Short term Project Report on

Sportswear Preferences of
Consumers

Under Supervision of Dr. Gagan Katiyar

Submitted By-Arjun.S
Specialization-Retail
Management 20RM909

BIMTECH (An Autonomous Institute)

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Table of Content

Topic Page No

Introduction 3

Company Profile 5

Store Information 6

Consumer Shifts 7

Conclusion & Recommendations 10

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Introduction
The year 2020 has been the most challenging year in our lifetimes. What started as a promising
year for our industry quickly turned into a difficult one. COVID-19 pandemic brought the entire
world to a standstill, equitably affecting markets and supply chains globally. Consumer
purchase of textile and apparel were hit badly due to the global lockdowns and economic
recession. Retail in India has emerged the third most attractive market destination for

apparel retailers, according to a study by global management consulting firm AT Kearney. India,
apparel is the second largest retail category, representing 10 percent of the US$ 37 billion
global retail market. It is expected to grow 12-15 percent per year. In 2012, the total size of the
Indian apparel market was $ 45 billion. India and China will be the fastest growing markets,
growing in double digits and would become the leading consumer market with a huge share of
27 per cent. "India would have a vast consumption growth due to population progress. It would
be irrespective of export market," According to the report, the global apparel market would
grow to $ 2.1 trillion by 2025 from its present size of $ 1.1 trillion

The global apparel consumption is estimated to have shrunk by 22% in 2020. However, 2021
looks brighter given the onset of vaccination drives, growth in e-commerce sales of apparel,
and resumption of global supply chains. With the second wave of the pandemic causing
temporary disruption in manufacturing, India’s apparel industry expects robust external
demand to drive growth in the sector. According to top players in the industry, a resurgence in
apparel spending in the western markets has led to the recent growth in textiles and apparel
exports from India.

Besides, there has been a shift in demand in the US, the UK as well as European nations
towards Indian cotton garments owing to a ban on cotton produced in China. While the
domestic market is largely stagnant due to localised lockdowns during last year. The crisis has
prompted a surge of new activities, with an astonishing 75 percent of consumers trying a new
shopping behaviour in response to economic pressures, store closings, and changing priorities.

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This general change in behaviour has also been reflected in a shattering of brand loyalties, with
36 percent of consumers trying a new product brand and 25 percent incorporating a new
private-label brand. Of consumers who have tried different brands, 73 percent intend to
continue to incorporate the new brands into their routine. Gen Z and high earners are most
prone to switching brands. The beneficiaries of this shift include big, trusted brands, which are
seeing 50 percent growth during the crisis, and private labels, which have outpaced the retail
market. Some 80 percent of customers who started using a private brand during the pandemic
indicate they intend to continue using it once the COVID-19 crisis subsides.

Shoppers have cited a number of reasons for switching brands, with availability (in-store and
online), convenience, and value leading the pack. For marketers, this highlights the need to
quickly become aware of when shoppers are migrating brands or retailers and then to manage
the logistics to ensure product and service availability. Consumer behaviour is gradually a part
of strategic planning for the upcoming investment and growth of any industry. Retail industry
or specifically to say apparel industry is no exception, Consumers can either be subjective or
objective, testing the persuasion of brand names. Retail stores not only selling the products but
also play an important role in convincing the decisions of customers. The whole platform or
graphical appeal of the retail outlet can determine sales, or the service of the salesperson of the
retail outlet can determine sales, or the service of the salesperson or the clerks. Furthermore,
consumers may select specific products/brands not only because these products deliver the
functional or performance pay backs projected, but also because products can be used to
express consumers' personality, social status or association or to fulfil their internal
psychological requirements, such as the need for change or freshness.

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About the brand
Puma SE, branded as Puma, is a German multinational corporation that designs and
manufactures athletic and casual footwear, apparel and accessories, which is headquartered in
Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. Puma is the third largest sportswear manufacturer in the
world. The company was founded in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler. In 1924, Rudolf and his brother
Adolf Adi Dassler had jointly formed the company Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (Dassler
Brothers Shoe Factory). The relationship between the two brothers deteriorated until the two
agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities, Adidas and Puma. Both companies are
currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany. With the objective of being The Most Desirable
and Sustainable Sportlifestyle Company PUMA's position as one of the few, true multi-category
brands is to be strengthened and the opportunities offered by the sportlifestyle market are to
be systematically exploited in all categories and regions. As a multi-category supplier, PUMA is
active in categories and business fields/divisions that suit its unique brand positioning, and in
which permanent value increases can be achieved for the company. PUMAVision forms the
guiding principle for PUMA and their global partnerships and commitments. It combines the
concepts and initiatives of PUMA with respect to entrepreneurial sustainability and social
responsibility. The four principles of PUMAVision, fair, honest, positive and creative constitute
the compass of their company, employees, partners and target groups with respect to all their
decisions. PUMAVision reflects their vision of a better world - a world that is more peaceful,
safer, and more creative than the world that we know today. Over the years, PUMA has stayed
true to its four cornerstones: heritage, sport, technological innovation and design. The brand is
focusing on bringing distinctive designs and a global outlook to each product range by blending
influences of sport, lifestyle and fashion. This fusion is known as Sportlifestyle. PUMA views
sport as a philosophy on life – one that emphasizes fitness, wellness and simply living an active
life. Since Sport can be different things to different people, PUMA approaches it in a greater-
lifestyle context, while not compromising performance. This is exactly what the brand means
when it speaks of Sportlifestyle.

