Arsenal sponsorship contributes to sales growth at Puma
Puma's Arsenal sponsorship contributed to increased sales in the financial year 2014, the sporting apparel company revealed in an otherwise disappointing earnings update for the apparel maker.
The sponsorship deal, which has seen the sportswear company manufacture the Premier League club's kit for the first time this season, is thought to be worth £30m a year to the Gunners. It is the largest supplier agreement ever entered into by either Puma or Arsenal.
Puma reported a 3.3 per cent increase in currency adjusted worldwide sales of €3.2bn (£2.6bn). Thanks in part to its sponsorship of Arsenal's kit, the company achieved a significant 6.8 per cent increase in apparel sales of €1.21bn (£799m).
Yet unlike Arsenal's FA Cup-winning team, it has not been a good a year for Puma whose full-year earnings before interest and tax of €10.6m came in well below analysts' expectations of €15m.
Puma's football portfolio also includes Italy, Africa Cup of Nations champions Cote d'Ivoire and Borussia Dortmund as well as international stars such as Sergio Aguero, Cesc Fabregas, Marco Reus, Mario Balotelli, Radamel Falcao, Olivier Giroud and Yaya Toure.
In its annual earnings report Puma said:
A significant increase in sales was achieved in the apparel segment last year. This was partly due to the strong sales of jerseys and memorabilia related to the football World Cup as well as the generally strong demand for Teamsport [sic] products, particularly Arsenal, Dortmund and Italy jerseys.