After settling the transfers of Nedvěd and Bobowski, Lister was very satisfied.
96 European Cup.
It’s like pushing yourself out initially.
good mood.
But it's not over yet. Lester still has many good players on hand, all of whom are waiting to be promoted.
Riester is busy with this.
But sometimes people get lucky and you can't stop them.
If someone says that his teeth are stuck when he drinks water, then Lister obviously picked up a stone on the road and found it to be gold when he got home.
Just when List was about to consider the transfer of Garacek, he received a very strange phone call. But when he revealed his identity to List, List was shocked.
Phone call from Germany.
It’s also the phone number of the youngest CEO of a German listed company.
Puma CEO Jochen Leitz.
Very surprised.
Jochen Leitz invited List to the Puma headquarters in Germany, hoping to discuss the endorsement issues of Nedved and Boboski.
Puma.
The boss who founded Puma and the boss of Adidas were once brothers.
It was my brother who founded Puma.
But after so many years, Adidas has become one of the world's top sports brands. However, Puma is an inferior brand.
Among current sports stores, Adidas and Nike are the most prominent.
The prices are all very expensive.
Puma is all on the bottom floor, not only is it cheap.
Considered a low-end brand.
Moreover, in 1993, Puma suffered a loss of US$32 million, which was eight consecutive years of losses. There were still 1.5 million pairs of cheap sports shoes worth US$10 stacked in the warehouse, and it was in danger of bankruptcy.
At that time, Puma's debt exceeded US$250 million.
One step forward is bankruptcy, one step back is waiting for bankruptcy.
This was the situation with Puma at the time.
The Puma board of directors had no choice but to hire a new CEO.
Just in 1994, 30-year-old Jochen Leitz became the new CEO of Puma. He also became the youngest CEO of a listed company in Europe.
Of course Lister himself didn't know this.
Riester is a football legend.
Who is Jochen Leitz?
Don't know at all.
After receiving the call, I quickly looked for some information. Because Lister had only heard of the Puma brand, and he didn't understand its history at all.
When List was in China, none of the players he represented had a chance to get an order from Puma.
Lister is very happy to be able to mix with a domestic brand.
International brand?
Lister didn't even dare to think about it.
Regarding the international brand List, I only know that they are famous, but I don’t know their history. Because they have no intersection with List.
Riester was very happy to receive the call from Puma.
But looking at Puma's current situation, Lister realized that he was really happy too early.
Jochen Letts does have some skills. Puma, which had suffered losses for many years, has slowly turned around in the past two years. Of course, it has just completed the turnaround, and the Puma brand is still an inferior brand in the world.
Not only is it inferior to world-renowned brands such as Adidas, Reebok, and Nike, but even the British Umbro is now able to completely overtake Puma.
Puma can only be said to have just emerged from the crisis.
Such brands are not on the same level as Adidas, Reebok, and Nike.
But Riester did not refuse.
Instead, he agreed to Jochen Leitz's invitation.
Nowadays, Czech players basically have no advertising income. Although Puma is average now, Lister knows that in the future, although Puma will not be able to surpass brands such as Adidas and Nike, it will become the third largest sports brand in the world.
this is a good chance.
Not only can it create income for Nedvěd and Boboski, but Rist's income will also increase.
And this is the beginning.
Although Lister knows the future trend, he is still a newbie in terms of business. In terms of soliciting sponsorship, Lister does not have many connections at all.
But Riester must increase his abilities in this area.
Because compared to wages, many players' advertising income is proportionately higher.
…………
Puma, and of course Adidas.
They were all born in a legendary town called Herzogenaurach on the outskirts of Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. It is not far away from Munich, the center of German football.
It used to be an obscure town.
But now the development of this place is very good.
Puma's headquarters isn't fancy.
Although Puma is now a low-end sports brand, it is also a powerful company.
A large company with annual sales of $300 million.
But their headquarters is very ordinary.
"Mr. List, welcome."
Jochen Letts is very tall and worthy of being a former rugby player.
