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.