Kadisco: Cycling, Marketing, Sponsorship, Social Media

Puma: Coming soon to an IBD near you? (updated)

Posted on 26. Sep, 2009 by Josh in Bike industry, Trends

Back in December 2008, I interviewed Puma CMO Antonio Bertone about how that brand has become involved in bike culture on multiple levels without going through any of the typical channels used by non-endemic brands like sponsorships or partnering with a bike company. Some quotes from the interview:

I think the bike industry doesn’t really work very well. It’s too performance oriented, too exclusive.

We have one bike – a single speed and eight speed – and to put that into the bike industry machine, that’s a very small offering and I don’t think we’d get any visibility above the other bigger brands.

We didn’t want to make the Puma fixed gear because you feel like everybody’s gonna do that eventually… and everybody did.

9 months later…

Needless to say, I was surprised to see Puma exhibiting a fixed-gear at Interbike. Their stand was set up and run by  Biomega, the forward-thinking Danish bike designer that created Puma’s original and subsequent models. According to Biomega’s staff, Puma’s plan isn’t so much to enter the bike shop world as it is to sell bikes through boutiques and other non-IBDs of the kind that already carry Puma sneakers. Still, there they were – talking to bike dealers at the bicycle industry trade show.

My interpretation is that, despite the bike industry’s growing efforts to reach the new urban consumer, Puma sees interest in bikes increasing even more quickly. So they’ve changed their strategy from using the bike as a branding piece to trying to move a significant number of units through as many channels as they can, even if it means challenging what Antonio described as “the dominance of Trek, Giant, and Specialized.” I’m extremely curious to see their next move.

In case you missed it before, here’s my interview with Antonio.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Addendum

After some additional unpacking, I found some info that Biomega gave me about the Puma bike line. Here’s what the catalog has to say about the above fixed-gear model:

• Choice of modern, non-traditional bike colours
• Perfect for everyday use in the city
• Lightweight materials (aluminium frame)
• Designed by Biomega and inspired by the PUMA Bike II
• Available with or without a back wheel that can be reversed to switch between a single speed free wheel and fixie

TYPE
The PUMA Bike IIII mixes city bike features (dual brakes, free wheel mode, 28” wheels) and track bike features (handlebar, aggressive seating position, fixie mode) to create a new typology.

DESIGN
Smart, sturdy, and fast, the PUMA Bike IIII comes with track bike handlebars. The geometric construction holds the body in a forward, leaning position for an aggressive urban commute. In general it references a track bike, but is made out of aluminium for lightness and includes brakes for security. The bike comes with or without a back wheel that can be reversed to switch between a single speed free wheel and fixie.

PERSONAL NOTES FROM THE DESIGNER
HEAVY DUTY – I designed a chunky frame to make it adequate for daily urban grind.
FREE/FIXED GEAR SWITCH  – Be part of an urban fixie culture or be reasonable. I loved the choice this rear hub gives you. [Note: It looked a regular fixed/free flip-flop hub, not something like the SRAM Torpedo.]

More thoughts

The original Puma Bike has some really cool features, like a cable lock that also serves as the down tube. It wouldn’t be the right bike for me, but it would be for a lot of people. I liked that Puma and Biomega focused on utility and user-friendliness. But now they’re getting away from that approach and into more standard bike industry territory. Biomega makes some interesting, original bikes (more on those in a bit…) but this one didn’t stand out from crowded field of me-too fixies.