DDi - April/May 2010 - (Page 24)

24 | Sporting authority Two international sporting goods brands redefine store environments to create lifestyle-driven spaces for their respective categories By Alison Embrey Medina, Executive Editor I n the world of the athlete, passion is everything. He is not just a person who plays soccer—he is a “soccer player.” What happens when a sporting goods retailer grabs hold of this pride of lifestyle, and dares to be different by employing it within the retail environment? Two international athletic brands took just that step with dramatic, lifestyle-driven flagship concepts for their respective skiwear and golf brands. Housed in the rolling foothills of the Austrian Alps, the new, architecturally inspired flagship for Intersport Bründl in Kaprun, Austria, did not aim to casually blend in with its Alpine surroundings. Instead, the 17,222-sq.-ft., four-level ski equipment and outerwear store is a modern architectural feat, nearly double the size of its previous flagship in the same location. The Bründl brand, founded in 1956 by Johann Bründl as a 129-sq.-ft. sports shop in Kaprun, has grown dramatically in the last decade, now up to 235 employees and 17 stores. “Design and architecture create emotions, illusions, stories and pictures,” says Christoph Bründl, Johann’s son, who now serves as CEO of Salzburg, Austria-based Bründl Sports. Because the Kaprun store is so popular among holiday skiers in the local resorts, the store’s customers are constantly changing every week. “It is very important when we get guests that they understand immediately— what is the message of this store?” he adds. The building’s exterior is quite striking, especially for an Alpine setting. Using metal lamellae and glass that appear as a staggered crevasse, the architects created a sculptural object that simultaneously blends in with and contradicts the surrounding mountain landscape. “The building refers to the alpine scenery in a playful way,” says Angela Kreutz, partner of Stuttgart, Germany-based Blocher Blocher Partners, the architects for the Kaprun store. “The artificially | April/May 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - April/May 2010

DDi - April/May 2010
Contents
From the Editor
Newsworthy
Consumer Insights
Greentailing
Editor’s Choice
Design Snapshot
Channel Focus: Department Stores
Sporting Authority
Lighting Super Section
Lighting the Way
Viva Mexicano
Right Light
Product Spotlight
GlobalShop Show Coverage
Calendar
Advertisers
Classifieds
Think Tank

DDi - April/May 2010