Wearing a hoodie and sneakers, both of course from Puma, Arne Freundt, 43, welcomes him to the Herzogenaurach headquarters of the third-largest sporting goods manufacturer. Only insiders knew him in the industry, and almost nobody in the general public knew him when he became Puma boss almost overnight in November 2022 because Björn Gulden switched to Adidas. Nine months later, Freundt gives his first big interview to the SZ.
SZ: Herr Freundt, you have a sports idol?
Arne Freundt: When I was young I played field hockey and tennis and was in the west stand at HSV. But an idol? As a child, I was so enthusiastic about a tennis match that I will never forget it. In 1989, the then world number one Ivan Lendl and 17-year-old Michael Chang fought a duel lasting almost five hours in Paris. Both physically gave their all, it was a war of nerves that couldn’t be surpassed in terms of tension, Chang struggled with cramps and once he even hit from below. He was 0:2 sets behind – and won sensationally in the end. Incomprehensible.
Their critics say they are not rooted enough in world sport for a Puma boss.
I have been at Puma in various roles for twelve years and have been on the board since 2021. That’s how you build a network. Since day one as CEO, I’ve had a big focus on growing it and meeting the key Puma athletes.
Are you strangers to the new role?
On the contrary. The difference is of course clear to me: I am now the top Puma and therefore the representative of the brand. So I have to live the values that Puma stands for.
Your predecessor Björn Gulden abruptly switched to larger competitor Adidas last year. Is Gulden your friend?
I really appreciate Björn, we’ve always worked extremely well together.
Gulden was considered obsessed with detail. How would you describe your leadership style?
I rely on strong, competent teams that I give a lot of leeway. Clear goals are defined and everyone knows what I expect from him or her and what I hold them responsible for in case of doubt. But it’s the results that count, not the journey to get there. I’m only in love with details where something isn’t going well. Then I dig deep. At the moment there are three big topics: USA, China and marketing.
Did the very sudden departure of Gulden surprise you?
I knew he was considering not renewing his contract with Puma. I found out that he was moving to Adidas through the official announcement.
Are you still in touch?
Clear. We are now competitors, but the industry is manageable – of course we run into each other from time to time and then we get along with each other in a relaxed manner. Most recently at the Champions League final in Istanbul.
Internally, you have long been considered the future boss. Things have been going very well at Puma lately. Did you also hesitate a little whether you can meet the high demands of making a successful company even more successful?
It’s true: we’ve made a lot of progress at Puma in the past, and we’re very proud of that. But we still have a lot of potential, we can and must get even better. Above all, we have to sharpen our brand essence, make it clearer who we are, what Puma stands for, and then communicate that more clearly.
Sequentially. Where do you see the greatest potential for Puma?
In the Sportstyle segment, our market share is still far too small. We still have a lot of potential in the running category.
Even before, but even more so during the pandemic, the outdoor segment in particular grew. Puma is hardly represented there with clothing and shoes. Do you want to change that?
This is currently not an issue for us. There are already many brands that have great credibility. We focus on our core sports of soccer, running, basketball, golf, training.
You want to sharpen the core of the brand. What do you mean by that?
Puma has always stood for defying convention and daring. In the 90s, Jil Sander brought fashion into sports with us. We have dared something new with one-piece and sleeveless football shirts for Cameroon. Our athletes have always been non-conformists, standing up for their values like Tommie Smith who raised his black fist to protest racism at the 1968 Olympics. Puma athletes go their own way.
Did Puma make too little of all this?
Let’s put it this way: There are still untapped opportunities in brand communication. We need to make clearer what we stand for. That’s my biggest task, and it doesn’t happen overnight.
Puma used to be the brand of the underdogs. You talk about non-conformism, but at the same time equip the Arab sheikh club Manchester City. How does that fit together?
I find Manchester City’s performance and development into the world’s best football team simply impressive. There are no compromises when it comes to quality. Manchester City is very inspiring, they think football in a new and unconventional way. That fits very well with our strategy. We are proud partners of Man City.
Oligarchs, sheikhs, financial investors, and more recently Saudi Arabia – investment football is becoming too much for many fans. you too?
I don’t see any contradiction there, because it’s always about the sport first. The environment changes. For example, we just launched a shirt in the Metaverse on a digital, interactive gaming platform with Manchester City as the first brand. But that doesn’t change the focus on athletic performance.
You brought pop singer Rihanna back to Puma. What do you expect from this?
She is one of the greatest style icons in the world with tremendous charisma, whether at the Oscars or the Super Bowl. We will present the first joint products shortly. Rihanna is highly talented when it comes to design, we know that from our first collaboration. This will be a strong partnership.
Your competitor Adidas experiences with the anti-Semitic rapper Kanye West how such a cooperation can become a problem. How big is the risk of putting yourself in the hands of stars outside of sport as a brand?
We check all partners constantly and very carefully in order to assess and minimize the risk. But you are never immune to things going in the wrong direction. Above all, however, such partnerships offer great opportunities because different DNAs come together and this often results in new top products.
Arne Freundt thinks he knows how to cultivate a brand.
(Photo: puma)
Who else would go well with Puma?
Of course I can’t name names. In addition to reach and popularity, the personality has to match our brand. That also means combining outstanding performance with a confident and easy-going attitude, preferably with tongue-in-cheek self-mockery.
In addition to branding, you have defined China as a priority. Why the country of all things, which is viewed with increasing skepticism in Europe and where one actually wants to reduce dependencies?
Of course, I can understand the debates and the tensions also worry me. If a company generates 20 or 30 percent of its sales in China, it is of course more dependent than we are. Puma is currently not one of the top ten brands in the sporting goods industry in China, and we only generate a mid-single-digit percentage of our sales there. The gap to our competitors is enormous. So there can be no question of dependency. China is one of the most important and fastest growing markets in our industry. So we have to get better there. So far, we’ve mainly been perceived as a fashion brand because we’ve focused a lot on entertainment and music and not enough on sport. We’ll catch up on that now.
How?
For example, by winning over more Chinese athletes as brand ambassadors. And by realigning our organization in sports marketing and sales. I have appointed a new China boss who was born and lives in Shanghai. Those with roots there understand the country better than any Westerner.
The largest sporting goods market is still North America. Why is Puma lagging behind there?
It’s true that we only have a single-digit market share in North America. We cannot be satisfied with that. The market there is generally difficult because the sporting goods buying boom has subsided during Covid and many people are also struggling with the consequences of inflation. However, Puma also suffers from the fact that we are disproportionately represented with our products in the entry-level price segment and not enough in higher-priced sales channels. We have to change that because we are not a cheap brand. With the entry into basketball we have taken an important step in the US sport. Running and soccer are also doing well. But not good enough.
The sports fashion business is characterized by the revival of old shoe models. Will this retro trend last long and does Puma have enough for it in the archive?
It’s true that this retro trend does exist, just think of the year-long boom in white basketball and tennis shoes in the 1970s and 1980s. But we also have to create new silhouettes and designs, tomorrow’s classics, so to speak. We have our own unit at Puma for this. And do we have enough designs in the archive? By the way: Puma celebrates its 75th birthday in autumn. Accordingly, our archive is full of successful products that we can reissue.