Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Companies => Off-the-shelf companies => Puma => Topic started by: mo_town on January 24, 2014, 09:14:30 AM
-
Hello,
Watching Aaron Finch batting made me think of how players have slowly moved away from Puma...the brand has gone from being the most sought after to a dying brand rarely seen being used by Pros. Whats the reason behjnd it? Why does a brand slowly lose popularity? Cant be lack of funds to sponsor players as Puma is undoubtably a huge brand name..what could the reason be?
-
They released a 2014 range, albeit it not a huge range(2lines) I think they are just scaling it back a tad, maybe wasn't making as much money as they wanted. So lessen the line up, and lose a few pros.
Granted finch is a big loss. But they may not have had a chose. If new balance merely out bid them when his contract came up. Then new balance it is
New balance do seem to be having a big crack at cricket currently. I know who makes trott/stokes bats. But who makes finch's? Same people? The new balance Indian makers? Or an aus based shaver and re stickered.
-
Puma is a huge brand and cricket probably makes up a tiny proportion of their turnover.
With Usain Bolt on their books I'm not sure they will be too worried about finch.
-
True...they have probably lost interest...its a shame though...i always thought that Puma bats stood out and held their own against the other big names...
-
Brendan McCullum still uses Puma. NZ captain, pretty good player to have on their books. Doesn't Yuvraj use Puma too? Marlon Samuels, Matthew Wade last night. Their still there. Saying that i have not like Puma since Gilchrist stopped using them.
-
It would be shame if they stopped making cricket gear as generally I like their stuff - hopefully with a fair few pro's still using them this won't happen. Of all the new gloves for this year the puma platinum 6000 are to me the best looking pair - they may have less kit in 2014 but it still looks very good. Far better in my opinion than the new balance kit.
-
I am a huge fan of their Indian made bats. The Platinum Black and Platinum White I used were superb bats. If they stop selling bats I will have to go to SS to get the same performance.
-
Never cared much for them after the Millichamp and Hall days to be honest.
-
I've always thought the puma gear is some of the better designed stuff out there. Would be a shame to see them move away from cricket. As said before there are some great bargains to be had among their lower end bats, can often pick them up cheap and go very well in my experience.
-
I just feel that because there bats started going down in performance..... Used a puma since I was 15 until this season,they used to be amazing bats go like the champs that used them, now they have no ping ( even the good ones ) and just seem to have flashy stickers, there gloves and pads are will of good quality and I'll continue to use them but I have now moved to gunn and moore because there quality has stayed the same ( my brother use to get sponsored ) I hope they improve
-
What will Nozza do? :o
-
Puma have just invested £150mln in Arsenal Football Club to make stash.
I think that is a clear statement of where their priorities are.
-
Got to admit, despite being a fan of Puma gear since the Adam Gilchrist and Geraint Jones days, I have yet to own any of their gear. I've always been tempted to buy gloves, pads and even a bat this off season. From a design stand point, they always put out nice looking gear. And from having borrowed our 2nd team keepers puma gloves and pads in a net session last season, they were really comfy and looked well made. It would be a shame to see Puma pull their cricket gear, though surely there is still enough of a market for them since some of their gear most matches?
On the subject of Puma gear. Of the new wicket keeping gloves for the 2014 season, the Puma Platinum Black and Platinum White gloves are my favourite new gloves on the market this season.
-
I am a little hesitant on Puma bats, especially now that they are not made by one of my favorite bat makers in the UK, but their softs and shoes are exceptional. I love puma as a brand anyways a lot of my non-cricket items are also puma so my opinion is a bit biased :-[
-
Puma are up there with Adidas and Nike in terms of revenue, how else could they drop 150 million just to sponsor Arsenal!!
-
Purchased a Puma Pulse used by McCullum and Finch(before he moved to NB *sic*)...always wanted to own a Puma since the Gilly Days, this will be my first one.. :)
-
Seems to have come alive again in the football world.
-
I bought a 2.8 Puma Calibre 3000 a few years back, tiny profile with minuscule edges but my god did it fly - always been a fan of their kit, its a shame to see them scaling back to be honest!
-
I actually like there softs, batted with puma bat once and was not satisfied at all, also borrowed once from a team mate and found it dud .. and it was heavily concaved :(
-
I have a rob pack Karbon 6000, heavily concaved but goes like a gun, shame it is too light for me(puma dint do heavy bats)
My team mate has a Karbon 2000 heavily concaved, and I'd presume Indian made. It has some blemishes and is not as clean as mine, but it has one hell of a middle, he has hit some big sixes with it. He's just bought a gm octane 808, and is not impressed.
I have Karbon gloves and pads from last years range(bought in the pcd sale) they are awesomes softs, well worth the money, if not more money!
As for scaling back, I'm pretty sure they've just took on two county sides in terms of supplying playing clothes.
Maybe they just don't want to throw as much money at pros as they once did.
-
As for scaling back, I'm pretty sure they've just took on two county sides in terms of supplying playing clothes.
That is interesting to know. They seem to have put a lot of money into football team-wear over the last few years.
-
I guess its just a lack of interest then..I always felt that Puma was the only 'non cricket' brand which was really able to do well manufacturing good cricket bats with distinctive profiles. Softs arent a big deal imo...anyone can do softs and clothing..the real challenge is manufacturing good cricket bats.
