Puma sharpens competitive edge with former Adidas exec appointment

Former Vice President of Originals, Basketball and Partnerships Europe at Adidas, Laurent Fricker, has joined Puma to lead its Sportstyle Business Unit.

This marks the second time Puma has poached a senior leader from its rival Adidas, as it aims to establish itself as a top-three global sports brand. Just last week Puma tapped the former Adidas VP of Global Brand Strategy, James Carnes.

Laurent brings over two decades of experience to his new role, having held leadership positions at both Adidas, where he was responsible for introducing and expanding a number of successful product franchises, and Reebok.

The Sportstyle business unit leverages Puma's vast archive to create products that celebrate the legacy of sport and connect to the passion of sport culture. Its key products include the Suede and Speedcat styles.

"Laurent is a focused leader with a clear track record of connecting sport authenticity with on-trend credibility and strong cross-functional execution," commented Chief Brand Officer Maria Valdes.

"With his deep understanding of consumer culture, product storytelling, and go-to-market expertise, I am confident that he will further strengthen the Sportstyle Business Unit and accelerate its contribution to Puma’s growth," she added. 

"With Puma’s 78 years of history and many product icons that can inspire our designers, heading the Sportstyle unit is a fantastic opportunity. We have the clear potential to further sharpen our product offering and create products that become culturally relevant to our consumers," commented Fricker.

The appointment comes as competition in the sportswear industry is heating up, with rivals Adidas and Nike betting on high-profile collaborations to drive consumer demand.

The hotly anticipated Adidas collaboration with reality TV star Molly-Mae Hague, which launched on 9 April, has seen demand surge by 51% at JD. This also had a positive knock-on effect across the brand’s other footwear styles, with search terms including ‘Superstar’ growing by 58% over the seven days leading up to the launch.

Nike, meanwhile, has been ramping up its collaboration with Kim Kardashian's shapewear and underwear brand SKIMS, which opened its most ambitious collection to date in a pop-up on the fifth floor of Selfridges in the first three months of the year.

In March, Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group took a 5.77% stake in Puma, adding another twist to the ownership of the German sportswear giant as it attempts to bounce back from a record €645 million net loss in 2025 and a 13% slide in annual sales.