For shareholders of Puma SE, 2025 has been a year to forget, with recent reports of a possible takeover providing only the thinnest of silver linings. While the stock bounced off its lows last week, it’s still down 54% year-to-date, putting the German sportswear company on track for its worst annual showing on record. Analysts see little, if any recovery over the next 12 months.
Puma is known for its sportswear and ‘puma’ logo – Reuters
On top of US tariffs- which have also weighed on shares of crosstown rival Adidas AG, and a broader slowdown in the sneaker and apparel industry- the Herzogenaurach-based firm faces an array of specific challenges. Among them has been the impact on the brand of heavy discounting and the encroachment of fast-growing rivals like On Holding AG, New Balance and Hoka, which have been taking more shelf space at retailers.
“Puma has struggled to come out with stuff that stands out in a very competitive market,” said Morningstar analyst David Swartz. “Other brands have come and really taken a lot of its business away.”
Puma’s revenue for this year is set to drop by 16%, according to Bloomberg estimates, which don’t project a return to growth before 2027. The company has attracted takeover interest, with its shares climbing 19% last Thursday- the largest gain since 2001- following a Bloomberg report that China’s Anta Sports Products Ltd. is among firms exploring a potential bid.
Puma’s largest shareholder, France’s billionaire Pinault family, had previously approached potential buyers. But with the stock trading near its lowest since 2016, valuation is seen to be a major hurdle for any potential deal.
“With Puma shares down this materially, I think it will be difficult for the Pinault family to agree on an attractive premium with a potential acquirer,” said Felix Dennl, an analyst at Bankhaus Metzler. “As the family is not a majority shareholder, a potential buyer always has the option to accumulate shares in the public market without a premium.” A representative for Puma declined to comment.
Founded through a feud that divided a family shoe business, Puma was created in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler after he split from his brother Adi, who in turn formed Adidas. The rivalry between the firms has continued, with chief executive officer Bjoern Gulden leaving Puma before joining Adidas in 2023. Since then, Adidas shares have outperformed their counterpart. Puma earlier this year replaced Gulden’s successor with Adidas veteran Arthur Hoeld.
The firm- which manufactures the official football used by the Premier League and produces kits for Manchester City, AC Milan, and Borussia Dortmund among others- has been trying to revamp itself under its new CEO. Hoeld has pledged to slash 900 more jobs and sharpen its focus toward running, football and training. Traders and analysts remain unconvinced that a turnaround is within close reach.
“The strategic plan outlined by the CEO was not radical enough,” to change investor views on the stock, wrote Deutsche Bank AG analyst Adam Cochrane in a note last month. Among the most bearish Bloomberg-tracked analysts, his €16 ($19) price target implies only downside over the next 12 months from where the stock is currently trading.
Short interest in Puma has been on the rise again since November, while more than two-thirds of Bloomberg-tracked analysts have a hold rating on the stock. Other competitors include Deckers Outdoor Corp.’s Hoka brand, or Roger Federer-backed On. The latter’s shares recently saw an uptick on better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and growth prospects.
But unlike Zurich-based On, seller of the industry’s most expensive running shoes on average, Puma has struggled to get rid of excess inventory, depressing margins, and battering its brand. “If your products are going on sale all the time and are often marked down, then people won’t pay full price for them anymore,” said Morningstar’s Swartz. “It’s very hard to fix once you get into that situation.”
UK footfall down in November? Blame the Budget and bad weather. Those two important factors damaged shoppers’ desire to venture out, resulting in an albeit slender 0.8% year-on-year dip in footfall last month, with all types of destinations suffering. It was also the seventh consecutive footfall decline, noted the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC)/Sensormatic report
Image: Nigel Taylor
That meant visits to high streets were down 1.2% in November and down from a 0.6% rise in October; shopping centre footfall dipped 1.3% last month, down from a 0.9% dip in October; and retail park visits were down 0.4% in November, but were better than a 0.5% dip in October.
The BRC also noted that November’s Storm Claudia prompted many consumers to search online for Black Friday deals throughout November, leading some to not visit physical stores on Black Friday.
But there was good news, with some northern UK cities – including Manchester and Sheffield – continuing to buck the trend, “recording positive footfall for the eighth consecutive month”.
So with many shoppers holding off on store visits until this month, Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “With the Golden Quarter in full swing, retailers are continuing to invest what they can to entice customers into stores over Christmas.
“However, as we approach the New Year, given the downward trend in footfall across recent years, we need a comprehensive strategy to revitalise our high streets and shopping centres, from better transport, affordable parking, to a reformed planning system to enable faster, better development.”
Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic, added: “November may have been dominated by caution, but there are glimmers of hope. The Golden Quarter isn’t over yet, and with four of our predicted Top Five shopping days still to come, the festive season could deliver the lift retailers need. A last-minute rush may top off the year, turning caution into celebration. With the right balance of value, convenience, and experience, there’s still time to make December count.”
