Puma Moving Into CMC Showroom
California Market Center officials have snagged a big cat. They have signed sports and lifestyle giant Puma AG to a long-term lease in the Los Angeles–based wholesale mart.
The CMC’s owner-to-be, Jamison Properties, stepped in to help negotiate the transaction, despite the fact that the company has yet to close on its estimated $135 million purchase of the building.
The showroom, expected to open this June in the 3,500- square-foot suite C423, will anchor the CMC’s fourth floor. Puma will feature its sports performance and lifestyle categories of apparel, footwear and accessories for men and women. It is also taking temporary space on the fifth floor during the Jan. 14–18 Los Angeles Market Week.
Puma was previously wholesaled through two sales agencies on the West Coast: Higgins & Associates and the Taylor Co. Those agencies will merge and sell Puma through the showroom, officials said.
The addition of Puma to the fourth floor should give the building a big boost, said CMC officials.
“There is a commitment to enhance the environment of floor 4C in the coming months,” said CMC General Manager Paul Lentz. “We’re excited to have Puma on board as an anchor tenant and we see this partnership as an opportunity to further our showroom expansions and leasing in the young men’s/contemporary categories.”
Puma AG, based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, is coming off the strongest third quarter in the history of the 57-year-old company, with sales of $611 million (461 million euros). It has posted 35 straight quarters of sales gains, and company officials are projecting a 20 percent annual growth rate on sales and 35 percent to 40 percent boosts in profits for 2005.
The company recently opened a store in San Diego and also maintains stores in Costa Mesa and Santa Monica, Calif. Growth has come through its heritage athletics collection and its fashions. Puma’s track suits, old-school sneakers and performance athleticwear have gained the attention of young consumers during the past few years and there’s no slowing in sight, said company officials.
While Puma’s fashion appeal has come of late, the company has a storied history in athletics. Rudolf Dassler, part of the family that helmed Adidas, founded Puma in 1948. Puma outfits professional athletes such as Johnny Damon of the Boston Red Sox, Olympians and sports teams throughout the world. It also markets more mainstream apparel brands, including Nuala, a women’s clothing line developed with model Christy Turlington.
