Francois-Henri Pinault's Puma: a Bolt from the blue He says he couldn't put a figure on that publicity, but hopes that London 2012 will be the catalyst to complete the transformation of Puma from being a sports and trainers company into a major global lifestyle brand. Being at the Olympics, being seen in the eyes of billions of people, no other brand can afford that apart from sportswear brands. It is a huge advantage for a lifestyle brand to be seen by 3bn people and it enhances the visibility of the brand, the legitimacy of the brand. He says he is relaxed about Bolt not winning, or worse, not making the final. All the Jamaican athletes are amazing. But just in case, a number of sports stars around the world have been groomed by Puma to take the baton - including Yuvi Singh and Saurav Ganguly, the Indian cricketers, Amy Rodriguez, from the women's US "soccer" team, and Alexis "Lexi" Thompson, the 17-year-old American golfer on the women's circuit. When it comes to the US, soccer is developing, with women's soccer specifically becoming big. The target for Puma in 2015 is for turnover to reach €4bn, and we won't stop. The brand has the potential to be so much bigger. Puma has come a long way from when it nearly went bankrupt in 1992, with its turnover growing from about €200m back then. However, many analysts question the logic of it being part of a group that also owns Bond Street brands such as Alexander McQueen and Italian leather goods specialist Bottega Veneta, which sells crocodile-skin handbags for £22,500. Eva Quiroga, analyst at UBS, said: "Would I rather see them as a pure luxury play? But looking back at their history, you can tell they are not happy standing on one leg. They like to spread themselves wide. Mr Pinault says that though PPR's two divisions are kept separate, it makes sense for sportswear and luxury goods to be part of the same group, especially one that wants to become far more international. Adaption to local markets is low. You can grow internationally very fast. A running shoe in New York is the same as in Shanghai. A luxury handbag in New York is the same as in Shanghai. This business is much more global than it could be if it was pure fashion. About the only crossover between the two divisions is a range of expensive Puma shoes designed by the Alexander McQueen fashion house. Mr Pinault insists that the twin threats of a eurozone collapse and a slowdown in China are not major concerns. He points out that "in the luxury division, we manufacture in euros but about 75pc of our goods are sold in non-euro currencies," so the currency's weakness is helping to offset the fall in consumer confidence. Gucci has suffered a slowdown in growth in China, in what appears to be proof the days of exponentially increasing sales for expensive handbags are over. The brand grew by 37pc in mainland China last year, but that slipped to 19pc in the first quarter of this year. However, Mr Pinault says: "In China 2pc of people have bought some sort of luxury product. In mature markets like France it is 20pc. He adds: "The macroeconomics for luxury are amazing for the next 10 to 15 years. There is no doubt. Who is Francois-Henri Pinault? Francois-Henri Pinault, the world's 77th richest man with an estimated £7.15bn fortune, husband of Hollywood actress Salma Hayek, father of supermodel Linda Evangelista's child, could easily be dismissed as an uber-rich playboy who has gone around the world collecting brands and beautiful women. But analysts say he has proved himself an astute judge of markets and business opportunities - if less so when it comes to his private life. In 2005 he took over the running of PPR, his father's company in which the family owns a 40pc stake. Some doubted that he could replicate his father's phenomenal success. Pinault senior turned a timber merchants into one of France's biggest companies. But Francois-Henri has restructured the business to focus on labels - luxury goods and sportswear. Softly spoken and good tempered, he bats away questions about the court case last month which saw Evangelista demand £28,500 a month in child maintenance. He claims rather unconvincingly: "I have a regular normal private life." He is wearing a Greubel Forsey watch, which has a spinning miniature globe under its glass. How much does it cost? Oh, I don't know, it was a present from my father for my 50th birthday this month. I look it up. They retail for £325,000.