For Keeping their Prices Down

As many readers of this blog will know, I have often hammered on about the prices of boots getting too high. Every single year we’re seeing higher and higher prices for even mid-level model boots. But if we focus on this too much, miss some of the success stories as well. Puma often chops and changes their models too often for mine and many others’ likings, and they seem determined to make as many colourways as possible. At the same time, they are one of the few brands, and the only one out of the Big Three, that have their main silos positively received by many people. Except for the King Platinums, no idea what they were thinking there.

But the Future and the Ultra are both well-reviewed boots and Puma has made great strides in their offerings over the past few years to not only keep up with, but beat products offered by adidas and Nike. The best part about all of this though, is the fact that their prices are much cheaper than the Three Stripes and the Swoosh.

Take the Ultra, for example. One of the tops speed boots on the market by more than a few people’s estimations, it retails for 200 USD, 200 EUR, 180 Pounds, versus the Nike Mercurial which has a MSRP of 250 USD, 230 EUR, 225 Pounds and the adidas X Speedflow.1 which is at 250, 220 and 180, respectively. Only the Speedflow.1 comes close to the same pricing. But this is before we talk about the fact that both Nike and adidas have their Superfly and Plus models. It is only in Japan where the pricing is similar.

Of course, the boots you wear are down to personal preference. But pricing still plays a very important factor. You have to ask yourself if the Speedflow.1 and Vapor are worth the premiums both companies are asking for versus the Ultra. For a lot of people whose wallets are already stretched thin, it won’t be.

This is similar for the Future as well. The pricing overall is cheaper than what is on offer from Nike and adidas and at a time when pricing is rising, it can be argued that Puma is being more consumer friendly by keeping their prices lower. Of course, releasing less colourways would be great as well.

So, I guess far as the blog goes, this probably means that I need to review the boots for myself at some point. The pricing is fairly good and on sale, this pricing is even more enticing. This goes for others as well, as sometimes we seem Puma’s top end boots go on sale for the same pricing as the mid-level models from adidas and Nike, which let’s be honest, are not that great of offerings, save for things like the Tiempo Pro and the Mercurial Pros.

The long and the short is that Puma is doing a great job with their pricing, and they are leaving themselves a lot of wiggle room to maneuver in the market. Though for some reason the First Mile models carry a premium, why??? In spite of this, even a small price increase from Puma still keeps their models under the pricing from the top models on offer from Nike and adidas. While this means their profit margins are not as high because of this, it also means that it should be easier for them to move more volume as time goes on.

They should still look into why Nike was investigating Neymar though…

What do you think of Puma’s pricing? Are you more likely to buy Puma boots because they are relatively less expensive? Please share this with your friends and make sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook!

じゃあね！

Header Image Credit: Kishispo/Kemari87