With sales and earnings sliding, Puma has set itself in a three-phase plan- Survive, Recover, Grow Again to revive growth. These plans will look different in certain markets, as China, Korea, and Europe are making their way toward survival and the US is still very much in the survival phase with so many stores still closed. In the first quarter, the virus outbreak forced Puma to pull an additional $975.92 million from its revolving credit facility and suspend a dividend payment scheduled for May 7.

Although growth was strong at the start of the year, Puma’s sales fell by 1.3 percent to $1.4 billion though this loss still came in above the Wall Street estimate of $1.37 billion. Gross profit margin fell by 140 basis points to 47.6 percent, which, according to Puma, was the result of lower sales in China, inventory devaluation and return provisions.

The company’s operating result (EBIT) decreased by 50 per cent to $77.21 million while net earnings and earnings per share declined by nearly 62 per cent to $39.2 million