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While he likely only played a minimal part, if any, in the matter, Puma saw its third-quarter sales increase for 2020 following him joining the brand. Sales increased by just over 13% for the months of July, August and September.
The official date Ball joined Puma is unknown, but it likely came during the third quarter. The initial report of him joining the brand came from The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Aug. 26. A social media post on Instagram from Lonzo and LaMelo on Sep. 11 more or less confirmed that he was with the company and he was spotted in Boston meeting with Puma a week later. Ball wasn’t officially announced with the brand until Oct. 14.
Ball’s signing, though, was hardly the biggest deal Puma reached in the third quarter. The company agreed to a deal with one of the top soccer stars globally in Neymar. The brand also saw Kyle Kuzma, one of its more well-known basketball stars, make a playoff run before eventually winning a title.
Ultimately, no singular athlete or even group likely had as much of an impact on sales as countries opening back up following the nearly universal shutdown for the coronavirus. With Ball’s collaboration with the company coming on Nov. 18, the fourth quarter numbers might be able to better indicate what type of impact Ball can have financially on a company.
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