 Good afternoon. It's my honor and privilege to welcome Mr. Abhishek Ganguly, who is the general manager of Puma India in Southeast Asia. Welcome Mr. Ganguly to the exchange from India, Dakshin chat. I don't know why it's called Dakshin. You may be based in South India, but you look at this region and you're truly global in that sense. But since you're based in South India, I guess it's called the Dakshin chat. But welcome Abhishek to the exchange from India, a brand dialogue, the Dakshin chat. How have been the last 70 days for you personally and professionally? Well, as you can imagine, Arurak very tough, very, very tough. And I remember the suddenness of everything, you know, because we were coming from professionally on the professional front. We were coming from a back of a fantastic year. We closed last year on a high 22% growth, fantastic growth on profitability. We became the out and out number one brand in the space of footwear and apparel and life accessories in India in sports and lifestyle as well. All categories put together was a great year. The team was very excited to have another 20-25 percent growth, which means we are ambition that time was to almost add the size of one substantial brand in one year. So that was what we were coming from. We had a fantastic January and February as well. And then the thing started happening and initially we all felt that it's a supply problem because it's happening in China. And suddenly, you know, in the space of two weeks, you realize that it's the world's going astray and, you know, with the virus hitting everywhere. And everything started shutting down as, you know, across the world. First time in the history of retail, modern retail, at least, where things shut down, e-commerce shut down. And the business in April was zero in India, right? Because even e-commerce was not allowed. So very difficult for, I would say in India, we had a fantastic run before this. An amazing run. When we came in in 2006, one of the last entrants, the Puma story is a great story that way. It's like, you know, coming from behind and going ahead of competition and creating a mark. And the team is extremely proud of doing and achieving this. We have never seen a year of blip. And this is the year of blip. And we always used to say that would we one day see some challenge and it really happened. And it happened for such reasons. So very difficult for a team full of enthusiasm for wanting to do more, ready for do more. And how do you manage, you know, failure because of something that is not in your hand? I mean, I call it failure or failure is probably not the right word, but sudden, sudden downfall. Yeah, sudden downfall. And so it has been tough, tough. In my additional responsibility of Southeast Asia, I had just taken over, taken over, you know, there is a cross cultural thing. I had just been to Singapore in February and came back right in time. And then I was establishing the team connect and, you know, doing our ambitions for their planning it up. And then suddenly this happened. So it has been very tough. I think initially it was, it was tough. Then I think we all had to brace ourselves for it. I think personally, I have really changed my outlook towards life and business. And I've realized that things can suddenly go wrong. And what you can't plan for. And that's the thing that you incorporate in your business and your personal life as well. So yeah, tough 70 days. But I think hope is something that keeps all of us going. Thank you Abhishek for being so real and telling us that, you know, this event did take a turn on your mind and on your revenues. But as you said, this is hopefully temporary. And I was going to ask you that, you know, retail was shut. I mean, of course, e-commerce was also shut. Because, you know, you know, shoes, clothing don't come into essential. But with this increased focus on health, fitness, increasing immunity, do you think Puma and everybody in this category will benefit in the near medium term and long term? Well, I mean, probably benefiting from a pandemic which is impacting everybody is probably something very difficult to expect. I'm saying post that. Next 90 days, we may not have too much demand coming back, but post that in a medium 10, 6 to 18 months kind of horizon. Honestly, we're very lucky. I am very lucky to be in a business, which is about sports, sportswear and fitness. Because you're absolutely right. Right now, everyone's realized that one's own health is the most important thing. And we have to protect that. And given that we don't have control on when the vaccine is coming out and when the world will come back to complete normalcy, we have to live with it. And the best thing that you can do is to build your immunity, right? One can only control the control levels, right? So, and this is a realization happening across consumer segment, I'm seeing that I'm seeing a lot of new entrance into this world of fitness. A lot of young kids, young adults getting and taking to fitness through home fitness. And that's that's coming and, you know, we're seeing that in terms of our sales and performance and fitness categories. And which is very heartening to see. Also, the reason I feel that we are a bit lucky, bit more lucky is that sports has withstood any kind of downturn and challenge in the world. Because this is something so fundamental to human, you know, to human right and existence. So I personally find myself to be lucky doing this. Yes, I think there is enhanced interest in fitness, and which can only grow because this pandemic has taught us that the best thing that we can do is to work on ourselves and keep ourselves strong, mentally and physically both. I'm glad you expressed that point of mental well being, because if you mentally fit, you possibly can make yourself physically fit. Coming back to the business of retailing, the business of sports, fitness, fitness, where, you know, if you assume yourself said you have a responsibility, which is beyond India. What are the learnings from other markets? You at one point was also the head of cricket globally for Puma, right? What are the learnings that you've seen from other markets that can be applied here? And I'm specifically talking about consumer behavior. How has COVID changed consumer behavior? And overall, how is consumer behavior changing? Give us your learnings as applicable to the Indian market? Well, I think it's, it's a it's a very broad question. And I'll try to break that up first and foremost, right now consumer behavior is changing the way people are consuming. I think a lot of the consumption will happen through e-commerce e-commerce penetration will only increase. A lot of people who bought essential products on e-commerce are now buying non-essentials. So one has to be very ready