Puma caught up in the coronavirus pandemic

Puma released a statement today that warned investors and customers that it no longer anticipates a quick bounce-back of business amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Puma said it no longer expected its business would return to normal soon, despite encouraging signs coming out of China, adding it was abandoning the 2020 guidance it gave on Feb. 19 that had assumed the crisis would be short lived.

On the bright side, Puma’s manufacturing operations in China, which accounts for 20% of its global sourcing volume, are normalizing, according to the company. The brand said all of its Tier 1 (finished product) supplier factories are open again and operating at 80% to 100% of capacity. Almost all of its Tier 2 (material) factories are also up and running. And now that all seaports have reopened and ground transportation is functioning normally again in China, outbound logistics are running smoothly. “Therefore, our global supply chain is currently not at risk apart from minor delays,” Puma said.

In Europe, all of Puma’s stores remain open but foot traffic has declined considerably. Locations in northern Italy, which has been particularly hard hit by the virus, are operating under reduced opening hours as enforced by the Italian government.