What does 15 years mean for a store? It may be a long history, it may be a few indelible memories, or it may be an unforgettable countless days and nights.
The Adidas flagship store in Taikoo Li South Sanlitun is about to celebrate its 15th year.
In 15 years, it has undergone four world sporting events and upgrades, including one Beijing Olympic Games, three football World Cups: the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. After the renovation of the store around the Qatar World Cup was completed, it still "returned to home" in the same position and opened its doors.
"I was so excited that day that the customer was finally here. I've been giving customers directions and telling them which product is on which floor. In the Adidas global flagship store, Li Xiaodan, the resident display manager, said to Lazy Bear Sports.
Li Xiaodan mentioned the date on September 21 this year, which is the soft opening of the store after more than half a year of renovation. Ten years ago, Li Xiaodan joined the German sporting goods company, and in the past ten years, she has completed the transformation of marriage and children, and the store she works for has also completed several upgrades.
The story of this store begins in 2008. For a long time, it always faced the bustling Workers' Stadium North Road, guarding the Taikoo Li South district, where people who were in a hurry, idle, or trendy stopped and rushed every day. Especially when night falls, that eye-catching sign not only belongs to that unique store, but also to Sanlitun and even a well-known symbol in Beijing.
Witness history and connect consumers' "windows"
At the beginning of the 21st century, the Olympics knocked on the door of Beijing. In 2007-2008, the Beijing Olympics brought a wave of urban construction. Sanlitun, which is brewing transformation, has hit this wave, and real estate developers such as Shimao Group have built large-scale mixed-use projects here, and Swire Properties' Sanlitun Village has become one of the most dazzling.
"It's everything here, it's nothing here." This is the slogan designed by the famous advertising agency Ogilvy for Sanlitun Village at that time. Designed by master architect Kengo Kuma, this open-plan commercial project inspired by Beijing's hutongs has been experimental, unknown and forward-looking since its birth. And, of course, the ambition to become the center of Beijing's trends. To support this ambition, Sanlitun Village needs a "weighty" brand to appear in a key position.
Adidas, which was preparing to make a big splash in China at the time, became one of the first brands to settle in. In return for these early supporters, Taikoo Li gave Adidas the location facing the entrance to the South End. If Taikoo Li is the landmark of the Sanlitun business district, then the Adidas Brand Center is the landmark of the landmarks.
"In the TV series of previous years, many modern dramas have shots of Beijing coordinates, CCTV is a shot, Sanlitun is a shot, from that moment, Adidas is on it, sometimes you can tell from Adidas which year it was filmed." Li Xiaodan said proudly to Lazy Bear Sports.
Since the successful bid for the Olympic Games, Chinese has been preparing for this grand event, and Adidas has also made full preparations for the Beijing Olympic Games. Adidas knows that the Olympics will reshape Chinese perception of sports and activate the huge Chinese sports consumer market. In 2006, the Chinese market accounted for 50% of Adidas' global sales revenue, so Adidas also expects this Olympic Games to become a platform for its leapfrog development in China.
In July 2008, the Chinese sports delegation of the Beijing Olympic Games unveiled the medal uniform, the trademark on the right chest of the clothing with auspicious cloud pattern and distinctive Chinese elements is adidas - at this Olympic Games, Adidas as the official clothing partner, provided medal equipment for the Chinese sports delegation and the Chinese Paralympic sports delegation. In addition, Adidas carried out a series of large-scale promotions before the Olympics, and the landing of the brand center in Sanlitun became the culmination of Adidas' Olympic offensive.
Adidas' medal suit for the Chinese team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics has become a classic.
That scene is still fresh in the minds of many. On July 25, the brand center with a total area of 3,170 square meters on four floors was officially opened, and Adidas was born as the world's largest retail store at that time. Some veteran employees still remember the excitement of the opening - NBA star Gilbert Arenas, Athens Olympic women's breaststroke 100m gold medalist Luo Xuejuan, and then popular actress Gui Lunmei were all part of the opening carnival.
A few days later, on August 8, the entire city of Beijing was in high spirits because of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The Adidas Olympic Park, built by Adidas in Sanlitun Village, was also officially opened on this day. In the evening, people with national flags on their faces gather here to watch the opening ceremony on a large screen. When the Chinese team entered the field, the sound of "China cheering" sounded, and a few steps away, there was the Adidas brand center that had just been completed.
"Sanlitun watching the Olympics" has become a collective memory of a group of people, and this scene seems to have become the epitome of the relationship between Adidas and Chinese sports through the leapfrog development of the Beijing Olympics. That year, this brand, which officially entered the Chinese market in 1997, completed the upgrade from landing to brand spread to thousands of households with one wonderful competition after another. More importantly, since then, from the 2016 Rio Olympics Chinese women's volleyball team won gold, to 2019 Xie Zhenye became the first yellow person in the history of the 200-meter event to break the 20-second mark, Adidas has been more and more frequently associated with the highlight moments of Chinese sports.
