Watch: Abhishek Ganguly on how Puma India is riding the technology wave

German sportswear brand Puma India, a relatively late entrant to the Indian market, has grown its presence here to 365 stores and 122 cities in the past 13 years. Much of that growth has come over the last five years, when Abhishek Ganguly, an IIM Lucknow alumnus, took charge as managing director at the company.

Last year, it clocked a 20% growth in sales at Rs 1,157 crore, according to filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (the company’s financial year ends in December). “The Indian market is growing for Puma at a very fast pace. We have achieved strong double-digit growth in the last 2-3 years,” Ganguly told TechCircle in an interview.

He added that the company opened 20 new stores last year and Tier II and Tier III cities will be the focus for the next phase of growth.

While the company’s visibility has certainly improved because of its celebrity brand ambassadors such as cricketer Virat Kohli and boxer Mary Kom, Puma’s focus on the latest technologies for supply chain, customer relationship management, and Big Data analytics have played a more important role in its growth.

Apart from enabling it to operate more efficiently at the back-end, the focus on technology has enabled the company to drive a robust omni-channel sales strategy. Today, close to 22% of Puma India’s sales come through e-commerce platforms. 

Watch the video for more on how digital technologies are changing the sportswear business and how Puma India is leveraging those them to get ahead in the game.