Is this the beginning of major shoe companies realizing that skateboarding won't be the cash cow that they thought it would?
Skateboarders are fickle. We want something that looks good, skates good and has the proper people backing the program. That's why Nike worked so well and why Adidas has had such an impact. They both got your favorite pros favorite skaters on their teams by giving them shitloads of $$. It's actually quite simple.
I'm sure they compensated their team well and those that were getting paid by PUMA are able to afford nice things for their families, which is great. Is it NIKE or Adidas money? Not even close.
I think PUMA never really understood skateboarding and accepted that they had to pay the extra $$ to get the right dudes on their program. It's money that they don't have in their "action sports program" budget.
That's what this all comes down to, the almighty dollar.