvas shoe, 35% company prefer
formal shoes.
3. HOW DO YOU KNOW PUMA SHOES?

Particular Respondents

Advertisement 16

References 33

Past purchase 26

Sales person visit 25

respondents
35

30

25

20

15

10

0
Advertisement References Past purchase Sale person

Interpretation:-

In this question we have the survey about the how the other company should know about the
select shoes. Where the result is shown that 16% know through advertisement, 33% are
references 26% are past purchase & 25% are sale person visit.
4. HAVE YOU HEARD THE NAME OF THE PUMA SHOES?

Particular Respondent

Yes 89

No 11

Respondent
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes No

Interpretation:-
The graphically result shows that 89% people are known about the Puma shoes & 11% people
are not know about the name of Puma shoes.
5. WHICH TYPE OF ADVERTISEMENT YOU DO THE ATTRACT MORE?

Particular Respondent

Internet 48

TV 22

Bills boards 9

Newspaper 21

respondents
60

50

40

30

20

10

0
internet tv bill boards newspaper

Interpretation:-
The graphically result shows that 48% say internet, 22% say TV, 9% say bill boards &
remaining 21% say newspaper.
6. FACTORS AFFECTING THE PURCHASING DECISION?

Factors Respondents

Price 28

Quality
31
Size
11
Brand image
18
Design 12

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
Price Quality Size Brand image Design

Interpretation:-
Studies reveals that price, quality, size, brand image & design fall between large extent &
extent others attributes like colour of the shoes lies between the some extent and least extent.
7. PRODUCT QUALITY OF PUMA SHOES?

Particulars Respondents

Poor 3

Fair 26

Average 22

Good 44

Excellent 5

respondents
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Poor Fair Average Good Excellent

Interpretation:-

The graphically result shows that 3% is poor, 26% is fair, 22% is average, 44% is good & 5%
is excellent quality of shoes.
8. DO YOU HAVE ANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE PRODUCT OF THE
COMPANY?

Particular Respondents

Yes 17

No 83

Respondents
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes No
9. DO YOU PREFER BUYING THE PRODUCT ONLINE?

Particulars Respondent

Yes 60

No 40

Respondents
70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Yes No
10. EFFECT OF PRICE?

Particulars Respondents

Yes 83

No 17

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes No
Do you ask for a specific brand by name?

90% people say yes to this. and the remaining 10% say no.

Which brand do you generally use?

➤People in India prefer Puma the most as we can

see that 17% people prefer Puma sports wear.

Has any sports shoes ad made an impact on you? ➤ Most of the people are influenced with

Adidas's ad,
then with Reebok and then Puma. The most uninfluential is that of action.

By this we infer that the consumer wants the shoe to be durable that is of primary importance
for them. Then the price is also very important for them. The shoe should be comfortable.
Along with that looks and the brand image is also important.
 CHAPTER-5

FINDINGS,

CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION
 Findings

 Do not nature and PARADIGMS because today "anything is possible".

 Search for newer markets than expanding your customer base.
 Come out with state of the art, feature packed affordable and
competitive advantageous products.
 Set Benchmarks for growth.
 Improve up on distribution channels for viable coverage of the market.
 Wear out competition through trend setting, inimitable tactical moves based on our
infrastructure strengths.
 The strategic intent should be clear down the management.
 Work on your strengths i.e. Infrastructure, financial base, backward integration.
 POP and MERCHANDISING material should be made as per international market.
 CORPORATE TRAINING PROGRAMMES for Development of manpower
from external faculty.
 Conclusions

I have so far identified the various areas on which PUMA and other major sports companies
need to improve upon to achieve the desired level of competitiveness. These improvements
would give PUMA and the other sports companies' base to compete with the MNCs and help
the Indian companies to reduce the impact of MNCs on the Indian Market in the future. Indian
manufacturers will have to react quickly because any delay in reacting to the threat posed by
the MNCs would only give the MNCs time to establish them in the market. With their
expertise and financial capacity they would be nearly impossible to compete with once they
get a firm foothold in the market.

PUMA in INDIA has always been driven by its Value-for-money strategy. The
company needs to identify critical success factory and work assiduously towards achieving it.