for this change and endorsement and an adoption of e-commerce businesses need. One needs to follow consumer trend in their category very strongly, because people are going to change their behavior in terms of what subcategories they are buying, what price points they are buying, how often they are buying, where are they buying from. Even in retail, when they get in today, you know, customers used to love in India used to love service, right? And now, suddenly customers seek safety. They are getting into with all the data that I have for the last 10 to 12 days. I'm seeing that consumers are valuing brands who are prioritizing health and safety over anything else, right? So they don't actually want to be treated royally like Indian consumers wanted to, but they want to know that whether you know how many people there's social distancing happening, is the ROG say to be getting checked, what is happening with products that they have tried out. So across the board, there is a change. I think if I have to generalize the entire thing, I would say that right now, people have to be flexible and nimble enough to adopt two new things, right? And I think that was even pre COVID that was true for for for New India. But I think that has only got very expedited. Then one has to be very nimble and quick and adopt. And one cannot have a strategy two years, three years. I think long term strategy, one can have a long term vision, but long term strategy is passing. Abhishek Ganguly of Puma said long term vision is fine. Long term strategy possibly won't work. I think another guest on my show said recently, that if you don't have a plan, you're possibly better off than having a plan. You got to take a day as it comes, you got to work week by week. Coming back to the business of retailing, as you rightly yourself said that a lot of consumers will possibly use e-commerce as a route to excess products or services. Tell us, will the only channel retail experience undergo a massive change in terms of mix or be a minor change? Well, if you look at what the consumers would expect, and if one has to deliver to the new behavior of consumers, it has to change. It has to evolve. I'll be honest with you. In India, we've been all the brands and retailers have been dabbling with the word omnichannel. But in reality, very little has been achieved till now. We were one of the first brands to actually try out delivery from stores, and we realized operational hassles, and then we went back in a bit and then we went in. So we've been trying to adapt, sorry, we're trying to get in new ways of doing business and omnichannel has been something very relevant for us last three, four years. I think we all need to expedite this. And I hope that as a company, Puma, we are successful in this front, because consumers today will probably consume information somewhere, do commerce somewhere else, seek delivery in some other manner from some other platform. So one has to seamlessly tie this entire thing together through technology. And for for that to happen, I think a lot of operational hassles that currently exist in business need to be addressed. Thank you, Abhishek. You know, again, you talk to any brand owner and talk to any CEO and they will talk about how millennials are very important for them. Tell us for Puma, what does the role of millennial has to play in your approach? And how do you approach this segment of millennials? Well, 50% of India is below 25, which means that's our biggest strength as a nation. Youth is the biggest strength of us as a nation as a as a as a from a consumption standpoint. As the brand we stand for, we appeal a lot to the young audience because our design, our product, your thoughts, our innovation appeals to the young, young consumers, most because, you know, it's it's bold, it's on the edge, it's colorful, it's very design and looks and style centric. So it has always been very important for us. And we have, we have had our product strategy, our marketing strategy completely aligned to the youth of India. And that's what it has always been the case and that was not going to change because we stand for our entire brand and our product offering is around the young adults and the and the youth. Good. Abhishek, there are lots of questions coming six questions and one comment, but we'll take the little later is you know, I keep saying Abhishek, this world is now a 3C world. It's a collaborative, caring and contactless. Now in this collaborative world, for example, with Puma Look at Tires with other brands, other companies, for example, maybe a tire with a Fitbit, you know, having inbuilt sensors and maybe, you know, jogging gear that you have within your shoes. So as health becomes important, well-being becomes even more important than it ever was. Do you see Puma collaborating with other players that enhance that health coaching? Well, we have had some successful collaborations in the past as well. It is very important. I think collaboration is extremely important. We've collaborated in the past with Kyofer, we've collaborated with cred. We've collaborated with Nord of the make my trip, a lot of digital platforms as well. And we will continue doing that, wherever there is a common customer base, and there is an alignment that can be done in mutual benefit. We will continue that approach. I think the second point that you said is around is around having a purpose, right? I mean, what was your exact word for it? You said I said collaborative, caring, contactless. Yes, you know. Yeah, so the second point I really believe in, and that's why I wanted to pick that up. I believe that businesses today, which have more than a commercial objective, but a larger purpose where consumers can see through that. And that those will really survive in the long run. Otherwise, businesses and companies will come and go. And today, consumers have a lot of options. It's extremely important to have a purpose in your business. Example with with us in Puma, we believe a lot on sustainability. And we want to give back to the society, contribute to the circular economy. And we are doing a lot even for, you know, on the athletes front contributing to the up and coming young athletes. So having the real purpose in business is extremely important. I think the scaring part, I think with post COVID will become even more important. Yeah. I will say, you know, I mean, sports brands are a lot linked with two things. One is live events, right, to take any sports. Second is personalities that in some way embody those live events, whether it's cricket, ping, soccer, and you can go on, right? Now in the last 77 days, live events have come to a halt, whether it's football, whether it's basketball, whether it's cricket, the IPL didn't happen. Tell us how does the brand that thrive