Puma took 6 percent of national team jersey sales over the first three weeks of June. Adidas took 58 percent. Nike, the company with by far the largest apparel business of the three, had 36 percent.
Those figures come from Drake MacFarlane, a research analyst at M Science, who tracks anonymized credit card, debit card and bank account data across direct-to-consumer and wholesale sales. In his reading, all three brands are getting a lift from the World Cup, but Adidas’s year-over-year growth “well outpaces” the other two.
Puma is the smallest of the three. MacFarlane said its gain looks driven mainly by U.S. sales. “In our European e-receipt data, the benefit is less pronounced,” he said. Nike’s lift also appears localized to the U.S., he noted, and he is not convinced that a bump in kits does much for its footwear business.
Where Puma stands in the lineup
Puma sponsors 11 of the 48 teams in the tournament, according to South Korea’s Seoul Economic Daily. Adidas has 14. Nike has 12, down from a 40 percent share of teams at the previous World Cup in Qatar to 25 percent now.
Puma got a bit of attention away from the shelves, too. Nikkei reported that Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal was seen wearing Puma sneakers before a match. Ronaldo signed a lifetime deal with Nike in 2016 that the paper valued at $1 billion.
Store visits by Telsey Advisory Group, the retail research firm, covered Adidas and Nike. Analyst Cristina Fernandez found Adidas had the fuller World Cup range, with balls, footwear and accessories alongside jerseys, and that most items sold at full price. She said Nike’s products were also selling well and that the teams it outfits were gaining momentum. Nike has sold 2.5 times as many kits as at the same point in 2022, she added.
Puma did not feature in those checks. The M Science numbers are the only measure here of how far behind it sits, and they are consistent: a small share of jerseys, and growth that trails both rivals.
Sources
- Nike vs. Adidas: Here’s Who’s Winning the World Cup Sales Race
- Nike's Slump Deepens, Trails Adidas and Puma at World Cup
Sources
- Adidas vs. Nike: Who's Winning the World Cup Sales Race – WWD
- Nike's Slump Deepens, Trails Adidas and Puma at World Cup
