By TARO W
Indiantelevision.com Team

(29 June 2006 7:00 pm)

BANGALORE: In the current environment of heavy competition, a differentiator is a must to survive and thrive. Market segmentation and sub-segmentation is an avenue adopted by some to differentiate themselves from others, and this is the route that Puma has adopted globally by latching on to a new sub-segment- Lifestyle sportswear- Puma Sports India (PSIPL) are also positioning themselves in that fashion here.

Earlier Puma had an exclusive tie up with Plant Sports which was amicably discontinued on 31 December 2005. Planet Sports with around 40 rooftops continue to be Puma customers according to PSIPL director sales and marketing Abhishek Ganguly.

The Bangalore store is the second Puma store in India, the first being in Chennai and the Bangalore launch is in ‘perfect synergy’ with the current phase of the Football World Cup, in which 12 of the 32 participating countries, including all the five African countries will be wearing Puma as per the company. By year end PSIPL MD Rajiv Mehta plans to open around 10-12 franchisee Puma alone store outlets and presence in around 700 multi-brand rooftops in the country. Delhi, Pune, Chandigarh, Mumbai and Hyderabad are on the immediate horizon for Puma only outlets for this year.

Rajiv plans to emulate in India the high international brand recall during a recent survey of 96 per cent in other countries by an aggressive marketing campaign, including TVC’s during the last quarter of 2006, once Puma has presence in more cities. Besides print media and outdoor, Rajiv plans radio jingles in select cities based on city specific campaigns. Internet spots, Cricket World Cup 2007 are other brand promotion initiatives that Rajiv plans to consider next year. Rajiv says the brand will be exposed to selected print media such as lifestyle magazines, etc. Another avenue that Rajiv is looking at is corporate tie-ups and school tie-ups for sales.

The Puma only stores will retail imported Puma branded products starting Rs.1990 upwards. Lower end Indian made Puma products will be sold through multi-brand stores. PSIPL has been exporting Indian made garment to their counterparts in other countries.

PSIPL’s media business is handled by Zenith, while the creatives are sourced out of Boston, USA by the principal company.