Adidas bucks the trend to go big on physical retail space

TO SAY that Petr Stastny is passionate about all things sports is an understatement. The country manager of Adidas Singapore, who moved to the Lion City a decade ago, is a former competitive basketball and beach volleyball player. He also has experience as an open water diver, ski instructor and sky diver.

These days, the father-of-2 enjoys going for HIIT (high-intensity, interval training) classes, playing beach volleyball with friends, and cycling to and from his office at Funan in North Bridge Road twice a week.

Stastny moved to Singapore in 2012 as a senior manager with Adidas Asia, and took on his current role in 2019.

It's been a hectic start to the new year for him and his team, with Adidas recently opening its first brand centre here - a 3-storey store called "Homeground" at Knightsbridge along Orchard Road. Billed as the country's "largest mono-brand retail sports destination", the brand centre features shoes and apparel unique to South-east Asia, with some items only available in Singapore.

BT Weekend caught up with Stastny during a media tour of the new store, and he spoke about the impact of the pandemic on the business, the company's approach to sustainability, and why exercise and fitness is an integral part of his life. This is an edited excerpt of the conversation.

When so many brands are closing their physical stores for one reason or another, Adidas has bucked that trend and opened a 3-storey centre in the heart of Orchard Road. What's the thinking behind this?

We have always wanted to do more to elevate the whole consumer experience, and this is it - a 'top of the top' location with a street view, a great facade, and the ability to really connect with consumers in the best possible way.

We believe that both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores should co-exist. Online is here to stay, but there are those who need to have the touch-and-feel of the products, to try them on and see what you like best.

Online is, of course, very important to us because that channel is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. But to have this credibility and an emotional connection with the customer, you can only have it from this strong physical presence.

From what I see at this store alone, there are many messages on sustainability and climate change. What's the company's approach to sustainability?

Sustainability is the most important thing for us. And it's not something that we started just yesterday - this effort has been a part of us for the past 2 decades.

We've got a sustainability wall at the brand centre, which is inspired by the coastline of the Singapore River and made with layers of crafted reclaimed wood. Today, 6 out of every 10 of our products are made from sustainable materials, and we aim to increase this to 9 out of 10 by 2025. And by 2024, we will not be using virgin polyester anymore. Instead, we will only use recycled polyester in every product.

How challenging was the last 2 years for the company during this ongoing pandemic?

I will not lie, we had a really tough time. Our stores had to close, we could not trade, people were stuck at home and they could not do their regular activities, especially in 2020. So yes, it was difficult and that's why the entire company and the brand pivoted towards e-commerce.

We have noticed that consumers have started to become more health-conscious during the pandemic. We ran a survey of over 1,000 people last year and released the findings in December. Half of them said they were able to maintain or increase their fitness activities, and half said they took the chance to try new fitness activities or sports during lockdown. We want to come out of the pandemic with a positive attitude and to try and help our consumers get to where they want in terms of their health and wellness.

What's your fitness routine like these days?

I love sports, and it's my personal mission to positively spread this message, make people move more, and give people the right equipment to do this. That's why this doesn't really feel like a job to me. It's an intersection of my beliefs and what I love doing.

I try to stay as active as possible. I do HIIT workouts, play beach volleyball at Sentosa or East Coast Park, or sometimes I just enjoy going to the park and hanging on one of the exercise bars. I exercise because it helps me to relax.

I definitely didn't go slower during the pandemic - if anything, I accelerated my fitness regimen. Exercise is the one thing that nobody can take away from you - you can exercise at home, or go for a run outside or jump on a bicycle. Exercise recharges me and keeps me going.