120. Driving E-Commerce Growth at Puma with Christopher Baird

Welcome to another episode of Mastering eCommerce Marketing with our host, Eitan Koter. In today’s episode, Eitan sits down with Christopher Baird, who plays a key role in the global eCommerce team at Puma. Christopher has a wealth of experience managing eCommerce operations in various regions, including South Africa, where he successfully launched Puma’s digital commerce platform just before the pandemic.

In this episode, Christopher talks about the unexpected growth Puma saw when they launched their South Africa eCommerce site and how they quickly adapted to the challenges of balancing supply chains, forecasting, and managing customer demand during such an uncertain time. He also shares his thoughts on how Puma has been using data analytics and AI to get a better understanding of their customers, optimize their operations, and improve profitability.

Christopher explains how Puma has embraced omni-channel strategies and worked closely with brick-and-mortar partners, online marketplaces, and third-party platforms to grow their business. He also touches on the importance of product inventory management and how the company is staying agile in a fast-changing retail environment.

If you’re interested in how data, customer experience, and smart business decisions come together to grow an eCommerce operation, this episode is a great listen. So, sit back and enjoy this conversation between Eitan and Christopher Baird.

Website: https://www.vimmi.net

Email us: info@vimmi.net

Podcast website: https://vimmi.net/mastering-ecommerce-marketing/

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LinkedIn Eitan Koter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eitankoter/

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Guest: Christopher Baird, Head of Ecommerce South Africa at PUMA Group 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-john-baird/

PUMA Group: https://about.puma.com/en

Watch the full Youtube video here:

https://youtu.be/JwMOT2M64ss

Takeaways:

• Agility and adaptation are crucial in the face of unexpected growth and challenges.
• Understanding customer data and leveraging it can drive client lifetime value and loyalty.
• Finding the right partners is essential for a global consumer intelligence platform.
• Operational efficiency and product inventory management are key factors in e-commerce success.
• Balancing profitability and investment is important in the early stages of e-commerce.

Chapters

00:00 Launch of Puma e-commerce in South Africa

03:13 Adapting to COVID-19 and Unexpected Growth

09:14 Focus on Client Lifetime Value and Loyalty

11:04 Data Analytics and Insights Intelligence Platform

15:03 Operational Efficiency and Inventory Management

20:19 Balancing Profitability and Investment