1. 24 sportswear international india I ending january 2013 I facts I report
VERY SOCIABLE,
VERY SUSTAINABLE
FOCUSING 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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2. >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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