on celebrity and live sports for positioning or enhancing the positioning do during these times? Well, sporting events and following up sports has definitely come down. And it's a real pity. I can tell you as as a, you know, whatever sports I do myself, I play myself or whatever sports I follow, and I do follow quite a bit. It's, it's, it's one of the most difficult things to let go. Right? I mean, when you're used to it, and I can, I can understand every sports lover and sports fan going through the same. So it's a real pity. And we're all hoping, we're all hoping that this is temporary. Right? Truth being said, that sports where consumption hasn't gone down, it has gone down, but hasn't, hasn't become zero, right? Just like, yeah, so sports where our business continues. And in fact, last 15 days, we've got more than expected business through whatever stores we could open up and through e-commerce. But to your point on live sports, I can't visualize life without that because, you know, that's so compelling, so gripping, so inspirational. And I'm really hoping that even if it is, you know, one, one's talking about spectator less sports, and it's happening in the, in the Premier League. And I think in India also, it will start once we can control, you know, new cases, and recovery and gets into a bit more balance, I'm sure that will happen. And I hope that happens, even though it will not be even half as good, right? Because spectators make spectator sports. But at least something should happen, at least TV viewership, we need to cheer, and we need to freshen our mind and sports is a great way to do that. And live sports is a great way to do that. So I really hope let's say an IPL or any other league that happens, even without spectators, I'm sure it will do a world of good for people to just currently we're all consuming. What I would term as negative content, right? I mean, which is, which is very pessimistic, sometimes very concerning. We need to free up our mind and just, you know, get on with life. And I think some kind of sports will really help. Thank you. I wish it, you know, at this point, I want to bring in some questions from the audience. And then I'll bring in more questions from myself. How Prachi Chandramani from Bangalore is asking, how is Yuma India restructuring its core business? I'm not sure you're restructuring, but she's saying how you're dealing with COVID. That's how I kind of on, you know, understand the question. Our second question there, are you willing to partner with companies, startups that bring products like Fitbit Fitness, watch it to consumer. How could this be more innovative than it is now? She asked, how did you manage the anxiety of employees when doctors started and how are you motivating them? Right. I think at this point, any business leader like myself has has two major responsibility. The first responsibility is that during such times when demand is down, business is down. How do you survive the business? So I think a lot of our focus is going to how can we literally survive this year, you know, with minimal impact, with minimal injury, right, is something that we are all working towards, whether it is cash flow, or how much we can maximize whichever channels open, how can we grow our business online? How can we grow Puma.com? And we are focusing a lot into keeping our business going as much as is possible. And the reason is that we believe that it will be time for everyone in the business. And if we come out with least impact or less impact, we will probably be stronger when things are because we will have less competition, you know, it's about suffering the injury lesser than others. Give us points, give us points parallel. Yeah, exactly. The second thing is, which is the third part of the question is, how do you keep the team motivated? I think my responsibility today, I'm responsible for 3,000 to 3200 people. And their families are involved with it. So my biggest responsibility is how can I keep them going? So I'm very happy to say that I've announced in the company that there will not be any headcount cut or salary cut for our people in the balance of the year. And that's something that we have had to manage has been taken very well with our employees, because these are the employees who got us to number one position, right? And when times are tough, you need to be to be with them, right? And that's what has been my prime objective or leaderships objective. And we believe that if you keep the team when things come back, this is the team which will start firing all cylinders. And they will also value the company which stood by them. So a lot of the focus is going on there. To talk about keeping the team engaged, I think work from home is a is is something that we've all been doing. We're trying to do we communicate with each other very often. Even when business was zero, we would still get into calls discuss. I think communication is key. You know, during these time, it's very important to do this with your employees with your team members with partners outside retailers and we are focusing a lot on ensuring that we communicate with people even when they're not giving us the business. So these are some of the things that we are doing to keep us going. Satyajaral wants to know, how will you induce impulse buying now? Well, I think I think that's a that's a tough one, because people are not going to walk in, you know, like they would generally do. And we are seeing that in the stores that we have opened, it is people who specifically have something in mind. And they're coming in with that that requirement in their mind. And the demand is already there before they enter. So impulse is a challenge. I think e-commerce, there will still be impulse purchase. But I think still things normalize people just walking through doing window shopping, coming in, trying out the product and buying products which they did not enter intend to enter the store. This is going to be a challenge for some time. Okay, thank you for being so real. And you know, there are two more questions that are relevant. Sauram Modak is asking, are you working on any new dresses, costumes, fabrics with empty microbial, empty viral properties such as, which could tackle hygiene, which is a new consumer focus, which you yourself said. So I'm coming with up the new fabrics, new, you know, properties of the products that you have. See, we always had in our anti microbial fabrics, we always had in our, you know, roster of products. I think it is important to call them out now and let the consumer know and educate the consumer on what we already had. So we have that I think it's time now that we need to start communicating that more. Thank you. And an anonymous friend is asking, is Puma planning to reduce physical store footprints in India, considering the current scenario with with friction between retail mall owners and brands? What is the future for way forward? It's a very difficult question for me to answer right now, because these conversations are going on with the real estate owners, the mall owners. And there is this conversation between retailers and mall owners. And I must admit that they have not found the middle path in every case, the conversation is still on. I think all the mall owners at some stage will realize that they need the retailers, because without the retailers, the malls, you know, don't function. So I think the conversations on in a lot of cases, a lot of malls have understood that and the and arrived at the middle path on how we should tackle the financial financial situation. So so I would like to believe that we would not close stores, because we have a good proposition. We have the right number of stores in India. 