Puma India head Abhishek Ganguly to exit; likely to launch athleisure startup

Ganguly, who became MD in 2014, is starting his own venture, sources aware of the matter said. He has briefed some members of Puma’s India team about his planned exit from the firm.

Karthik Balagopalan, who has previously worked with Puma India and is currently based in Germany, is likely to take over as the new head of Puma in India.

“Ganguly is leaving after a long stint with India. The new venture is in the athleisure space,” one of the sources told ET.

A spokesperson for Puma India did not immediately respond to ET’s request for a comment. Ganguly did not respond to ET’s calls.

Over the past few years, increasing awareness about fitness and surging demand for athleisurewear have helped the segment, while the travel boom has led to people spending more on casualwear.

During the 2022 calendar year, Puma posted a 46% jump in sales in India, with its revenue touching Rs 2,980 crore, outselling rivals Adidas, Nike and Reebok combined.In India, the brand now boasts of more than a dozen ambassadors, many beyond sports, including actor-singer Harrdy Sandhu and actor-entrepreneur Anushka Sharma.

Puma garners about 60% of its sales from footwear and the rest from apparel and accessories. Last year, it opened 69 new stores, taking its total count to 480. Amidst this, over 44% of its sales came from ecommerce.

With a population of 1.4 billion, India is one of the fastest-growing and largest international markets for sporting companies, particularly the Puma Group. The brand has increasingly been reducing its dependence on imports and investing in local manufacturing — half of its products are now designed, developed and manufactured in India, up from less than a third three years ago.