I can well imagine making acquisitions so long as these are complementary to Puma and move it forward.
I call upon governments to start supporting companies to use more sustainable materials in their products instead of continuing with antiquated incentives, such as import duties on synthetic materials that are in principle much higher compared with those placed on leather goods regardless of the environmental footprint.
Walking out into the bush still feels the same as when I first came to Kenya in 1989, on the day the Berlin Wall came down.
I think South Africa has shown it can host such a big event as the World Cup, so why not hold the Olympics at some point in Africa? Maybe not just in one country but in a host of countries.
The old way of doing 'good business' was based on the principle, 'the ends justifies the means.' In the future, good business will invoke 'the means justifying the ends.' The E P&L can already serve as an important tool to help this shift in commerce from generating profits with collateral damages to profits with collateral benefits.
I'm a curious person, and I always like to test new waters, and I've always jumped into the cold water and then started to think about how to swim.
We always try to reinterpret sport in an innovative, fashionable way, and when we do fashion, we're always trying to bring our sports heritage into the fashion world.
I picked up the phone and called Herbert Hainer, the CEO of Adidas, and said, 'Well, it's Peace Day coming up. I think it's about time after 60 years to end this feud. How about doing something together?'
Look at timber prices in the late '90s, at around $50. If you count the true damage of cutting down forests, the resultant flooding, insurance claims, and so on, then the timber price should have been $100.
We decided that sports, lifestyle and fashion were three elements that could be mixed together to a very unique formula. That's what we did: make Puma a very sports-fashion brand when, at the times, everybody talked about sports and sports performance and functionality. We said, 'Well, it's about more.'
Puma was all about function and not at all about design. The founder of the company always believed functionality and performance were the only ingredients that could make Puma successful and design never mattered.
When it came to the discussion about would Harley do an electric bike, I said, 'Absolutely - this is a no-brainer.' Let's define the sound of the future.
Looking at Mount Kenya in the morning is a holistic experience. I go back at least once a year.
Unless the local community signs up, wildlife won't survive. And without wildlife, no one will visit.
Obviously, South Africa is our most important market, but we are also gradually increasing our presence throughout East and West as well as North Africa. It is a continent with a lot of potential which we plan to tap into.
Being able to dedicate 100 per cent of my time to impacting more businesses without being operational, it just gives me a bigger platform.
If we look at pricing holistically, we'll create a more solid business.
I could have bought a pristine part of Tanzania. But I saw a beautiful mountain, game that could come back, and country that could be rich again.
We're trying to find a tourism model that allows communities to thrive while business prospers.
We have to find alternative ways of producing our raw materials without asking nature to do it for us.