370 monogram stores, which I feel at this stage, it's not over penetration. It's not overdoing it. We were always conscious. And when things get back to normal, there will be demand across all of them. We want to stay put on that front. But I would like to feel that there will be some shopping centers who will not be able to continue their business. And hence, all of us will have to close. And I think those shopping centers which are proactive, understanding the reality, instead of, you know, staying hard on their point and saying that we have a financial metric to meet, which I'm sure they have. But the reality has to be endorsed because a shopping center has to have sustainable business from all its retailers. And and those who understand that will have better chances of surviving. Thank you for being here. I look at on I asked you with work from home going on for the whole year. How much it will it take on your business? So you know, sometimes people wear because, you know, they're outdoors and they're going to office, you know, and so if they're going to work from home, does, you know, the bragging rights come down against the sales of your brand and other brands come down? I think again, here, we are a bit lucky. If you see work from home as a trend, people are what are they wearing at home? It's the home essentials, they're wearing shorts, crack pants, t-shirts, polos, when the air conditioning is on, they're wearing track jackets. And and hence these are all our categories. I think the more challenges for categories like formal wear, wedding outfits, you know, extremely business, you know, oriented, the suits and and dresses, stilettos, heels, you know, party wear, you know, those will have a longer period to to recover. They will need a longer period to recover. But we are again a bit lucky because work from home trend actually works in the favor of sportswear brands. And we are seeing it, you know, like people who would be wearing, you know, shirts and tie in their office while meeting, work from home, they're wearing t-shirts or collar collar polos, right? So it is working in our favor. Thankfully, I'm really fortunate to be in this industry. You know, everyone talks about omni chain, the questions that are coming through LinkedIn. And one of the questions is this whole term of digital, no physical and digital. Tell us your sense of where it is to be six to 12 months from now. Like I said, in the terms of omni channel, I think there has to be a very strong integration between all channels. And the channel here means offline online commerce channels, which is retail and e-commerce, also in terms of how people are using their social media. So all kinds of their dot com and that needs to be integrated to deliver customer experience. I have always believed in that to happen, like consumers are already on the channel, let's face it, or digital consumers today, or in the past also, they would review a product somewhere else, read the review somewhere else, buy somewhere else, want to return somewhere else. And and and we as brands have the responsibility to tie this up and make it more convenient for the consumer. So yeah, to the point on digital or or or integration of platforms, one needs to have the right vision and operations to be able to do that. You, you know, Prabhupada Chakraborty is asking, what is the impact it will have on pricing of your products? Well, will have any impact on the pricing of your products or those products that compete with you? I think again, it's a it's a very interesting question. But the way I tackle this at work is the following. Right now, consumers are not actually expecting prices or discount. Consumers are expecting that on in stores, when they go and they want something, they should feel safe. So our first objective right now is that they should feel safe when they when they go to stores and it is it might sound easy on some of the 10 things or 15 things that we need to do. But it is very repetitive and hence very difficult to implement. And we are focusing all energies into ensuring that our stores are extremely safe. Second thing consumers are expecting online is a wide range of catalog for them to choose from because they did not have the opportunity to buy in the past. And that's what we are doing. They're also expecting our warehouse to be safe, you know, delivery is the packages for e-commerce to be safe. So we are working on it. I think at some stage, when things I think two months down the line, the question of price will emerge and become more relevant. When out and out people will again come out in stores or shop have the entire gumption to buy online. And that's that time I believe that all of us brands have to look at consumers expectations. And given that, you know, in a lot of cases, people have had to take pay cuts, there have been salary freezes, people have lost jobs, we might have to be realistic with regards to offering our price for at least certain months in the year or for few months in the year. But at this stage, as I said, the focus is not to just open stores and offer, you know, better prices. Thank you so much. Ashish Agarwal wants to know, considering many people will be working out from home, is it possible for any new innovation targeting better usage during home workouts? And second, Advaita Kullekar from Pune asked what is the future of athletic leisure we are according to you. You already talked about it, but these questions are some relations. Home fitness, you know, workout from home, look at the number of people who are getting into it. And we have all the right products for it already. You know, for women, we have something which is when they want to do yoga, pilates, or a more active workout, we have the right products for it. I think we have the products in place always. And I think with more and more consumers joining the