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Puma Banks On Rising Bollywood Starlet Sara Ali Khan
Puma has announced a two-year endorsement deal with 23-year-old Sara Ali Khan, who will promote both lifestyle and sports lines of the brand. She joins the likes of star cricketer Virat Kohli and Indian boxing icon Mary Kom on Puma’s endorsement roster.
“Sara has a strong influence among the youth. Our women’s category has been in big focus for us. The association will be lucrative,” said Puma India managing director Abhishek Ganguly.
The Indian sportswear retail market is heating up. Earlier in February, Puma had declared themselves as the market leader in India with almost US$167.1m in revenue for 2018, however, French sporting goods retailer Decathlon had announced revenue of over US$184.5m for 2018 in April.
Decathlon has been known in the market for its budget-friendly pricing, so it’s not surprising to learn its only involvement in the Indian sponsorship market so far has been a US$75k deal with the Indian Open (Golf) in 2017. As for Puma, it has the second-largest share (18.2%, over US$17.8m) in the Indian sponsorship market since Q316, and has been fairly consistent over the past two years, hitting US$6.7m in 2017 and almost US$7m last year. While sports brands have not been averse to Bollywood celebrity endorsements in India and tend to go for more established stars, Puma is going against the grain by betting on a rising star.
