Puma is facing an exciting change in leadership. Arthur Hoeld, who until last year was Head of Sales at Adidas $ADS (-0,28 %) will take over as the new Managing Director on July 1. He succeeds Arne Freundt, who is leaving the company. Matthias Bäumer, previously responsible for the team sports division, will be appointed to the Executive Board as Head of Sales with retroactive effect from April 1. Heloise Temple-Boyer, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board, is convinced that Hoeld will lead the company into a new phase of growth with his strategic vision and clear focus on the Puma brand. His aim is to focus the brand more strongly on "authenticity in sport". However, his time at Adidas was not without controversy, ending abruptly and resulting in a severance payment of 4.4 million euros.
In the USA, President Donald Trump's announcement caused massive turbulence on the markets. The Japanese Nikkei share index recorded a dramatic fall of over four percent on Thursday morning, sending it to an eight-month low. This development is closely linked to Trump's plans to impose new counter-tariffs on Japanese goods, which include a 24% tariff burden. In early trading, the Nikkei fell by as much as 4.6 percent and traded at 34,102.00 points for the first time since August 7. The broader Topix also followed this downward trend and lost up to 4.3 percent. In the midst of this uncertainty and market instability, the price of gold rose to a record high, as investors often turn to gold as a safe haven in times of crisis.
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