fitness bandwagon, probably is a blessing in disguise from COVID standpoint. I think even when COVID will go, I hope these people continue their fitness journey. That's on fitness. And I think that trend is very, very visible. And that's happening all across in smaller towns as well, in different age groups as well. And we can see, we can happy have the data to see that. The second thing is on on athletic leisure. I think that's a that's a global trend. You know, today, people are, they know that sports inspired apparel for leisure wear is extremely the most stylish and fashionable thing around. So whether it is airport looks, or whether it is going out with friends, or whether it is going to office. Now, a lot of people use athletic leisure, their sneakers. And that's a that's a global passion trend. And, and people are moving out from more constricted, defined, formal way, and and very more sports inspired products. So across the board, if all people want to today, you know, to go out and meet their friends or step out for a spin in the car, they're all wearing athletic leisure. And I think that's a that's a very, very interesting fashion trend. Thank you. I didn't want to take these names. But you know, I think, you know, life is about abundance. It's also good I was saying that Sketchup is growing very fast in India. There are also good chances that fast track brand could come up with cool sportswear. How is Puma dealing with the competition that it is facing? For example, under our mind, white craft, new balance, etc, etc. We are very happy with competition, as long as we are the number one brand. So the competition is always welcome. Last year, we had our revenues of 1400 14 crores, making us by far the largest brand in sports. And, and, and some of these competition brands have been doing well as well. And I think which is good for the category, I believe more the merrier in the world of sports, because we would want sports and fitness to be endorsed and athletic leisure trend to be endorsed more by Indians. And the more the number of brands who, you know, make this more popular, the better. So we don't mind competition at all at all. I mean, as long as we are the number one. Thank you. I hope you answered almost all questions in some form and shape. There's only one question, sort of more than another follow up question. As you said, there will be more focus on sustainability. What will be the change in Puma's sustainability strategy, using sustainability in your consumer communication? Well, I think the last point is very relevant of this question. But as far as customer sustainability is concerned, this has been inherent to our brand. I'll give you an example. When we started having a mission for sustainability, we in 2015, we had a goal where we said that this much percentage of our fabric needs to come from sustainable sources. And, and that time we were around 20 22%. We are already reaching by 20. The target that is set for ourselves in 2020, we beat that in 2018. So a large part almost 90% of our fabrics are coming from sustainable sources. We've also done a tie up with first mile, which is basically making a footwear of our accessories out of out of plastics. And that's a process in which you know, the plastic is converted into a fabric and then a yarn, which is converted into a fabric, and then made into products. So we really, really believe in this that you know, we need to reduce our impact on the world on the planet. And as a global brand, we will always do that on in terms of communication, I think it's very important, because we also realize the good thing here is that the young consumers today value sustainability, much more than the older generation did. And, and the concern for the planet has only become stronger. So I think it's very important for us to communicate what we are doing for our consumers to know, or also to inspire the entire ecosystem of fashion and retail around sustainability. Thank you. I want to add to three questions and we'll take some more questions, three more questions that come up. You know, how does the, you know, more and more billionaires are accessing content through digital channels, whether it's YouTube, whether it's social media, whether it's TikTok, whatever. How does the marketing with so much change going forward? We talked about the OmniChannel strategy. We talked about physical, we talked about how consumers are doing different pieces in different touch and access. So how does it impact your marketing strategy? Well, thankfully, we don't need to change this strategy, because we were always digital. Digital first has been something in our media mix, in our content plan, in our campaign planning, for the longest of the time. I remember when, you know, in 2010, or 2010 is when we did our first Facebook campaign around engagement, like that back. And now, of course, Instagram is a very, very important media platform for us. Also, we work very closely with Google, and also with the e-commerce platforms and treat them like media channels and not just commerce channels. So e-commerce sorry, digital is extremely important for us in marketing. It has always been the case. If you even look at our tie-ups with some of the celebrities, our partnership with Virat Kohli, or Karina Kapoor, or Sara Ali Khan, or K.L. Rahul, or Mary Kom, all of this we have activated, you know, the common mission that we have through digital platforms, through social media platforms. So it has always been the case. And I think one of our strongest, one of our key reasons to be successful in India is to have endorsed this quick and having having made success out of it. So as a brand, we feel that we are content creators. We also believe that our influencers and our our ambassadors are content creators themselves. And one needs the art of content creating, and needs to use that with the science of media selection. So some marketing because of content creation and married with the science selection. I like so. So I think, I think that's something that we've always believed in and has been successful. We're going to continue that and make ourselves sharper on this front. Abhishek, if we talk to you a year from now, what do you foresee you are doing in the next 12 months? Give us a realistic peek into the future. It may or may come alive 100% of what you think it may be close to it. But tell us how do you see the next 12 months? Is it my wish? Or is it my realism? I think they have to marry themselves at some, they have to have a confluence at some point, otherwise you'd be a dissatisfied man. Well, one year down the line, I want to achieve as a company the same levels of ambition and aggression that we had six months back. And that means a lot because that means a lot has to happen in the period. And most