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STP Store
The location of the store was at pacific mall Subash Nagar : Shop No- 34, 1st Floor, Pacific Mall,
Near Metro Station, Subhash Nagar, New Delhi, Delhi 110027 which is a 3200 sq feet store with
2 customer sales executives and a store manager. With an average footfall of 400-600
customers per day and a monthly sale of Rs.520000. The project which we got was to
understand the customer perspective regarding sportswear after post pandemic scenario and
understanding the consumer behaviour change and the reverse ushering policies.

The area looks quite promising and the catchment area attracts the upper middle class people
and the middle class people as well. As nearby parks and residential areas has been seen with
the help of the above map. The store itself is located in pacific mall which is a 6lakh sq. feet mall
with an average footfall of 50000/ day which is quite promising number.

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Particularly in times of crisis, a customer’s interaction with a brand can trigger an immediate
and lingering effect on his or her sense of trust and loyalty. As millions are furloughed and
retreat into isolation, a primary barometer of their customer experience will be how the
businesses they frequent and depend upon deliver experiences and service that meets their
new needs with empathy, care and concern. Now is also the time for customer experience
leaders to position themselves at the forefront of the longer-term shifts in consumer behaviour
that result from this crisis. Keeping a real-time pulse on changing customer preferences and
rapidly innovating to redesign journeys that matter to a very different context will be key.

Hand in hand with this perspective, four customer experiance practices can frame short-term
responses, build resilience, and prepare customer-forward companies for success in the days
after coronavirus. They are: focusing on care and connection; meeting customers where they
are today; reimagining CX for a post-COVID-19 world; and building capabilities for a fast-
changing environment. Now more than ever, people need extra information, guidance, and
support to navigate a novel set of challenges, from keeping their families safe to helping their
kids learn when schools are shut down. They want a resource they can trust, that can make
them feel safe when everything seems uncertain, and that offers support when so much seems
to be overwhelming. A baseline starting point: staying true to company values and purpose.
Our research shows that 64 percent of customers choose to buy from socially responsible
brands, a figure that has grown significantly in the past two years. he way organizations step up
to play this role for their customers, their employees, and the broader community is likely to
leave lasting memories in customers’ minds.

COVID-19 has ushered in the next normal for the industry, defined by factors including digital
commerce, rising demand for sustainable products, and increasing participation in individual
forms of sports and exercise. To win in the new environment, the industry needs to adapt both
its customer proposition and its operational capabilities. The coming 12 months will likely be
characterized by a more positive outlook, albeit amid uncertainty caused by an unfolding
second wave of COVID-19 and the relatively slow ramp-up of vaccinations. Executives are

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cautiously optimistic and are focused on growth opportunities. COVID-19-related issues,
including ongoing challenges relating to physical-activity levels and indoor- and team-sport
participation. The greatest opportunities, meanwhile, are associated with the potential return
of large sports events, including, potentially, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the
ongoing rise in popularity of outdoor and home-based sports. Categories that did well in 2020
(including outdoor individual sports, home exercise, yoga, e-sports, and virtual races) are
expected to remain popular in 2021

Consumer shifts

1. Athleisure—the new default and a competitive battleground. Athleisure was a megatrend

2. Physical-activity gap—an opportunity to put healthy lifestyles within reach of all. COVID-19
has triggered significant shifts in physical-activity levels. Around 40 percent of people are less
active, while around 30 percent are more active. Unfortunately, a physical-activity gap linked to
income levels already exists, with less-affluent households tending to exercising less. The crisis
will drive more households into lower-income groups, and thus widen the physical-activity gap.
The sporting goods industry should therefore embrace a multistakeholder approach to tackle
physical inertia, particularly in the communities left behind.

