{"id":20938,"date":"2020-10-26T09:02:39","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T09:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ceo-na.com\/?p=20938"},"modified":"2020-10-26T15:38:55","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T15:38:55","slug":"staying-ahead-of-the-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/servidor-mxigen1.com\/ceona-antiguo\/executive-interviews\/staying-ahead-of-the-field\/","title":{"rendered":"Sports goes beyond the pitches, field and track"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President and CEO\u00a0Bob Philion is confident that the best is yet to come for PUMA North America.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A sensational comeback\u00a0to the basketball market in the US, the signing of a number of high-profile celebrity endorsers, and a new flagship store on Fifth Avenue: Bob Philion, president and CEO for PUMA North America<\/a> has a lot on the table in his office in Westford, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

Having been responsible for the sports brand\u2019s North American operations since 2017, Philion is busy with further growing the US business by enhancing the brand\u2019s visibility on and off the sports field and establishing a unique sports culture positioning.<\/p>\n

The sports brand, which was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Germany, is currently the world\u2019s third-largest sportswear manufacturer with global sales amounting to \u20ac4.6 billion in 2018.<\/p>\n

After several years of lackluster sales performance and plunging profits, the company has undergone a successful turnaround and sales have been constantly increasing since 2014 \u2013 last year by an impressive 18%. The gross profit margin also improved by 110 basis points to 48.4% in 2018, while net earnings and earnings per share increased by 38%.<\/p>\n

The turnaround was kicked off by the company\u2019s CEO Bj\u00f6rn Gulden who took the helm in 2013 and introduced a new strategic direction that same year. At the core of the plan called \u201cForever Faster\u201d was the return to a credible sports positioning, establishing PUMA as the \u201cfastest sports brand in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

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