important thing that has to happen in this period is that as a company, we need to stay strong and a company needs to survive with minimal injury. So the next six months is going to be treated in a very different manner. And then I'm hoping that the man that humankind will solve for itself, the challenge that we are all encountering today. And by spring summer next year, the world is getting back to normal. And we are back to our old ways. And that's the time that we would slowly start recouping the business, getting the business back, have the same kind of aggression, like I said, till then it is about sustenance, till then it is about strength, till then it is about hope. And till then it is about togetherness with the 3200 people that we have. Fantastic. I want to ask one more question. You said that in the first few days, you know, it was personally challenging for you. For example, I've said this before, the first three, four days I felt lost, you know, I felt that, you know, that, you know, what will happen to our business. And I was very unsure if I may have to use one. And then I gathered myself and we are doing what we are doing, we are pivoting literally, they're becoming video, we're doing virtual events and we are in a better place than we ever were, in terms of our audiences and the kind of content we are creating, and with the regularity with which we are creating. So in some way, COVID has forced us to transform, to change, to adapt whatever, tell us, Abhishek, in the first one week, what was the emotion as an individual and as a leader? As you know, that being a leader is a lonely job, you know, what you feel only you can feel. I don't think it can be transferred and shared in the entirety with someone. It can be shared in bits and past with people who understand what you're going through. But tell us, what was your mindset in the first few days? Well, personally, I will first address this personally, and then, you know, as my leadership role. I think personally, I went through a lot, because I also lost my father during this time. So was very challenging. I lost him end of March, and this was during the lockdown. So I think initially, I was grappling with, you know, personal grief on that front. And then all of this was happening together. So I think I had, I did have quite a bit of challenge. And given, you know, the role of my father in my life, I think I felt, you know, in a lot of despair. And then I started coming out of this. And as the same time I had to address the situation that we were in, I would say that I've only got stronger. And this is not just for the sake of saying it, I really believe it. And my mindset got strong. I think for the first time in my life, I deal with something I was completely not prepared for. And as far as my leadership is concerned, I think one thing I've done is to communicate with the team, share with the team very openly and very transparently, you know, yes, it's a lonely job, because a lot of times we hold things to ourselves. I have bared the company's financials to the company's approach to my team to why we need to do something. Why we are not opening stores right now. Again, why do we need to really conserve cash and putting it there in front of everyone. And I think to your point on leadership loneliness, I think I'm again, I feel lucky because I really have a team who with whom there is nothing which is hidden. And that really helps. So I've been able to share my challenges with the team. And they well, you know, it's they get it and they understand it and which is which is fantastic, because everyone in the company knows the state of business, and my state of mind and is no different from theirs. Thank you. We may God give you strength and, you know, fathers are like like how you and two of my friends lost the father, who is also your teacher and my teacher after beat them sick. And you know, you know, I feel that lot, but father is very personal. Coming back to a professional question, you know, that we last one he's asking this question, I'll put it to you. How many is your product come from China with the with India? Well, more from India than China, one will be very surprised about that. Because you have had a very strong India sourcing, especially in a parallel or a parallel in India, as a lot of us know, is of global standard. And we have had for the years together, a very strong sourcing structure in India. Also, in some of the entry price for a footwear flip flop sandals are made in India. As a company, we have had a very diversified sourcing strategy. And hence, a lot of our products are also manufactured in ASEAN. Example in Vietnam is one of our very, very, you know, important sourcing basis. So no, we're not overly dependent on one particular country far from it. Okay. Okay. Now, there's also Ashish Agrawal asking another question, outdoor activities and going out will reduce for quite some time. It will lead to less wear and tear of shoes and other fitness products. What's your outlook for sales decline for category? And for Puma in the second half of the year? There are apparels growing and I'm sure it will grow faster because you know, like work from home, you know, home fitness, these are the two trends which will drive our apparel business also for our fitness related footwear. People are consuming that as well because even at home, people need to have the right footwear to work out. You can't work out bare feet unless you're probably doing yoga and very few fitness forms allow you to work out bare feet. So there is attraction, even if that's indoors. Yes, there will be an impact of people not moving outdoors for quite some time. How much does that mean in the business is very difficult to know. So I don't know how much of our revenues will fall from last year. We wanted to grow by 25%. That's that that ambition is is is kept kept at bay for the moment. We don't know how much it will go down to but I know that you know, thankfully in our category, we won't deplete too much, you know, we won't deplete and become 60% of our business. We will we'll definitely go down on last year. Very difficult to predict sitting here today in in June. How much this number will be and there are a she says another follow up question for people in traditional marketing career like brands market research. What's the most important new school skill one should learn? Well, I said that, which I believe in the art and science of marketing, I think marketing will continue to be a lot on the art side, which I meant is the content and the campaign side. It will continue to be creative. But I think the way people today, brands will engage, engage the audience. The target audience will be very different. So I think looking at new ways of new age ways of doing campaigns on