On January 27, 2026, Chinese sportswear giant ANTA Sports announced that it had reached an agreement with Artémis S.A.S. to acquire the latter’s 29.1% stake in German sports brand PUMA, becoming its largest shareholder. This pivotal development not only signifies a major shift in PUMA’s shareholding structure but also sets a new strategic tone for the brand’s future direction in Greater China.
According to PUMA’s recently released 2025 annual report, sales in Greater China declined by 19.1% to EUR 488.4 million (down 16.0% at constant currency). The core reason behind the decline was the brand’s proactive “Reset” strategy — reducing excess inventory among certain retail partners through product returns. In terms of profitability, due to inventory clearance and inventory impairment costs, gross profit in Greater China fell by 24.9% to EUR 246.3 million, while adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) dropped by 72.5% to EUR 26.9 million.
While the wholesale business experienced short-term pain, PUMA’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) operations in China demonstrated notable resilience. According to the annual report and official information, the Greater China DTC business recorded mid-single-digit percentage growth in 2025, with full-year DTC sales up 10%, marking nine consecutive quarters of growth.
Regarding this divergence in performance, PUMA Chief Financial Officer Markus Neubrand provided a clear explanation during the earnings call:
“Sales in Asia/Pacific declined by almost 13% in the fourth quarter and by 7% for the full year 2025. This was mainly driven by the decline in wholesale in Greater China, although strong growth in DTC partially offset this. Overall, sales in Greater China declined by almost 20% in the fourth quarter year-on-year.“
“From a retail perspective, the ‘Reset’ strategy was particularly visible in the Americas, especially the U.S., in the EMEA region, and in China.”
As for the potential impact of ANTA Sports becoming the largest shareholder, PUMA Chief Executive Officer Arthur Hoeld stated:
“ANTA has recently acquired a 29.1% stake in our company. This will most likely have a negative impact on our business in Greater China in 2026. Nevertheless, we believe that this partnership will bring substantial mid- to long-term benefits to our brand and our company.”
He further elaborated on the structure of PUMA’s sales channels in China, which are the inverse of its global mix, and how ANTA’s “pure DTC DNA” may trigger a chain reaction among existing wholesale partners:
“Our business in China was slightly below EUR 500 million in 2025. The business mix here is exactly the opposite of our global structure: approximately 70% of the business is generated through DTC channels, and 30% through wholesale, mainly with franchise partners. Now, with ANTA joining as a strategic partner, it brings a distinct DTC approach. We expect that PUMA’s distribution model may further shift toward DTC in the future. These expectations could lead to certain commitments with our wholesale partners not being extended, such as new store openings, refurbishments, or even their order volumes.”
“We expect this to have a negative impact on our Greater China business in 2026, as these wholesale-related commitments may not be continued. However, we clearly expect that the mid- to long-term benefits will significantly outweigh this short-term volatility.”
| Source: Earnings Call
| Image Credit: Company website
| Editor: LeZhi