As the most iconic window connecting Adidas and Chinese consumers, the Sanlitun flagship store has also become a witness of the great changes in Chinese sports.
Since landing in Sanlitun, the appearance of Adidas Sanlitun's flagship store has changed.
Four upgrades, each of which is an evolution of retail
Today, with the intensification of "involution" between commercial entities, the pace of adjustment of Taikoo Li and even Sanlitun business districts is also accelerating, and it is particularly precious that the Adidas Sanlitun flagship store that has been changed by neighbors can stick to the same location for 15 years. But contrary to this unchanged, the flagship store itself is constantly iterating. Prior to this year's upgrade, the Sanlitun flagship store underwent two upgrades in 2014 and 2018 – around the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The transformation of the store around the World Series is a background, but more importantly, as an iconic store in Sanlitun, Beijing, Adi also needs to consider closely integrating with Chinese consumer trends.
It was in 2013-2014 that China's mass participation sports began to rise, and running and fitness began to become a new fashion in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and China's first-tier cities. Document No. 46, issued in 2014, also lit a fire for China's sports industry. The era of mass consumption of sports in China has begun. More beneficial for sports brands, Chinese mass consumers are beginning to distinguish between the functions and occasions of clothing. Diversified consumer demand has made Adidas begin to vigorously explore the form of subdivided stores.
At the beginning of 2014, Adidas launched a new brand center in Sanlitun.
The entrance of the store is designed to resemble an athlete's aisle, and customers can plug in their smartphones in the fitting room and place their shoes on the interactive table in the shoe bar to display 3D images, and customers can directly place orders.
But one of the most important changes Adidas has made in this upgrade is the way it leverages shop-in-shops. The center of the brand blurs the line between professional sports and lifestyle gear and clothing – sports is life. This is also the direction of China's sports consumption trend.
"We invited David Beckham that day, it was quite a sensation, we had a platform in front of the door, Beckham was there to interact with everyone, and there were all people around." Li Xiaodan can still vividly recall the opening of the store in 2018 after the store was upgraded again.
2018 marks the 10th anniversary of Adidas Sanlitun store landing in Taikoo Li, and this special time node has completed the renovation of the store again. At this time, China's sports consumption has also presented a new situation. Imitation and wave consumption are gradually receding, and the wave of personalized consumption has arrived. At the same time, stores as a product are becoming more and more important in China, good stores are not only a shell for brand self-expression, but also can create a unique consumer experience and achieve in-depth communication with consumers.
Judging from the updated storefront, Adidas has long seen these changes. One of the highlights of the 2018 store upgrade was its unveiling as the first stadium concept store in China, integrating retail stores with sports experiences. The upgraded Adidas Sanlitun brand center was inspired by the Beijing Workers' Stadium and incorporated World Cup elements, and it was the first Adidas store in China to have an interactive experience area.
By this year, sports have become a way of life in China, penetrating into consumers' daily lives, and the integration of sports and life is deepening. On the other hand, brands are also exploring the possibilities of stores as a product. In September this year, Adidas Beijing Sanlitun global flagship store opened after the fourth upgrade. This upgrade adidas proposes the concept of "Home of Sport". The concept stems from sport, is rooted in culture, wants to enhance users' sense of belonging, and is built on the Sustainable Development Goals. This concept represents a new exploration of the retail store by Adidas.
In terms of design, the upgraded store with a total area of more than 4,000 square meters is characterized by sustainability. Adidas integrates the concept of "circular design" into many aspects of its stores: the use of environmentally friendly and renewable building materials wherever possible, the introduction of renewable energy and energy-efficient systems. The photovoltaic curtain wall with a total area of nearly 400 square meters is integrated with the façade of the store, and the photovoltaic panels can generate more than 40,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Eco-friendly materials are used in the store, and all shopping bags are recyclable paper shopping bags.
In addition, with the blessing of digital technology, stores have made great efforts to create new digital retail experiences and innovate user experiences. The store upgrade adopts a variety of digital media technologies and interactive equipment, and strives to bring consumers a high-level new experience of acousto-optic retail. Entering the main entrance on the first floor, you will be greeted by a large digital induction floor, where consumers can operate a four-dimensional interactive device to vote for their favorite sharp goods. The fitting room is equipped with a smart fitting mirror that integrates the most advanced RFID (radio frequency identification technology), and you can display product-related information by simply trying on the equipment in front of the mirror.
