Puma Names Shirley Li General Manager of China
SHANGHAI — Puma has named Shirley Li its new general manager of China.
Li, who joined Puma earlier this year as commercial director, will replace Philippe Bocquillon, who is moving into the role of Puma’s area manager for Greater China as well as general manager of Puma Hong Kong. Paul Yu will remain the general manager of Puma Taiwan. Bocquillon became the head of Puma China in 2014, after serving in several executive positions at Adidas in China.
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Both Li and Yu will report directly to Bocquillon.
Li, a Shanghai local, has worked as the vice president of wholesale at Adidas China and has more than 20 years of experience in sporting goods. Li graduated from Fudan University with a law degree.
David Lu, who joined Puma this March, will take over as commercial director at Puma. Lu most recently worked as the general manager of Levi’s retail operations in China.
All appointments will be effective July 1.
“I am very excited that we will open a new chapter for Puma China under the new leadership of Shirley,” said Puma chief executive officer Arne Freundt.
“I want to thank Philippe for more than 10 years as [general manager] of Puma China. He has done a great job under often very challenging circumstances and I wish him all the best for his new role as area manager,” Freundt added.
Earlier this month, Freundt embarked on his first China tour since becoming CEO last November. Freundt met with the local team and visited Puma stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Hong Kong.
Li is tasked with keeping up Puma China’s sales momentum after two years of decline due to COVID-19.
The region rebounded in the first quarter, which helped Puma attain a 27.4 pecent growth to 476 million euros in the Asia Pacific region. Gains in the EMEA region registered 25.4 percent, while sales in North America slipped 0.8 percent.
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