- Puma remains committed to the web3 space, resisting the trend of reducing exposure despite the sector’s recent fluctuations.
- The company anticipates long-term success in NFT and metaverse ventures following its entry into the market in 2022
- Puma’s Black Station metaverse experience was updated last year and it has signed NFT deals with sports stars
Puma doesn’t plan to follow its contemporaries and dial back its exposure to the web3 space, despite the boom and bust experienced by the sector in the past two years. The company recently told Techcrunch that it wasn’t expecting immediate success with its NFT and metaverse ventures, but has faith that the ecosystem will be vastly different in five years’ time. The company announced its Black Station metaverse experience in 2022 and last year revealed the first of many presumed NFT deals with sports stars.
Puma Admits it Missed E-commerce and Social Media Booms
In conversation with Techcrunch, representative Alexey Dashkov admitted that the company failed to capitalize on the e-commerce and social media booms, and as a result, is determined not to lag behind in the web3 space. Puma has spent two years getting to grips with the complexities of web3, leading to moderate revenues, but the sportswear giant is betting big on a crypto-friendly future.
Recognizing web3 as a transformative shift in internet usage, Puma aims to stay ahead in an evolving digital landscape and not echo the mistakes of the past, according to Dashkov:
We don’t think the way the space exists today will be what it looks like in four or five years, but we want to be ready.
Puma Plans to Expand on Existing Offerings
Puma took its first steps into the web3 world in February 2022 when it registered its first Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain – Puma.eth – and seven months later ventured into the metaverse when it launched its Black Station experience. This metaverse offering was updated in June of the following year, aligning with Puma’s commitment to staying at the forefront of digital trends.
Further cementing its presence in the crypto space, at the same time as announcing its Black Station upgrade it revealed an NFT collection in collaboration with basketballer LeMelo Ball and NFT project Gutter Cat Gang. Dubbed GutterMelo MB.03, the NFT collection included limited edition Puma shoes retailing as well as digital collectibles.