Sustainability has become an increasingly urgent consumer priority, and companies have
responded by introducing more sustainable products—a trend accelerated by the pandemic.
The onus is now on companies to secure sustainable supply chains. Since recycling is likely to be

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a bottleneck, brands need to engage with innovative concepts, such as direct-to-consumer
circularity.

3. Leap forward in online-- COVID-19-related store closures lifted the online growth curve to a
new level, enabling multiple brands to grow e-tailing and even direct-to-consumer sales. As a
result, the past year has seen a leap forward in online shopping, and many first-time shoppers
will stick with their new habits. With online penetration expected to stabilize at around 25
percent in 2021, six times higher than before the pandemic, brands and retailers need to adjust
their business models fast. The study seems to suggest that if any dimension of online service is
disrupted or fails to meet expectations, it will cause disruption to customer satisfaction in terms
of their whole online shopping experience, unless the provider responds effectively to the
failure. This means that consumers' evaluations and satisfaction are influenced by both their
online service experience and the delivery service components, which are shaped by many
actors of the provider's service procedures.

Winning players will not necessarily possess all these attributes. However, those that can get a
grip on most of them will be best positioned to create a virtuous cycle of commercial
excellence, increased sales—leading to higher fixed-cost degression—and more cash for
investment. Players that fail to make the necessary changes, conversely, may find themselves
stuck in a vicious cycle of worsening commercial performance, higher relative costs, and
decreasing investment potential that will undermine their ability to realize opportunities.

In apparel, comfort wear categories like athleisure are witnessing significant acceleration owing
to 'work from home' and fitness needs of consumers. Role of traditional media as an influencer
has got diminished in this category post-covid with social media and other online channels
emerging as dominant influencer. athleisure category is seeing market-beating growth and has
accelerated the ongoing trend of casualization of wardrobe

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Conclusion and Recommendations

The Covid19 episode showed people from one side of the planet to the other a couple of things.
The Covid19 issue is a complex situation that has brought about changes in the economy,
business, and society, just as changes in current business structures. Purchaser inclinations
trump firm goals. For a brand to succeed, it should fabricate trust, restrict, and build up
customer devotion. To prevail in troublesome occasions, it is important to enhance dependent
on the necessities as opposed to the firm necessities. The social changes that happened during
the scourge will keep going for a long time. Government intercession and backing will be useful,
in the current dubious circumstance, foster confidence in business substances and brands.

Brand Strategies: Due to the Covid19 pandemic, advertisers should focus on moving buyer
conduct and inclinations. The pandemic trained individuals to be patient and wary with their
cash. Clients will mull over making a buy. Sound items and modest estimating will turn out to be
more well known. Prior to the last buy, there will be more exploration what's more,
conversation. Thus, the dynamic cycle could be drawn out. Panther as a brand should
understand the client's dynamic cycle and add to help and impact the buying choice.

Acquire client trust while likewise being all the more ecologically cognizant: People were in
agonizing agony because of the pandemic. Indeed, even the most essential necessities and
meds were hard to obtain. It didn't make any difference which brand was offered in light of the
fact that it was all sold out. Individuals were worried, and they depended on others for
direction and insight. Individuals were discovered searching for things and administrations that
were both dependable and just available. Jaguar should zero in on building trust instead of
growing their business. Purchasers trust marks that put their clients first when creating items
and administrations. Jaguar should likewise be obliging to make ecological strides and foster
client agreeable items.

Changing Consumer Attitudes: Consumer conduct changed because of the closure. The
Covid19 pandemic has modified the manner in which the business works just as client buying

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propensities. Buyer tastes have moved toward better food sources, and actual contact has
diminished, bringing about a worldwide upheaval in another ecological setting. As a result of
the vulnerability and stagnation in pay levels, individuals turned out to be more cost cognizant.
They were economical in their spending and buys. More accentuation was set on notable
brands and reliable administrations. Neighborhood brands become more well known
subsequently. There is a more noteworthy zero in on ecological issues and natural protection
because of breaking down wellbeing because of contamination. Panther needs to win
purchaser certainty and confidence in future and that's only the tip of the iceberg climate
situated.

Brand Opportunities: The lockdown gives freedoms to families to spend quality time together
and investigate new things to remain locked in. Individuals who telecommuted needed to meet
an assortment of new guidelines, including cooking, cleaning, and remaining fit. There were
different freedoms for brands to elevate their capacity to serve clients. The accentuation was
on restriction, and the methodology is acquiring foothold. Panther should decide how they will
squeeze into neighbourhood norms. Panther should move toward more competitors as brand
diplomats so the clients will get drawn to the brand effectively as opposed to going for the film
stars.

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