24 sportswear international india I ending january 2013 I facts I report

VERY SOCIABLE, VERY SUSTAINABLEFOCUSING ON ‘RE’ − RECYCLE, RE-USE, RENEWABLE; THE NEW PUMA STORE IN BANGALORE IS A WATERSHED IN THE INDIAN FASHION RETAIL... BY SHWETA JAIN

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>In May 2010, PUMA team from India won

the first prize at the Global PPR Innovation

& Sustainable Development Awards, for its

ambitious and crucially important project, to

build an energy efficient and eco-designed

store in India. As a result of this, PUMA’s

first sustainable store was planned and it

materialised in Bangalore. Rajiv Mehta, MD,

PUMA India, talks to SII about how they

accomplished it.

Why did PUMA plan a sustainable store?

Establishing a sustainable PUMA Store

underlines our commitment to reduce

carbon-di-oxide emissions, waste, and use

of energy and water in PUMA offices, stores,

warehouses and direct supplier factories

by 2015. After winning the award, the 316

sq. m. store was conceived by PUMA India

in collaboration with the PUMA EEMEA

(Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa)

regional office. It incorporates the elements

of sustainability through innovative design,

mechanical and electrical installations and

material selections.

What’s the colour theme of the store?

It’s grey and red.

Are you planning similar futuristic stores in

other cities?

The Indiranagar store is a pilot for PUMA

globally. The learning we get from this will

be aggressively utilised in future stores

for sure. Eventually, the plan is to build

more such stores. However, there are

no immediate plans for the next store

as it takes time and planning to ensure

compliance with multiple details, in order to

construct a sustainable store.

How much energy is generated through the

solar panels?

Solar PV cells installed in this store provide

10,384 KWH units of energy per year.

Whose expertise did PUMA engage to

establish this store?

Its architecture is done by Decode Architects,

lighting and light designing is done by Light

Form Marketing, visual merchandising and

interior realisation is done in-house but the

fixtures were built by Dovetail.

Is the merchandise available in this store

consistent with other PUMA stores?

Yes, we have the same merchandise in

this store as we do in others. But we also

have two special collections - organic and

wilderness. Both of these are sustainable

lines – being fair-trade certified and

using organic cotton as well as recycled

leather in some cases.

Please throw light on the bin that is

standing in the middle of the store?

We introduced something called PUMA

Bring Me Back I:CO Programme, which

is an in-store recycling programme for

footwear, apparel and soft accessories.

It engages PUMA team members and

customers by asking them to donate used

products (which are heaped up in that bin).

This way people help divert these items

from the landfill and give them a second life

through re-use, recycling or upcycling.

Any new plans for the store on the anvil?

Yes, the third floor of the store will be used

as a café by day and as PUMA Social Club

at night. We hope to use this space as a

creative bed for all things artistic, where in

people come together to share ideas. The

décor of the café will be at the cutting edge

of upcycled interiors. This is planned for end

2012 or early 2013.

Are the installations in the store made of

recycled material? What do they convey?

To generate awareness and appreciation

for sustainability amongst the citizens of

Bangalore, PUMA has embarked upon an

ambitious initiative to involve the art and

design community. The brand has partnered

with Trapeze Design Studio as well as

young installation artists from the city to

create large-format installations using

waste material.

These will then be put up in key locations

around Bangalore city as a strong message

to highlight the glaring need to re-use,

reduce and recycle – the cornerstone

of waste minimisation strategies. The

utilitarian installations will be donated

to the Bangalore Municipality and would

remain as permanent artworks to beautify

the cityscape.

Dynamics of PUMA’s sustainable

store:

1. Old DVD players, bicycles and tiffin boxes

have been used to make the steel that

constitutes the walls.

2. Residual silt from the lakes in Kunigal,

Karnataka has been used to make the blocks

used in this building.

3. Only recycled wood has been consumed for

the store.

4. Wall paint is organic and consists of nearly

90 per cent water.

5. Air is passed through the underground air

tunnel. So the ground will be used as a heat

sink for cooling in the summer and as a heat

source for heating in the winter.

6. Under-floor air distribution system has

been used in this store. This works on the

principle that air in any particular space

needs to be cooled only for the first eight

feet from the floor because convection

currents cause hot air to rise automatically

while cool air remains.

7. Low flow plumbing fixtures have been used

in the washrooms.

8. The sun is the battery that powers this store

and more than 90 per cent of the interior

spaces in the store have direct access to

natural daylight.

9. The glass used in the building has double

glazing, which means not too much energy

is wasted in cooling it and temperature is

maintained at 24ºC.

10. Occupancy sensors in this store provide

automatic on and off control so that lights

are used only when a room is occupied.

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