-
That is interesting to know. They seem to have put a lot of money into football team-wear over the last few years.
Yorkshire
http://yorkshireccc.com/news/view/2154/yorkshire-announce-partnership-with-puma (http://yorkshireccc.com/news/view/2154/yorkshire-announce-partnership-with-puma)
Nottinghamshire
http://www.nottsccc.co.uk/news/2013/september/nottinghamshire-secure-puma-kit-partnership.html (http://www.nottsccc.co.uk/news/2013/september/nottinghamshire-secure-puma-kit-partnership.html)
-
Also the IPL has a few Puma suppliers
-
I guess its just a lack of interest then..I always felt that Puma was the only 'non cricket' brand which was really able to do well manufacturing good cricket bats with distinctive profiles. Softs arent a big deal imo...anyone can do softs and clothing..the real challenge is manufacturing good cricket bats.
Agreed. The bats are what really matter. Nearly bought a Bionic at the end of last season, but decided it against it, felt a bit bottom heavy. Though I couldn't complain about the ping of the bat, it will have made someone a very happy person.
As for the softs, I think they can be an important part of a brand. Having good looking and well made softs can make the difference to some buyers that go for matching gear. For me, I'm not too fussed about matching gear. But there are guys at my club, and those in the league, that wear matching gear. So if they have a Gray Nicolls bat, they have Gray Nicolls softs. For me, the Puma softs seem to help them stand out a bit from some of the other bigger brands, design wise.
-
Yorkshire
[url]http://yorkshireccc.com/news/view/2154/yorkshire-announce-partnership-with-puma[/url] ([url]http://yorkshireccc.com/news/view/2154/yorkshire-announce-partnership-with-puma[/url])
Nottinghamshire
[url]http://www.nottsccc.co.uk/news/2013/september/nottinghamshire-secure-puma-kit-partnership.html[/url] ([url]http://www.nottsccc.co.uk/news/2013/september/nottinghamshire-secure-puma-kit-partnership.html[/url])
Good choices.
-
gotta be better than the GN Yorkshire kit!
-
Agreed. The bats are what really matter.
Aren't most brands' bats made in the same few places?
-
I used a Puma Pulse bat last season. A pretty well balanced bat, and started to really ping towards the end of the season. Granted, I've had my eye on the new Bradbury P Professional bat range (full profile) and the new GN Elite. But the Puma Pulse is still holding up well and I'm content with it till something better drops in price.
The Puma Platinum pads are simply brilliant. The design makes you feel like your batting in one of the RoboCop prototypes! They are bulky, but surprisingly don't get in the way of bat downswing and running between wickets. They are feather light. Although it's true that it's the bats that really matter, their pads certainly set them apart from the rest of the competition.
-
I had a Puma Calibre 4000 last season, I'm not much of a batsman so I couldn't find the middle much, but when I found it it flew. Shame that everywhere else on the bat was dead as a door nail.
-
Yorkshire
[url]http://yorkshireccc.com/news/view/2154/yorkshire-announce-partnership-with-puma[/url] ([url]http://yorkshireccc.com/news/view/2154/yorkshire-announce-partnership-with-puma[/url])
Nottinghamshire
[url]http://www.nottsccc.co.uk/news/2013/september/nottinghamshire-secure-puma-kit-partnership.html[/url] ([url]http://www.nottsccc.co.uk/news/2013/september/nottinghamshire-secure-puma-kit-partnership.html[/url])
Hampshire as well I believe.
-
Have to agree with gerhard. I've the Platinum 5000 pads and gloves. Very stylish, very well made, and fit well. I'm waiting to get the 'convertible' spikes in an end of season sale. Puma is still making top quality softs IMO. And if you were quick, ProDirectCricket had an amazing discount on Puma's top of the line Platinum 6000 bat a week or so ago. In fact, there's still a decent reduction on it.
-
Is it really much of a loss?
My memory (they've never even really been close to being on my radar) of Puma bats are the weird super-concaved upside-down trimaran asian toothpics? Only marginally superior or distinguishable from Addidas. It's a brand that's shown no innovation (have they?) and the decent sticks (made by RP) would be more entirely more elegant and appropriate with the Rob Pack stickers!
-
Is it really much of a loss?
My memory (they've never even really been close to being on my radar) of Puma bats are the weird super-concaved upside-down trimaran asian toothpics? Only marginally superior or distinguishable from Addidas. It's a brand that's shown no innovation (have they?) and the decent sticks (made by RP) would be more entirely more elegant and appropriate with the Rob Pack stickers!
Best softs on the market. Lightweight, comfy, top protection and decent for all levels. Only major brand to provide two strap pads in recent years and provided top quality pads with cane inserts to help weight wise.
Bats perform well, even the Asian made ones.
Elegance may be what you prefer, but not everybody does. Some like flashy, bright and in your face colours. Makes you stand out more.
-
The prices really put me off, but I think that some of their bats are top performers. There are some in the Platinum range which don't have much concaving at all, and are absolute crackers. Their softs are of a really high quality too, and I really like the stickers! ;)
-
What will Nozza do? :o
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha