Nike Vs Puma: Who’s Leading the Market ?
Nike vs Puma
Both Nike and Puma are huge brand names when it comes to footwear companies around the globe. However, there are other brands like Adidas, Reebok, Skechers, and many more that have got a good grasp of the global market.
Similarly, where there is a lot of competition in footwear brands companies like Nike and Puma need no introduction because they are one of the giant players in footwear manufacturing companies. Both these companies not just manufacture and sell shoes of all categories but they have got various sportswear products as well.
Nike is an American company whereas Puma is a German. Puma seems to be the oldest brand as compared to Nike but both of them have been very successful so far. Both these companies are tied up with some famous sports personalities all around the globe and have got their brand recognition at the highest level. Being such reputable and successful companies both these companies have got several subsidiary companies that are into different sports utility businesses.
Comparison Between Nike and Puma
| Facts | Nike | Puma |
| Founders | Phil Knight, Bill Bowerman | Rudolf Dassler |
| Headquarters | Beaverton, United States | Herzogenaurach, Germany |
| Founded | 25th Jan 1964 | 1948 |
| CEO | John Donahoe | Arne Freundt |
| Number of Stores (Globally) | 1046 retail stores (2022) | 832 stores (2021) |
| Revenues earned (2023) | $12.4 billion | $9.14 billion |
| Brand Ambassador | Cristiano Ronaldo | Bulgarian Singer Dara |
| Notable Subsidiary Companies | Converse, Nike Korea LLC, Nike Vietnam CO | Cobra Golf, Brandon AB, Puma North America Inc |
| Parent company | Nike | Artemis S.A |
Nike History and Growth
Nike’s history has witnessed significant contributions from not just the founders but also from several sportspeople as well. It was back in the year 1964 when Phil Knight who is one of the co-founders of the company was just going through his college.
At the University of Oregon, he participated in his school’s track and field team. It was during this time that he met his coach, Bill Bowerman (co-founder of Nike). Bill Bowerman was not just impressed with the competitive character that Knight had but also displayed a fascination with optimizing his runner’s shoes.
According to the history of Nike, it was Phil Knight who was the very first student to try one of Bowerman’s shoes. Later, Bowerman had offered Knight to take a pair of shoes and fix them up with one of his custom designs.
Knight, on the other hand, was amazed by the offer and immediately accepted it and the shoes worked so well that one of his teammates named Otis Davis took them and ended up winning the gold in 400 meter dash in 1960 Olympics using the shoes. The American athlete still insists today that the shoes were made by Bowerman for him.
Phil Knight completed his studies at the University of Oregon and soon decided to go through an MBA program from Stanford’s. It was during his MBA program he wrote a paper that theorized that the manufacturing and production of running shoes from Germany to Japan so that they could use the benefit of cheap labor there.
Soon after Knight’s graduation he had a chance to make a trip to Japan where he was able to strike a deal with a group of Japanese businessmen to export Tiger shoes into the United States of America.
Knight had the support of his coach Bowerman and both had by then entered a 50-50 business deal ownership for their new company named, Blue Ribbon Sports that was established in Eugene, Oregon in the year 1964. Blue Ribbon Sports was a spark for the birth of Nike and soon after this the brand started making aggressive progress.
The rise of Nike did not just come simply in the market. Bowerman and Knight’s Blue Ribbon was collaborating with Tiger Cortez during that time. It was Phil Knight who had found out that Tiger (Japanese company) was seeking a way out of their deal which would harm their company and even sink it. On the other hand, Tiger had claimed that Blue Ribbons were selling their own version of Tiger Cortez under a new line of shoes called, ‘Nike’.
It was obvious that the two had to split and it happened officially in the year 1971 following a lawsuit. Soon after its split with Tiger, Blue Ribbon instantly rebranded itself as ‘Nike’ which is known to the world today. Ever since the rebranding, Nike has seen the sweetness of success and maintained a strong and steady growth. By the year 1980, Phil Knight had already become a millionaire.
Puma History and Growth
Puma’s history takes us back to Germany when the Dassler brothers had started their very first shoe company in their hometown. Even though Puma is known to be a much older company when compared to Nike it was not the only company during that point of time within the town where the Dassler brothers had started their shoe business.
In fact, more smaller factories were scattered throughout the town of Herzogenaurach, Germany. The competition was quite high for the Dassler brothers and many could not survive past the 1950s and 1960s. The Dassler brothers started their business in their parent’s home back in the year 1919 and only moved into a proper facility not until the year 1924.
