Puma lost over 600 million euros last year and continues layoffs this year

ANTA’s massive investment of tens of billions in PUMA is still navigating deep waters of transformation.

On February 26, German sports brand PUMA SE released its full-year 2025 financial report. As of December 31, 2025, PUMA’s annual sales fell by 8.1% year-on-year to €7.296 billion; the company’s overall gross margin decreased by 260 basis points year-on-year to 45%.

As a result, the company’s adjusted EBIT loss (excluding goodwill impairment and other one-off effects) was approximately €166 million; the company’s loss from continuing operations was about €644 million; net loss was about €646 million. By comparison, PUMA’s net profit in 2024 was about €282 million.

Due to the net loss for the year, PUMA will propose no dividend distribution for 2025.

Arthur Holder, who officially became PUMA’s new CEO last July, has defined 2025 as the “year of brand reshaping.” He stated, “We hope to make PUMA one of the world’s top three sports brands, to restore above-industry-average growth in the mid-term, and to generate considerable profits.” He explicitly set the goal of PUMA returning to healthy, above-industry-average growth by 2027.

Over the past year, the costs of PUMA’s inventory reduction and channel cuts during its transformation have been directly reflected in its financial figures.

In 2025, PUMA experienced sluggish sales across all sectors, with no growth achieved in any market or product category.

Regionally, PUMA’s EMEA sales fell 6.9% year-on-year to about €3.143 billion; sales in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes the Chinese market, dropped 7.4% to about €1.595 billion; the Americas also performed poorly, with sales declining 10% year-on-year to about €2.558 billion.

By product category, PUMA’s footwear sales dropped 7.1% year-on-year to about €4.114 billion; due to declines in sports fashion and other categories, apparel sales fell 9.7% year-on-year to about €2.329 billion; accessories also were not spared, with sales decreasing by 8.5% year-on-year.

PUMA’s channel cleanup has intensified short-term performance pressure.

For PUMA, the wholesale channel contributes more than half its revenue, but since the second half of last year, PUMA’s overhaul of this channel has been particularly pronounced. In the fourth quarter, the company’s overall wholesale business sales plummeted 27.7%. PUMA pointed out that it accelerated the clearance of excess inventory from channels, scaled back its North American mass retail business, and gradually phased out underperforming operations in the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions. As a result, the company’s wholesale sales for the entire year of 2025 also declined by 12.8% year-on-year.

Entering 2026, PUMA’s transformation continues to deepen. PUMA has clearly stated that in 2026 the company will further streamline distribution channels, further reduce inventory levels, and continue to promote organizational restructuring and product portfolio streamlining as cost reduction and efficiency improvement measures. During this period of transformation, ensuring financial stability will take precedence over scale growth.

Previously, PUMA proposed a cumulative reduction of 1,400 positions by the end of 2026. In the latest financial report, this plan remains unchanged and will continue to be implemented this year.

For 2026 performance, PUMA has given very cautious guidance, expecting sales (adjusted for exchange rates) to decline by a low-to-mid single-digit percentage, and company EBIT (including one-off effects) to be between -€50 million and -€150 million, which also means PUMA will still face loss pressures this year.

However, the entry of Chinese capital brings new variables for PUMA.

On January 26, ANTA Sports signed a share purchase agreement with Artémis to acquire a 29.06% stake in PUMA for €1.506 billion (approximately RMB 12.3 billion). Once the transaction is completed, ANTA Sports will become the largest shareholder of the German sports brand PUMA.

At the same time, the upcoming World Cup in 2026 has also become an opportunity for PUMA to make a push. In its financial report, PUMA pointed out that this year the brand and product strategy will focus on key areas such as football, training, running, and sports fashion, with football aiming to leverage the World Cup’s popularity to show significant influence.

Nevertheless, with sales falling and channels shrinking, PUMA’s inventory pressures remain. The financial report shows that at the end of December 2025, PUMA’s inventory was still up 2.3% compared to the same period in 2024 (10.7% after exchange rate adjustments), reaching €2.06 billion. In the future, PUMA will face dual challenges of reducing inventory and reshaping its brand image while reducing discounts, making it even more challenging to change end consumers’ perceptions of the brand.

Industry insiders told Time Finance that internal turmoil may have also compromised the effectiveness of PUMA’s transformation strategies.

In the past three years, PUMA has seen three different CEOs. In January 2023, Bjørn Gulden, who had led PUMA for 13 years, left to become CEO of Adidas. He was succeeded by Arne Freundt, whose premiumization strategy leaning toward fashion failed to achieve expected results and who ultimately left in mid-2025. The current CEO, Arthur Holder, advocates for PUMA to return to its brand’s professional value and reduce commercialization, but frequent leadership changes have undoubtedly made the brand’s internal environment unstable and left strategies lacking in continuity.

Now, with ANTA Sports about to take over, combined with PUMA’s ongoing layoffs and cost reduction measures, the internal organization of PUMA is likely to undergo a new round of adjustments.