Puma India MD Rajiv Mehta quits

Rajiv Mehta, Managing Director (MD) of German sportswear brand Puma's India business has put in his papers ostensibly to

pursue his own business interests. He served the company for nine years, since its India foray in 2006. His position will be succeeded by Abhishek Ganguly, current head of the sales and retail of the brand.

Mehta looked after Puma's operations in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives. Apart from his responsibilities as MD, Puma South Asia, Mehta has been an avid angel investor. Ganguly, who now takes over Mehta’s role in Puma India, had joined Puma India in 2005 as a founding Director. Puma India enjoys presence through 300 stores in 100 Indian cities and towns.

Puma has been introducing several new concepts to woo consumers in the country. Puma Social Club in Bangalore, for instance, is a concept that utilizes space within the Puma store to serve food and beverages and to host cultural events or after-sports event parties. Its two running properties — Urban Stampede, a running challenge for corporate houses, and School of Speed, an initiative for schools, have received a positive response in the first phase. Company now plans to take it to 12 cities in its second edition.

Unlike its competing brands, Puma opted for the hybrid retail model in India which is made up of franchises as well as owned-and-operated stores. As much as 15 percent of its stores are owned-and-operated. And 12 percent of its annual revenue comes from online platforms such as Myntra, Jabong and Flipkart.