With immense efforts made by the brothers, their business slowly started to gain popularity. The Olympic Summer Games were held in Amsterdam 1928 and the majority of German athletes wore spikes at such an enormous sporting event.
In the year 1936 one of the most famous athletes that history has ever known, Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Olympic Games in Berlin, all while wearing Dassler’s sporting spikes. Soon after that many more medals followed that included five bronze medals and seven gold medals, all for athletes wearing Dassler shoes. In simple words it was an international breakthrough for the brothers.
By the year 1948 arrived which was almost 28 years after the foundation of the company set up by the Dssler brothers came to an end. The brothers had decided to go separate ways. It was Rudolf Dassler who had moved into another building and belonged to the family together.
With the help of only 14 employees Rodolf Dassler had transformed the storage facility into a factory and finally founded his own company named RUDA that was the abbreviation for his name and surname (Ru= Rudolf and DA= Dassler).
It was in Jan 1948 when RUDA became a registered company in Germany which officially commenced its operations by June 1948. It was not until the next four months when the brand name, PUMA was born. It was in October 1948 when Puma was registered at the German Patent and Trademark Office.
Puma Technology
Puma has built massive goodwill by manufacturing quality sportswear equipment. Therefore, it is only obvious that the brand will be using the latest technology to manufacture them. Apart from this, the brand has also found an effective way to reduce water consumption that is used during the production process. And all that by implementing new technologies such as new methods of dyeing procedures and digital printing.
Nike Technology
Nike, on the other hand, is one of those companies that will never compromise its customer utilization. This is why Nike uses innovative techniques and machinery to manufacture its products. The Nike Air is one of the best examples of a comfortable product that the brand has introduced. Nike Flywire is yet another product that is the result of innovative and creative outcomes. Flywire is something new unlike Nike Air. it is all about the comfort of the whole shoe.
Nike Business Model
Nike’s products are for sale for anyone who is looking to purchase athletic and sports apparel, footwear, and other equipment. At the initial stages of the company Nike was responsible for manufacturing sports shoes but now has extended its product range to all sports equipment and requirements for an athlete.
Nike’s market in the world has been divided into four main divisions and they are North America, Europe/Middle East/ and Africa, Greater China, and APLA ( the Asia Pacific and Latin America). Let us read in detail about the business model of Nike.
Nike’s Product Offerings:
Nike is into manufacturing and selling footwear and sports apparel. Its main segments are running, basketball, the Jordan Brand, football, training, and sportswear. The brand has its subsidiary company as well known as Converse.
Nike’s Customer Segments:
Nike’s customers include those people who are looking for sportswear products and equipment. As already mentioned earlier, its customer market is split into 4 main regions around the world : North America, Europe/Middle East/ and Africa, Greater China, and APLA ( the Asia Pacific and Latin America).
Its Value Proposition:
The brand offers quality products so that it can inspire anyone to become an athlete. The products that the brand rolls out rely heavily on quality, research, and development aka innovation, and also the status of the brand. In simple words, the combination of these three has become the foundation of the company and is also the reason why people choose its products over others.
Nike’s Customer Relationships
Nike’s purchasers with the brand have been so far restricted to self-service. Customers can either check out the online or offline store of the brand and then buy and use it. Apart from this, the brand assigns its customers with a Nike ID which seems to be a personalized service that brings Nike products closer to the desires of its customers.
Nike’s Revenue Streams
The primary revenue of Nike comes from the sale of its range of products both from its online and as well as offline stores. The brand has successfully earned huge revenues over the past couple of years and only grew every financial year. The brand also makes money by merchandising its footwear through wholesale customers that distribute the Nike brands across the globe.
Puma Business Model
Puma’s Business Model is almost similar to Nike. Puma operates its multi-channel business model using several channels to reach out to the ultimate consumers. The main channels of the brand includes:
- Its retail stores: the brand is responsible for operating its own retail stores. The retail stores are located in prime locations and in almost every major city and are designed in such a way that it gives the customers a great brand experience. The stores carry a wide range of Puma products right from footwear to apparels.
- Ecommerce: the brand has got its presence online as well just like Nike. Puma operates its own ecommerce website from where customers can purchase any product they wish to purchase.
- Wholesale: the company sells its products to retailers and distributors which are then sold to the customers. It is the channel where the products of Puma reach a wide range of customers.
