What are the best ways to tell fake or genuine Puma shoes? Our illustrated guide lists the clues so you can avoid being ripped off by counterfeiters.
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The sports brand Puma was founded in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler as a shoe factory in Herzogenaurach. In the same year, the first Puma soccer shoe called “Atom” came onto the market. For marketing reasons, Puma started signing as many international competitive athletes as possible at an early stage.
Initially limited to sports shoes, Puma’s range expanded to sports clothing in the late 1960s and now also includes accessories. Among other things, Puma develops for the areas of football, running and training as well as golf and motorsport.
The Portuguese footballer Eusébio scored 42 goals with the Puma King football shoe model in 1968 and was awarded the “Golden Shoe” for best scorer in Europe for the first time. Vogts, Maradona, Völler, Matthäus and a number of other football icons also wore one of the ever-evolving King models.
Best ways to tell fake or genuine Puma shoes
At Puma, like many other branded products, there are many counterfeits on the market. How you can recognize these plagiarisms is shown below using the example of a Puma Icra trainer sneaker .
Puma label
A label is stuck on the inside of the shoe strap or tongue, on which various information can be found:
- Shoe size (in UK, EUR, US CM sizes)
- Country of Manufacture
- Factory name
- Item number
- serial number
- Barcode
- a shiny stripe on the left edge of the label
Practical tip : Googling the serial number, which can be found on the label (eg 35674134). You should see the corresponding product displayed as a result. In addition, the serial number must also be found on the shoe box.
The Puma logo
The Puma is part of the brand logo and can be found on original shoes
- on the outside next to the laces
- on the heel
- on the sole of the shoe
In the case of fraudulent fakes, the logo or the “PUMA” lettering is sometimes missing in one of the places mentioned. Also make sure that the Puma logo and lettering on the outside of the shoe and the heel are neatly printed and that it is not glued to the sole but part of the sole. Anything that looks like more unclean processing is an indication of a counterfeit.
Puma stitching
Authenticity feature of the original Puma shoes: The seams are very precise and even. The distance between the stitches is even and if seams are attached side by side, they run parallel. If the seam on the shoe is poorly sewn or there are threads, it is a fake.
Original Puma material
Since Puma subjects its materials to strict guidelines, you can often recognize an imitation by its cheap materials and poor workmanship. Forgeries, for example, have adhesive edges and often also emit a strong chemical smell.
Puma models and colors
You can recognize some fake Puma shoes by their unrealistic colors. Take a look at the official Puma homepage: All colors that are not listed for your shoe and all models or designs that are not there indicate a counterfeit product.
