Despite the soft markets at malls in the U.S., Puma posted double-digit sales growth for the fourth quarter, according to new parent company PPR. The French conglomerate reports that Puma's Q4 sales increased 10.3% to 504 million ($736 million) in the quarter, driven by an “outstanding growth in retail.” For the full year, Puma net sales grew 3.6% to 1.72 billion ($2.5 billion).
All product categories posted solid growth for the fourth quarter, with footwear up 7%, apparel up 14.8%, and accessories up 14%.
The EMEA region posted the strongest growth (up 20%) for Puma, followed by Asia-Pacific (up 14%), which was driven by the buoyant Japanese and Chinese markets. The Americas region recorded a limited decline in the fourth quarter (-3%), but remains affected by the drop in traffic at its U.S. mall-based business.
