In the Russian division of Puma the CEO was replaced

Suspended work in Russia since the spring of 2022, the sports brand Puma unexpectedly attracted a head from abroad to the local division. Miroslav Ryba, who has already headed this office in 2010-2020, has become the CEO of the company, and in recent years has led the Scandinavian division of Puma Nordic. The appointment, exceptional in the current conditions, may be part of the retailer’s plans to resume work in the Russian Federation or permanently close the business, experts say.

On May 26, 2023, Czech citizen Miroslav Ryba became the CEO of the Russian office of the manufacturer and seller of sports goods Puma Puma-Rus LLC, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. Prior to that, he held the same position for more than two years at Puma Nordic, which is responsible for brand development in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The previous general director of the Russian office of Puma, Victoria Pigalskaya, held this post for about four months. On the CFO Russia platform, she is mentioned as the financial director of Puma in the Russian Federation.

Miroslav Ryba was already CEO of Puma in Russia, Ukraine and Turkey in 2010-2020. In particular, he signed sponsorship contracts with the Lokomotiv and Krasnodar football clubs. No comments were provided in the Russian and global offices of the company, it was not possible to contact Miroslav Ryba.

Puma is one of the major manufacturers and retailers of sports shoes and clothing, headquartered in Herzogenaurach in Germany. At the end of 2022, 32.48% of Puma SE was controlled by the family of François Pinault, founder of the Kering Group, which owns brands such as Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Gucci.

Following the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine in March 2022, Puma announced the suspension of its stores in Russia. According to 2GIS, about 30 brand stores in Moscow remain temporarily closed, as well as several outlets in more than ten other cities of the Russian Federation. Puma-Rus revenue in 2022 decreased by 41%, to 9.42 billion rubles, net profit decreased by 55%, to 731 million rubles.

Two Kommersant sources on the market say that Puma is looking for opportunities to resume work in the Russian Federation. According to one of them, the brand’s stores may open in the near future, but under a different name and, “probably under different management.” The Russian office of Puma can deal with wholesale deliveries, as, for example, the American VF Corporation, which owns the Vans brand, did (see Kommersant of June 8).

According to a Kommersant source in the market, after the transfer of local Reebok stores to Turkish Flo Retailing and the renaming of outlets to SneakerBox, Reebok structures continue to deliver to the network. According to the Federal Accreditation Service, in April 2023, Puma-Rus received the first declaration this year for Puma women’s and men’s shoes.

Stanislav Alekseev, managing partner of Transearch International, notes that the appointment of a foreigner as the general director of the Russian division of an international company is rather an exceptional situation today. According to him, in the case of Puma, this could mean both an intention to continue working in Russia, or a willingness to close the business with the help of an employee who is trusted by the global office and familiar with the local market to resolve issues with rental agreements, product balances, etc. .

CORE.XP Senior Director Marina Malakhatko notes that after the closure of global brand stores, buyers of sportswear and shoes switched to other brands and online platforms. In addition, new brands from China have entered the market, and local sporting goods retailers have launched their own brands. But, says Ms. Malakhatko, so far no brand has managed to take even a tenth of Nike, Adidas and Puma, and the sporting goods segment has room for further growth.

Alina Savitskaya