Puma chief executive officer Arthur Hoeld , who took on the top job in July, told analysts on the company’s first quarter 2026 conference call on Thursday that the brand saw a “very solid start” to the year. “We’ve made significant progress this year already in our operating model, which is necessary to build the foundation for our future growth here at Puma ,” Hoeld said. “Despite the macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties, we do remain confident on our track to achieve our plans for this year and beyond.” Overall, the German sports company reported that sales in Q1 fell 1 percent, in currency-adjusted terms, to 1.86 billion euros. This was above market expectations. Analysts had expected a decline of close to 3 percent and sales of only 1.82 billion euros, which sent shares for Puma SE to gain nearly 3 percent on Thursday. Hoeld noted on the call that declines in Q1 were offset by continued clearance of inventory, while wholesale declined due to lower demand primarily in EMEA.…