In fact, at present, the identities of the two are completely unequal.
Although List is somewhat famous in football now, the most famous players under his control are Pavel Nedvěd and Bobowski. Moreover, these two are not the kind of European football superstars.
He is just a young player who has just stepped out of the Czech Republic.
But Jochen Leitz is different.
As the youngest CEO of a listed company in Europe, Puma is still a large company with sales of US$300 million, although it is heavily in debt.
But Jochen Leitz was very sincere.
Lister was waiting at the company's gate.
"Hello, Mr. Leitz."
Riester stepped forward and held Jochen Leitz's hand. This is his own money bag, and he must have a good talk with him.
However, since Puma was the first to contact him, Lister did not want the price to drop, so he had to make some adjustments.
See what Puma means.
So he received the coffee from the staff in the reception room and put him down. Then he asked with a smile: "Mr. Leitz, Puma is a big brand. In the past, Puma's target was the generation of football king Maradona, and
They are sports superstars of the same level as Navratilova, the evergreen tennis player. Pavel and Karel are both juniors and have just emerged. Why did you choose them?"
Richter wants to see what Puma really means.
Only in this way can he take countermeasures.
Jochen Leitz smiled slightly.
Jochen Leitz has not much hair and is styled in a 28-part hairstyle. He has a big mouth, but he likes to smile, or the shape of his mouth looks like a smile.
From the moment Riester saw him at the door, Riester felt that he was smiling all the time.
Very kind-hearted.
"Mr. Cherny, Adidas, Nike, Reebok and other companies are all sponsoring superstars with large sums of money. These big companies have already done it, and we at Puma are lagging behind in this regard. We don't have the financial resources to compete with them. At best, we just follow suit.
I follow them and cannot escape their influence."
direct.
Jochen Leitz doesn't mince words.
Instead, they expressed their meaning very directly.
"So we are ready to give up this approach. We hope to take a roundabout way and find players who can become superstars in the future, and find clubs and national teams that will become strong teams in the future."
List nodded.
I really didn't expect it.
Jochen Leitz directly stated their future strategy.
Taking a break from the wind?
That should be what it means.
"Mr. Leitz, I understand what you mean. I am not boasting. One of Karel and Pavel will definitely become the Footballer of the Year in the future."
Regarding Lister's words, Jochen Guess was noncommittal.
Because once Lister's words are accepted, he will be at a disadvantage when it comes to discussing specific endorsement fees for players.
Lister never stopped boasting and selling himself.
"I think Puma has a good vision this time. I dare not say anything else. Karel and Pavel are currently the most popular stars in the Czech Republic. With these two agents, only Puma can survive as a sports brand in the Czech Republic.
Already."
Jochen Leitz narrowed his eyes and looked at Lister.
Czech market?
There are not many Czechs, only about 10 million people. But almost all Czechs like sports, and although the Czech Republic is not as wealthy as countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and France.
But judging from the development in the past few years, the Czech economy is still developing well.
Per capita income is also growing steadily.
It was only about 3,000 US dollars in 1994, but it will be almost 5,000 US dollars this year.
Although the development of the Czech economy has begun to slow down, European football analysts still believe that the Czech Republic's per capita income should be around US$8,000 by the end of the 20th century.
It's a big market.
Lister accurately expressed the thoughts of Jochen Leitz. Adidas, Nike, and Reebok are all high-end brands, and they all invite sports superstars to endorse their products.
The target is the big markets, those in developed countries.
But after Jochen Leitz became the CEO of Puma, he changed Puma's previous approach. Because the markets in developed countries are almost saturated, it is difficult for Puma as a laggard to penetrate.
Even if it intervenes, Puma cannot compete with giant companies such as Adidas and Nike.
Therefore, he prepared to take detours and engage in guerrilla warfare.
The practice of surrounding cities from rural areas.
He is targeting markets such as Eastern and Central Europe, including Africa, that other sports brands do not pay attention to.
So this time I looked for Czech players who shined in the European Cup.
