PUMA today revolutionized the concept of retail spaces in
India with the opening of its first sustainable store in Indiranagar, Bangalore.
The store is locally developed, sourced out of India, and incorporates a number
of revolutionary design elements to ensure that it meets the highest criteria
for sustainability. This remarkable achievement is in keeping with PUMA’s vision
of being the most desirable and sustainable Sportlifestyle brand. Poised to be
the flagship store for PUMA in India, the store is a global first for the
brand.
Conceived by PUMA India in collaboration with the PUMA EEMEA
(Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa) Regional Office, the store is spread
over a total of 5000 sq. ft and incorporates the elements of sustainability
through innovative design, mechanical and electrical installations, and material
selections. While the lower levels will function as a retail area, ‘The PUMA
Social Club’ cafe and bar will be located on the upper floor & terrace, and
will be ready to open by the end of 2012.
“In keeping with our
vision of being the most desirable and sustainable Sportlifestyle brand, PUMA is
happy to take this giant step forward for the retail industry. The building is a
true design marvel, and incorporates a host of innovative features to make it a
one-of-a-kind store. It has been an honour to establish PUMA’s first sustainable
retail space in India,” said Rajiv Mehta, Managing Director, PUMA South Asia.
“PUMA is happy to take this pioneering step forward for the
retail industry.”, said Franz Koch, CEO of PUMA. “Establishing a sustainable
PUMA Store underlines our commitment to reduce CO2 emissions, energy, water and
waste in PUMA offices, stores, warehouses and direct supplier factories by
2015.”
The closed and open surface layout of the building is
designed for optimal daylight usage (so less artificial light is used) &
heat insulation, and the recessed first & second floor volume generates a
stack-effect for natural cooling. The highly insulated building shell, Earth Air
Tunnel for pre-cooling of the fresh air supply and roof extractors optimize the
stack-effect, thus allowing for AC free cooling. The store ensures customer
comfort with no extra energy consumption. Solar PV cells have also been
installed at the store, which provide 10,384 kwh units of energy a year to help
power the store’s energy requirements. Moreover, the porotherm blocks used to
construct the shell of the building have been made using silt from the lakes in
Kunigal. These lakes are the only source of water for villages in Kunigal and
hence are desilted every year to increase the water table. The silt ended up as
waste earlier but has been used as a valuable resource in the PUMA Sustainable
Store.
The store will retail a range of merchandise made from organic
(pesticide-free) cotton as well as PUMA’s Wilderness Collection – a range
primarily sourced and produced in Africa using environmentally sustainable
materials and certified by the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF). For the first
time in India, the Sustainable Store also introduces PUMA’s global ‘Bring Me
Back I:CO Program’ – an in-store recycling program for footwear, apparel and
soft accessories.
The launch event was unique in that it was a
carbon-neutral affair – with all the energy consumed during the party being
produced by customers and invitees through pedal power. This is a novel
initiative whereby people pedal on a special bicycle generator that is attached
to a dynamo and fed into the main power source. In this way, power can be
created and stored in a battery bank thereby eliminating reliance on traditional
power sources.
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 later this month as a strong message
to highlight the glaring need to reuse, reduce and recycle – the cornerstone of
waste minimization strategies. The aesthetic and utilitarian installations will
be donated to the Bangalore Municipality and remain as permanent artworks to
beautify the city-scape.
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