Puma replaced its CEO last month after a string of profit warnings as the company struggled to drive consistent sales growth, with its new shoes, ranges like the Speedcat, not doing as well as the company had expected.

Shares were up around 2% in early trading today. Puma’s stock is down 47% since the start of the year, as missed sales and profit expectations weigh.

Its Q1 sales of €2.08 billion (US$2.35 billion) were slightly better than the analysts’ average forecast of €2.04 billion, and up 0.1% from Q1 last year.

Weaker sales to retailers in the US and China drove Puma’s wholesale business – its main sales driver – down by 3.6%, but stronger online sales helped its direct-to-consumer business grow 12% to €546.5 million.

Puma has named former Adidas sales chief Arthur Hoeld as its new CEO to turn performance around.

The board is leading the company until Hoeld takes over on July 1.

The company’s gross profit margin for Q1 declined by 0.6 percentage points to 47%.

Puma stuck to its 2025 outlook for “low-to mid-single-digit” sales growth, but said that excludes any impact from US tariffs.

“It has already reduced its US imports from China, which are subject to tariffs of 145%,” CFO Markus Neubrand said.

Like its competitors Adidas and Nike, Puma would be hit hard if US President Donald Trump reinstates steep tariffs on Southeast Asia, currently paused until July.

Puma buys 28% of its products from factories in China, with Vietnam a close second at 26%, and Cambodia producing 16%.

“It plans to cut 500 corporate positions globally by the end of the second quarter as part of a cost-cutting drive,” Neubrand said in March.