the creative front and content creation, this is one area. The other is the, you know, the science of marketing, which requires understanding of what we all call performance marketing, which is, you know, when when you put in a dollar, how much return do you get in? And this is all digital platforms, it's very clear. So this is the choice of media and understanding understanding platform. So for example, you know, people have to understand the Google Google platform very well. And how do you, you know, whether it is display or whether it is search. And these are the skills which will which will become very, very handy in future. Thank you, there is a comment from Prabhal Chikarwalti truly enjoyed Abhishek's authenticity. I want to take one more question specific to marketing and branding is how Vinesh Vijayam is asking, how far will Puma's marketing budgets across media platform be impacted due to current scenario, where there'll be a cut or it will stay the same? Well, we're hoping that next year, when we are back to our ambitious ways, you know, whatever we are targeting, we had targeted for this year, we'll do next year. So we are holding back on a lot of our some of the campaigns that we wanted to do a lot of the sporting events are also getting shifted to next year. And we're holding back on some of our marketing campaigns, a lot of our marketing campaigns for next year. And because you know, we will get back to ambition again next year. This year, however, we will continue to engage with our consumers. While demand is down, it's very important for us to be in the minds of our consumers and and and stand by what we need to stand by as a brand. So we're doing a lot, you know, on relevant content, like work, you know, like work from home, home fitness, a lot of our brand ambassadors are posting videos around that we're doing campaigns and challenges and user generated content around that. So even this year, we'll continue the engagement in the most relevant manner possible for this year. Thank you. There is also one question coming from Riyaz Khan. Apart from survival, what are the steps you would take to put to increase your top line in borderline? He's written a bit, but I'm not playing. Well, one needs to look at one's cost of doing business which is operating expenses extremely strongly. And one needs to it's a year where one needs to become extremely conscious of that. So revenue and demand is not always in one one's hand given the situation. So one can only focus and maximize the opportunity. So how can one focus on maximizing revenue, you know, one needs to increase the presence in digital platforms on e-commerce, one needs to have very strict health and safety guidelines in the stores when they reopen so that consumers feel safe when they come. One needs to follow customer trends and accordingly merchandise the stores. And these are the ways to maximize sales. In terms of in terms of operating costs, one needs to think twice over before spending the dollar. So all plaid, this is the year to cut the flap, get bare minimum what is required. And I think in the process again, a silver lining one might learn ways to do businesses in future also in a far more efficient manner. Which means that, you know, you cut you do the same business with much later lesser operating expenses. It's a time to think, you know, do we really need it is the question. If we didn't have it, what will be the impact? What will be a short term impact? Will there be a long term impact on the business? Beautiful way to simple way to sort of more that is again commenting really enjoyed your interview. I like the optimism and authenticity of you. Even in such a crisis, I gained a lot of positive energy from this program, especially being in the textile industry. Another related question, which I didn't ask, they said, will you ever make face masks? Are you getting into face masks? We've already launched face masks, because we also realized that there is a shortage of availability and distribution. So we've already launched as of last week, we had to be quick. We launched the face mask, and it seems like the face mask is going to be here to here to stay. So we are trying to make that portfolio interesting and more wider, which we will launch in the next month. So yeah, we've already launched it. This is going to be a reality for some time. And not for commercial reasons, to be honest, because you're also, you know, a part of that sales is going through certain CSR activities. So it's not a profit driven initiative. But it is more of making things available from our My last question to you, Abhishek, we are at 528. Is that you've outlined your professional goals one year from now. Tell me, where do you see the economy six months to 12 months from now, overall economy, especially in context of demand, overall demand, the sentiment, because it will depend on whether we get a vaccine soon, how last the next, you know, how tough are the next two months, I know these two are big variables. But broadly, where do you see? I think the economy will definitely be under pressure for the next one year. If we are lucky, it might take a couple of years. The earlier we solve for it, the earlier we all feel confident to go out and get back to our normal ways, as normal as possible. I think the lesser will be the hit on the economy. I think the government has has its task cut out. It needs to focus on certain sectors, much more than before. I'm a firm believer that manufacturing is India's opportunity in various segments, including the segment I am in. And we haven't done much from an international market standpoint. People are looking at alternative sourcing countries. And India is a great prospect on that. So there are certain, you know, ways in which economy can really be bolstered and and jobs can can God can be got back the jobs that people lost in the process. So a lot needs in can be done. I'm also I that's on one side. The other side, I feel that India is a very resilient country. And the fundamentals of our country is very, very strong from a future standpoint, I mentioned one in the conversation about 25% of Indians being below, sorry, 50% of the Indians being below 25. That's a huge opportunity for India. So in the, in, in, in, I think, once the sentiment is back, if today, somebody had to put money in a country, right, just think in terms of a global, you know, investor, India will rank in the top two, three countries that they would like to put money in. So money will come back to India. I think it is about the government to create the right, you know, environment and policy for this infrastructure, infrastructure for it. But otherwise, I'm extremely optimistic, not for the sake of being optimistic. But I can tell you that I believe the fundamentals of the