When Italy clinched its fourth World Cup in Germany
with a penalty kick victory over France, it was also
high-time for PUMA to celebrate its first ever team-sponsored
World Cup victory. The Italians were one of 12 PUMA-sponsored
teams in the tournament.
John Stevenson, PUMA North America, VP and GM for performance
sports, says that the despite having some serious nerves
during the Final, the end result was huge for his brand.
“As a die-hard fan, it was a nail-biting experience,
to say the very least. But PUMA being in the Final was
already huge for us. Grosso’s winning PK was just
the icing on the cake. Needless to say, we are thrilled!”
Not only can PUMA relish in the pride that comes along
with the World Cup victory, but the company can also
look for some significant growth in the upcoming year.
“Our brand visibility was incredible with PUMA
representation on the field throughout 56% of the games,”
says Stevenson. “PUMA anticipates an increase
of 40% in soccer related sales for 2006 worldwide.”
He doesn’t see the World Cup victory as putting
any added pressure on the PUMA brand that wasn’t
already there. “We’ve already set ourselves
some healthy and aggressive growth goals for the upcoming
years,” he says. “To be honest, rather than
add pressure, we believe the success of Italy will truly
help us reach those goals, both on and off the field.”
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