The world’s largest fashion retailer staged a stock-market comeback this week as Inditex SA’s push to differentiate itself from fierce ultra-low-price competition shows signs of bearing fruit.
Inside a Zara store – Zara
The owner of Zara, Bershka, and Massimo Dutti has seen its shares jump 14%, putting them on track for their best week in five years. Strong third-quarter results, coupled with accelerating November sales, were seen as evidence of the company’s resilience against weaker consumer sentiment.
This week’s surge put the stock on course for an annual gain, after what had previously looked like a lacklustre 2025. Inditex- whose second-largest market is the US- had been punished for its exposure to tariffs and a weaker greenback, amid concerns about softening consumer demand and intensifying competition from Chinese fast-fashion firms.
While its 10% rise this year trails the 50% jump for UK retailer Next Plc and the 19% gain at Sweden’s Hennes & Mauritz AB, Inditex is now outperforming the broader European retail sector. Analysts have welcomed the firm’s push to steer its Zara and Massimo Dutti brands further into the premium segment as it seeks to outmuscle competitors such as Shein and Temu. “The strategy is not to chase ultra-low prices, but to deliver premium-looking products at a good-value price point,” Alphavalue analyst Jie Zhang wrote in a note.
After this week’s rally, Inditex is trading at a substantially higher valuation than peers at 26 times forward earnings- on par with luxury behemoth LVMH. The firm’s strong third-quarter earnings reinforce “the quality of the business and will make investors question whether the right peer group for this company is luxury rather than retail in our view,” said Deutsche Bank AG analyst Adam Cochrane.
Inditex’s latest trading update spurred upward earnings revisions and price target upgrades, with more bullishness among brokers likely to follow, as the current consensus 12-month forward price target doesn’t leave any room for further upside. “These growth levels should provide reassurance of the continued opportunity for outperformance, including into 2026,” said JPMorgan & Chase Co. analyst Georgina Johanan.
A partnership between Agromethod Labs and CITEVE is advancing hydroponic cotton cultivation, a project that could make Portugal the only country in Europe to host the entire cotton value chain, from fibre to clothing.
Agromethod Labs was founded earlier this year with the mission of developing more sustainable, future-oriented agricultural solutions. Its founder, Raquel Maria, a chemist by training with a long track record in academic research, explains that the impetus to create thestart-upstemmed from a personal concern.
“Academia allows us to change the world on a small scale. I felt it was time to bring that knowledge into the real world and have a greater impact on future generations,” she told Portugal Têxtil.
Although Agromethod Labs works across several fields, cotton quickly stood out, building on previous research, notably by researcher Filipe Natálio, currently at the Applied Biomolecular Sciences Unit (UCIBIO) of the School of Science and Technology at Universidade Nova de Lisboa (NOVA FCT). “But we want to continue working on other types of crops and other seeds. Agromethod Labs is bigger than cotton,” she says.
Approaching CITEVE marked a turning point. According to the founder, the hydroponic cotton project “was very much on paper” and required initial investment and a solid technological partner. “CITEVE was decisive. It came along at the right time and finally gave us the opportunity to get started with something that we had already thought about extensively, but which was not yet in a position to move forward,” she says.
The collaboration has made it possible to implement a functional mini pilot, already with measurable results, and to prepare the next phase: a larger-scale pilot that will incorporate vertical farming to maximise the production area.
Advantages and challenges
Hydroponic cultivation offers significant advantages, notes Raquel Maria. “We can grow anywhere in the world, without reliance on sunlight and without geographical limitations,” she explains. It also enables continuous production. “We are no longer limited to a single annual harvest. We can get three or four harvests a year,” she says.
Early results also show improvements in the fibre. “We have obtained cotton with better mechanical properties and greater whiteness, which can reduce some stages in textile processing,” says Raquel Maria.
Even so, the founder of Agromethod Labs recognises that there are challenges, particularly in terms of costs, since this cultivation technique is more expensive. However, incorporating vertical farming in the new pilot could help. “If we double the production area, we can get closer to the economic viability we want,” she believes. Considering the higher costs and added value of the fibre, the raw material produced “in the initial phase will be directed to specialised markets,” she says.
The small-scale production carried out in a room at CITEVE has already made it possible to produce yarn from hydroponic cotton. The next symbolic goal will be “to make a T-shirt and be able to say that it was made with cotton produced in Portugal would be wonderful,” confesses Raquel Maria.
With expansion planned for the next six months, the aim will be to significantly increase production and take an important step closer to the market. According to the founder of Agromethod Labs, the Portuguese textile industry has already started to show enthusiasm. “There have been several expressions of interest. We are completely open to collaborating with Portuguese companies,” she says.
However, the ambition goes beyond fibre production. “Portugal could be the only country in Europe to have the entire value chain- from raw material to end product- in a single territory. That would be a milestone for the country,” concludes Raquel Maria.
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Politics8 years ago