The revenue of Puma primarily comes from the sale of its products that are available on their online and as well as offline stores. Puma has also signed many celebrities when it comes to famous personalities in sports like Neymar (Brazilian footballer) along with many more so that they can have a strong brand presence among youngsters.
Marketing/Branding Strategies of Puma
Puma is itself a well-established brand name today all over the globe. This became possible because of effective marketing strategies used by the company using CSR strategies and as well as ambassadors.
Apart from that, the brand has got its Innovative Research and Development team who are constantly working to bring new and advanced products to the market. Let us discuss some of the strategies used by Puma when it comes to effective marketing.
Product diversification
Product diversification was necessary to sustain in the market. Puma had recognised this need way before which is why they not just manufactured sportswear shoes but also other necessary equipment that an athlete would require. They also manufactured trekking equipment as well as gymnasium equipment.
Used Well-Known Brand Ambassadors
Being a sports brand, it was necessary for the brand to get some famous sports personalities to get onboard so that their brand could be recognised at a much higher level. In India, the brand has signed deals with Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sushma Verma, Sunil Chetri to promote their brand. The brand has endorsed Sania Nehwal for its badminton-related products like racket and cork.
CSR Strategies
- Providing Sports Scholarships
- Anti Child Labour Campaign
- Working on sustainable goals
Strategy Used In Social Media
Social media is one of the greatest platforms to show creative advertisements for businesses. Puma has so far managed all its social media accounts properly and posts relevant contents on its platforms frequently. They have their presence on Instagram, and Twitter. On Instagram the brand has got many pages like Puma Women, Puma Motorsports, and many more.
Marketing/Branding Strategies of Nike
Nike’s marketing strategy has always been effective and has affected the youth especially. Many people were already attracted towards the quality and eye-catching designs of shoes that the brand was manufacturing.
Today, the brand continues to do the same and has evolved to be a strong presence of brand value all over the globe. Let us have a look at the marketing strategy used by Nike today.
Positions its products carefully
For Nike, its segmentation will always remain professional athletes or those people who are going to join sports and stay healthy. The brand had declared the uniqueness of its shoes so that customers could easily decide whether they should purchase Nike shoes or not.
A strong presence on social media
The brand knew that it had to connect with its targeted audience through social media in recent days. Even though its customers are already following them through different social media channels it was necessary that Nike came into the virtual world to spread its brand name. The brand continuously uploads different posts related to its products on social media which is one strong marketing technique used by them.
Nike’s Brand Ambassador
Nike has tied up with some of the best and most well-known sports personalities in the world, those who were responsible for being the face of the brand. For example, Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Jordan, and many more sports players were on board with the brand for marketing.
Nike vs Puma: Revenue Comparison
| Year | Nike | Puma |
| 2020 | $37.403 Billion | 5.23 Billion Euros |
| 2021 | $44.538 Billion | 6.81 Billion Euros |
| 2022 | $46.71 Billion | 8.47 Billion Euros |
| 2023 | $50.626 Billion | 2.18 Billion Euros |
Nike vs Puma Sports Sponsorship
Nike sponsorship
- American football
- Association football
- Athletics
- Australian rules football
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Cricket
- CrossFit
- Figure skating
- Esports
- Futsal
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Handball
- Mixed martial arts
- Netball
- Rugby Union
- Skateboarding
- Snowboarding
- Swimming
- Tennis
- Wrestling
Puma sports sponsorships
- Olympic committees
- American football
- Association football
- Australian Rules Football
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Cricket
- Esports
- Fencing
- Field hockey
- Figure skating
- Gaelic Games
- Golf
- Motorsports
- Handball
- Kabaddi
- Netball
- Rugby league
- Rugby Union
- Shooting
- Swimming
- Table tennis
- Track and field
- Waterpolo
- Volleyball
Future Plans Of Nike and Puma
Nike is planning to grow in the upcoming years since much of the company’s growth is to take place internationally. The brand has got plenty of room to expand domestically as well. The brand grew from 30 stores in 2021 to 48 in the year 2022 excluding the factory stores. Now, Nike is planning an expansion of 200 store fleet expansion over the coming years.
Puma, on the other hand, also has the chance to grow in the international market. It has yet to reach many locations across the globe. The brand may put up effective marketing efforts to expand their impact. The brand is expecting much more improvements in the upcoming years of its sportswear business.