Measuring Intangibles & Valuing Diversity

The knowledge, worldwide experience and diversity that an PUMA employee can bring to
the table are valuable. Recently, how successful companies are in the global world
is increasingly derived from intangibles, such as these, that organizations cannot own. PUMA
is greatly affected by these external influences since indeed it is a global company. For some
it is not common knowledge that PUMA is a German company. This is a result of good global
business. PUMA has created a product that is global and with that diversity and knowledge
greatly affect the company. PUMA must be able to easily adapt to different cultures and must
be culturally aware when conducting business. The long list of PUMA subsidiaries where it
conducts business proves that PUMA is constantly adapting to cultural changes and must be
extremely diverse. Because of this necessity, knowledge is greatly valued. Great changes
occur in this industry and as a result, new ideas, intuition and inspiration are an asset that is a
necessity in this industry and to remain a global company. Who leads this knowledge and
maintains diversity are the managers, yet they too are facing new changes.
COMPETING IN A GLOBAL MARKET

Since acquiring their current president, Louis-Dreyfus, PUMA, a wholly owned subsidiary,
has competed with a whole new strategy. Aside from cutting the whole line of German senior
management, Louis-Dreyfus also fired management in Asia, who failed to match competitors'
low costs in subcontracting shoemaking to local companies. While Louis-Dreyfus fought
brings down costs, he also took a gamble on the side. PUMA began to focus on global
marketing.

Turbulent is the word that aptly describes the scenario in sports industry in last two
last financial years. By frequent price cuts in market and larger than live Marketing
game plans, competition reached its new highs and lows. It is no longer sufficient to just
be competitive. A Company, which has to survive, has got to have competitive
advantage. One needs to take strategic initiative in the short run to achieve the desired
"positioning" in future. One has to foresee "tomorrow".
 RECOMMENDATIONS

To explore the mainland market, Hong Kong companies should position themselves in areas in
which they are strong. From the viewpoint of mainland consumers, Hong Kong's leather
consumer goods are considered competitive in the high-end and mid-range. Mainland
consumers are brand conscious, and it is vital to promote own brands which have clear image.

This survey also shows that Hong Kong products are preferred for their design/style and
quality. Bearing these in mind, Hong Kong companies should never compromise on quality,
and they should allocate more resources to product design, selection of material and
craftsmanship.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Marketing Management - Philip Kotler Consumer Behavior, 6th Edition, by Hawkins, Best ad
Coney.

WEBSITES

http://in.puma.com: PUMA, Inc. Official Site, the world? largest, leading athletic brand[/url]

Puma town:

—
Business.com: The Business Search Engine and Business Directory for Business Information
[/url] Apna Bangalore: ]Apnabangalore.com [Home][/url]

Indiainfoline: Indiainfoline.com-Comprehensive information on stock market, equity,

derivatives, companies, Commodities, Forex, Global markets, Mutual fund, IPO, Personal
Finance, insurance, Loans, Creditcards, money, debt, mortgages, economy, sector[/url]

Puma's online store for India.

NEWSPAPER

ECONOMIC TIMES
ANNEXURE
 ANNEXURE

Dear respondents,

I am a student of BBA is conducting a research on ’customer satisfaction towards

chocolates’. I would extremely thankful if you spare sometime to answer following
questions.All the facts disclosed by you will be used for academic purpose.
QUESTIONNIARE
 QUESTIONNAIRE

1. WHAT TYPES OF SHOES DO YOU LIKE TO PURCHASE MOSTLY?

(a)Sports

(b)Canvas

(c)Formal

2. HOW DO YOU KNOW PUMA SHOES?

(a)Advertisement

(b)References

(c)Past Purchases

(d)Sale Person Visit

3. BRAND POSITIONING OF SHOES?

(a)Puma

(b)Relaxo

(c)Nike

4. HAVE YOU HEARD THE NAME OF THE PUMA SHOES?

(a)Yes

(b)No
5. WHICH TYPE OF ADVERTISEMENT YOU DO THE ATTRACT MORE?

(a)Internet

(b)TV

(c)Bill boards

(c)Newspaper

6. FACTOR AFFECTING THE PURCHASING DECISION?

(a) Price

(b)Quality

(c)Size

(d)Brand image

(e)Design

7. PRODUCT QUALITY OF PUMA SHOES?

(a)Poor
(b) Fair
(c)Average
(d)Good
(e)Excellent

8. DO YOU HAVE ANY COMPLAINT ABOUT THE PRODUCT OF THE

COMPANY?

(a)Yes

(b)No

9. DO YOU PREFER BUYING THE PRODUCT ONLINE?

(a) Yes

(b)No

10. EFFECT OF PRICE?

(a)Yes

(b)No