ANTA vs Nike

Anta Sports completes Puma stake acquisition, becomes largest shareholder

Chinese sportswear giant Anta Sports has finalized the acquisition of a 29.06% stake in Puma from Groupe Artémis for approximately €1.5 billion (nearly $1.7 billion). This makes Anta the largest shareholder in Puma. Anta will seek representation on Puma's supervisory board but has no plans for a full takeover. The deal, first announced in January, comes as Puma undergoes a turnaround with recent leadership changes and layoffs. Anta's chairman expressed confidence in Puma's management and strategic transformation, aiming to support its growth while respecting its independence.

• Anta Sports completed acquisition of 29.06% stake in Puma from Groupe Artémis for ~€1.5 billion (~$1.7 billion).
• Anta becomes largest shareholder in Puma.
• Anta will seek representation on Puma's supervisory board; no takeover offer planned.

ANTA Labor Day Sale: Save Up to 50% on Select Shoes

Refresh your rotation this Labor Day with savings across basketball, running, and lifestyle footwear. From September 4 through September 15, there are two simple ways to make the most of the ANTA Labor Day Sale.

Veritas Expands Anti-Counterfeit Chip to Jewelry, Trophies, Fragrance Bottles

Veritas, a startup founded by former Tesla technical product manager Luci Holland, has introduced the second generation of its anti-counterfeit chip. The new chip works on metal surfaces and can be scanned through glass, expanding its use to jewelry, trophies, hard-surface products, and fragrance bottles. The chip generates a secure response with each tap and includes a tamper-detection wire, making it harder to counterfeit than QR codes or static NFC tags. Veritas announced a partnership with ATHLOS, a women's track-and-field competition founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, to embed chips in championship crowns. The company has raised $1.75 million in pre-seed funding led by Seven Seven Six, with participation from Stanley Tang, Gloria Zhu, and Josh Constine. Veritas also showcased a chip embedded in a pair of LeBron James' first Nike shoes.

• Veritas introduced the second version of its anti-counterfeit chip, which works on metal surfaces and can be scanned through glass.
• The chip is designed for jewelry, trophies, hard-surface products, and glass objects such as fragrance bottles.
• Veritas partnered with ATHLOS, a women's track-and-field competition founded by Alexis Ohanian, to embed chips in championship crowns.

Experiential Marketing Judge Urges Brands to Measure Emotion, Not Footfall

Keziah Wildsmith, founder and CEO of Heaps + Stacks, a London-based brand experience agency, argues that a queue outside an event is not the same as an engaged audience. In her role as a judge at The Drum Awards Festival, she emphasizes that counting attendees is easy but measuring emotional impact is what truly matters. She advises brands to focus on creating memorable, participatory experiences rather than flashy gimmicks. Wildsmith highlights the importance of authenticity, personality, and human creativity, noting that AI can assist with admin but cannot replace the human touch. She recommends investing in experiential marketing for 2026, meeting audiences where they already gather, and integrating events with broader brand strategy.

• Keziah Wildsmith is founder and CEO of Heaps + Stacks.
• Heaps + Stacks has grown to a team of 50 over nine years.
• Clients include Nike, L'Oréal, Spotify, LVMH and The Estée Lauder Companies.

Brand Measurement Needs a New Source of Truth

The article argues that traditional brand measurement, relying on surveys and panels from firms like Kantar, Ipsos, and NielsenIQ, suffers from information loss and unreliable human responses. It proposes augmenting these metrics with real-world behavioral signals, such as consumer search data, social media sentiment, e-commerce interactions, and even AI discovery responses. The author describes a model that uses AI to analyze unstructured data in real time, providing mental availability, perception, and commercial power metrics. An example client campaign shows how these augmented metrics provide near-real-time feedback, making brand budgets defensible sooner. The article concludes that brand measurement should move towards a multisource approach, integrating both traditional surveys and new AI-driven signals.

• Article published on MARTECH on October 8, 2026.
• Traditional brand measurement relies on firms like Kantar, Ipsos, and NielsenIQ using surveys.
• The article proposes augmenting brand metrics with AI-driven behavioral signals, such as search data, social sentiment, and e-commerce interactions.