country is very, very strong from a future standpoint. And that will happen. We're very resilient as a, as a, as a, as a, as a community, as a community is very, very resilient. And you will see that, you know, we will, it will not take long. All these people who are today talking extremely negative and positive, just when we will see one thing which will help, which will make us believe in the future, we will all start, you know, polarizing ourselves towards that direction. Thank you, Abhishek. Just before I go, I want you for your final word. What is the advice you have for leaders or CXO, for people tuned in so that they can make themselves relevant for the future? Is there an advice that you would like to give to all our viewers who are logged in? How do you stay relevant as you go forward? Because the world is there is a new abnormal. I don't call it the normal. I call it the new abnormal. How do you make sure that you survive as the world has changed? Not only survive, but try. Well, advice is sometimes very difficult to give because everyone's context is different. But if I had to say something which I firmly believe in is empathy is a very important business. And more than ever before, empathy is extremely important, whether it is leadership, whether it is the way in which you have your company's purpose laid out. Empathy is is very, very important and element. So that's one thing that I would say. The second thing is that hope is such an important world today. And we need to stay very hopeful and believe that humankind will solve for itself, just like we could not imagine how we got into this. We can't imagine today how we will get out of it, right? So all these projections sometimes are too scientific than what is nature's way of doing things. Thank you Abhishek. I can't let you go without asking this question. I'm a big movie buff. Okay, I don't, unluckily, you know, I haven't watched enough movies I'm working to, which is great, you know, I love what I'm doing. But, you know, I'm sure you watched Jerry McQuire, right? I don't watch movies. I don't watch movies. So I don't watch movies. And that's a criticism that everyone in the family But have you watched Jerry McQuire? I honestly, I'm telling you, I just don't watch movies. And that's, that's a real, in some ways, you must watch Jerry McQuire. I'm sure you read about Tom Cruise. It sometimes lands me in very awkward situation in social settings, that people are only talking about about movies. Sporting background. So those are the movies I'll send your list. If you watch them, I promise you will enjoy it. Sports oriented movies is the best movie I can get to. You can start with Jerry McQuire. I don't think you'll regret it's a lovely movie. But then I'll change I was gonna. So what is tell me a favorite sporting event or the climax in a match, whether in soccer or cricket, that is your number one, you know, I'm sure it's difficult for people who love sports to choose between one match and another match. But you know, what's your number one? I was, I was, you know, I have, I was very, very young that time, they just growing up. And I've watched Maradona win the World Cup for Argentina. And I was honestly, I was at that time, just eight year old. And, and in a very small town called Bhaagalpur, you know, Okay, okay. So yeah. So I belong to that small town and and that time sports, what the maximum sports you do is is is play cricket. But thankfully, Dur Darshan, which was the only channel would would have, you know, the Wimbledon's the French over all the Grand Slams, you have all the FIFA World Cups. And I that I really remember that watching Maradona and people talk about hand of God, I remember that moment, you know, as an eight year old child in a small town. So hand of God and that game and then, you know, the, the goals he scored, the one which he scored single handedly is etched in my memory, extremely inspirational, very, very fortunate to have met Maradona because Maradona endorsed Puma and I've met him in Germany, more than twice. I mean, my fan moments, my other fan moments related to inspiration is of course, Mr. Usain Bolt. And, and what he did, you know, having, of course, I did, I never watched him live, but he came to India and he did an event with him in, in Chindaswamy stadium. And, and, and to, it was not like a proper sporting event, but he played cricket, by the way, because he's a Jamaican. And we made him play cricket with Yubi and Bhaji and all these guys. He enjoyed it. And just the aura of the man and is is fantastic. So I can think of two of these. And if you wanted, he'd be outside the boundary faster than the boss. I mean, outstanding personality, so inspirational. You know, when you were watching Diego Maradona and all, you know, my favorite footballers were Mako and Bastin, Ruth Gillard, Frank Ricard, you know, those, I don't know, my son was like, you know, I'm older than you. So you know, you know, I go back. I mean, I mean, for example, I ask people who's really Nasta say, they don't know who's really Nasta saying it, it's me. I'm also a quiz. So I tend to, but my favorite is the Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, tennis match. I don't think that, that final is my, you know, and I grew up watching Stefan at buggy wall and the Natswell. And, you know, that's the kind of the cool sweets who just won't get angry. You know, so anyway, one of these days, I must take a dig at you because I don't remember Jimmy Connors and no problem. You were so young before me. No problem. You were these are tennis, just these are tennis players so that you don't get it wrong. But I mean, but Matt Philander, Boris Becker, Stefan and Lendl and their entire, you know, before Sampras came and it's an amazing time to have, you know, Roger Federer, Joe Covey, I mean, to have players who are playing for such a long time and continue to perform and having three fourth players is just, it is a miracle, you know, this new, you know, have three, four players who are so consistent and they look forward to playing each other and kind of the sports is about being better than yourself every day, every hour. So good, Abhishek, good to talk to you about brands, business, Puma, COVID and sports. I look forward to having another conversation soon again with you. And I hope you watch the movie by then. I'm going to send you my recommendation tonight of the movies I've watched. And I promise you won't regret that. We wish you luck in your mission to keep Puma business strong and drawing and to make sure that the Puma brand is even more relevant to its GG. We wish you luck in looking after the 3000 odd colleagues you have. And I look forward to another conversation with you soon. Thank you. God bless you. Good evening. Thank you. Thanks a lot. Thank you.