Puma to spend after Bolt era

German sportswear company Puma plans to keep spending to sign up top athletes and celebrities after its flagship star Usain Bolt retires, seeking to bolster a brand that lags market leaders Nike and Adidas.

"We are continuing to invest in sports," chief executive Bjorn Gulden told journalists after the company published full second-quarter results, adding that spending on marketing would remain between 10% and 12% of sales in the longer run.

Gulden has invested heavily in celebrity marketing to turn around the Puma brand.

For example, Usain Bolt has been at the centre of a push to sell sports performance gear, also boosted by its sponsorship of English football side Arsenal.

With the eight-times Olympic champion nearing his last race, the group has signed Canadian Olympic silver medallist Andre de Grasse as well as a number of Jamaican sprinters.

Puma has also seen strong demand for products promoted by celebrities such as model Cara Delevingne and Canadian rapper The Weeknd.