In addition to technology, the upgraded store also uses "software" to ensure the consumer experience. For this upgrade, Sanlitun flagship store has added a nine-person consumer experience department, which is responsible for online interactive functions such as digital interactive devices, consumer-oriented events and live broadcasts in the store. In terms of space arrangement, the store has set up 800 square meters of event space on the fourth floor, and this area will host a series of community and experiential activities in the future.
"Because I am close to consumers, I will get a lot of first-hand feedback." Jojo Qiao of the consumer experience department of Adi stores told Lazy Sports: "We want customers to feel that this is not only a shopping space, but also a place where they can find like-minded people. ”
It can be said that sustainability, innovation and inclusion are the three keywords of this store experience upgrade, and behind this series of changes is the concept of "home", as Adidas officially explained the original intention of the "sports home" concept: "This is a home created for everyone, home is not just a place, it is a state of mind and feeling - it is a place where we feel comfortable, safe and accepted." ”
The Sound Garden interactive experience area on the third floor of the store, where consumers can create their own MTV, such digital interactive devices are ubiquitous in the upgraded store.
Based on localization, open the era of store 4.0
After this upgrade, customers who entered the store found that the taste of Beijing was stronger.
The five artists interpret and interpret Chinese traditions and Beijing culture in their own unique ways. The visual designers of independent creative label Modern Sky have also created a unique work of art - deconstruction and reconstruction, and the Beijing-style art in the store is the epitome of the close relationship between this flagship store and Beijing, and echoes the concept of "sports house". The renewals added a Beijing "Creative Arts Lab" on the second floor of the store, where consumers can create customized products and print their favorite words and patterns on the products – including, of course, the Beijing-style elements created by the artists.
"This peace of mind is my hometown", the Adidas Sanlitun flagship store that has been in Beijing for 15 years has long integrated itself into the pulse of the development of the entire city. Now, Beijing is upgrading. In July this year, the Beijing Municipal Government put forward the goal of "International Consumer Center City" by 2025, the core of which is to build 2-3 world-class business districts with a scale of 100 billion yuan. In this context, various business districts are also making efforts to upgrade. In the business district war, Sanlitun has been at the forefront. At the end of last year, Sanlitun ushered in a major "renovation" and the western district was officially opened. This year, Sanlitun will also build a passage between the western and southern districts. The upgraded Taikoo Li is accelerating the integration of regions and increasing the attractiveness of business districts, which is undoubtedly good for stores, especially major stores such as Adidas. In the future, the flagship store will also benefit from the development of Taikoo Li, Sanlitun business district and Beijing.
A related trend is that brands' understanding of stores is also changing. In the past, offline stores had to "settle the account" on key business indicators such as retail sales. But now, brands pay more attention to the communication attributes of the main stores, which means that the stores need to constantly create freshness, which is why the renewal speed of the main stores is accelerating. Since landing in Sanlitun, Adidas has given this flagship store a mission to embrace change and lead trends. It can be said that the flagship store has been able to stand for 15 years precisely because of its "fickleness". Until now, even if the red light at the intersection of Gongti North Road and Sanlitun Road is long on weekends, Beijing's hipsters have to rush into the modern world from the main entrance of the southern district, and the Adidas flagship store guarding the entrance to this world is still a must-visit place for them. In the context of increasingly hot sports consumption, the "fickle" Adidas flagship store will undoubtedly have a promising future.
Ms. Li said that now she goes to work like home, and the store has allowed her to find a sense of belonging. This year marks Li Xiaodan, born in 1983, in her twentieth year of living in Beijing, where she got married and started a family, completing many life transitions, including ten years spent in this store. In a way, her life has become intertwined with this store.
"Next year I'm going to go to a new stage, Ben Four. Does it feel like I don't look like Ben Si anymore? Because doing sports looks young and energetic. Li Xiaodan said.
Similarly, after completing this upgrade, the global flagship store also opened its own 4.0 era. Coincidentally, shortly after the store upgrade was completed, the Beijing Marathon returned on November 6 after a three-year hiatus. Northern Malaysia and Adidas began to bond in 2010, and now the two "old friends" are standing at a new starting point at the same time. In order to welcome this reunion, Adidas laid out the Sanlitun flagship store from the inside to the outside as soon as the return of North Malaysia was announced. Interestingly, this time the North Malaysia contestants can find their names in the window in front of the store.
Adidas Sanlitun flagship store is decorated inside and outside to welcome North Malaysia.
What's more, in eight days, the Qatar World Cup will begin, with new matches, new beginnings, new excitement - and the new store upgraded around this World Cup will also begin its 15th year journey in Sanlitun, Beijing.
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