At the end of the year, Puma separates from its successful boss Björn Gulden. A new job is then probably already certain for him: competitor and neighbor Adidas wants to make him the successor to the recently hapless Kaspar Rorsted. The markets react promptly.
The previous Puma CEO Björn Gulden could soon switch to the top of the industry competitor Adidas. Adidas confirmed that the company is in talks with the Norwegian to succeed acting CEO Kasper Rorsted. Puma had previously announced the departure of the 57-year-old guilder at the end of the year. The markets reacted immediately: the Adidas share gained almost 29 percent at its peak, the Puma share lost up to 11 percent.
Adidas had already announced the farewell of the recently hapless Rorsted for 2023 in August. Adidas has had to correct its sales and profit targets several times in recent months. Rorsted was accused, among other things, of having relied too heavily on the fundamentally lucrative but risky business with China. Most recently, the termination of the collaboration with the rapper Kanye "Ye" West, who was accused of anti-Semitic statements in public. The company had announced that the Adidas profit should collapse by 250 million euros as a result.
Gulden, on the other hand, is in great shape with smaller local rivals Puma. Gulden was only recently able to announce the best financial quarter in the company's history. In the third quarter, revenues had climbed by almost a quarter to 2.35 billion euros. Adjusted for currency effects, growth was almost 17 percent.
The bottom line is that Puma recorded a consolidated profit of almost two percent at 146 million euros. The Norwegian not only led Puma into the Dax, he also reduced the gap to the much larger competitor. However, there is a clear difference in size: Adidas had a turnover of more than 21 billion euros in 2021 - Puma just a third.
The company was once founded by the brothers Adolf (Adidas) and Rudolf Dassler in Herzogenaurach. Both were considered enemies until their deaths. The rivalry between the shoe and sporting goods manufacturers in the small Franconian town of Herzogenaurach survived the death of the company founder. However, the two Scandinavians Gulden and Rorsted at the heads of the two companies were said to have good personal ties to each other.
Gulden sees his departure from Puma at the right time. "My current contract with Puma ends on December 31, 2022 and after nine years I have decided not to renew it," he said. "I still have a lot of energy for an operational role for the next five to ten years, but that would have been too long for Puma," said Gulden.
