Author Archives: Julia Zellner

Julia Zellner
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A taste of Brazil for the rest of the world

A taste of Brazil for the rest of the world

On October 1st, we officially opened the Creation Centre Sao Paulo (CCSP). It is the fifth Global Creation Centre of adidas in addition to current centres in Herzo, Portland, Shanghai and Tokyo. It will provide the world with a taste of Brazil. From a business point of view it will help the adidas Group become faster, more consistent and more consumer-focused in the strategic key market of Brazil, in the SLAM markets and on a global level.

Thorsten Harstall, Director Creation Center Sao Paulo, welcomed a highly motivated team to the global adidas family. I interviewed Thorsten what the Creation Center is all about and summarized my key findings in the following post. It was originally posted in our intranet in order to keep our employees updated. However, I am sure it will be of interest for you, too.

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Julia Zellner
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Happy Birthday: 40 years of Adilette!

Happy Birthday: 40 years of Adilette!

Today, the “Adilette” is arguably one of our best-known shoes of all time – it is to be found in living rooms, on the streets, at the beach and even in discos. But at the beginning, there was a clear goal that had nothing to do with today‘s iconic character. In the 1960s, the German football team, among others, asked adidas for a shoe that they could wear in the changing rooms and showers.

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Julia Zellner
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Geese babies invade the World of Sports

Geese babies invade the World of Sports

I just posted my favourite news of the day on our Intranet (the local part for Herzogenaurach) which I quickly wanted to share with you:

THE BAYBE GEESE ARE HERE!

You probably just think now: “WHAT???”. But for many employees here in Herzo this is indeed THE talk of the town. You need to know, that since last year geese are coming to the world of sports in order to hatch their eggs. The geese are very famous here as they are kind of protective in this period and indicate in a very definite way if you are coming accidentally too close to their nest. The security team even set up a sign “Beware of the geese”. Unfortunately last year no baby geese hatched. But now! YEAY!

I guess now we need names. We already asked our employees what they suggest. But maybe you have ideas, inspirations and suggestions, too.

Let’s find a name for these little goslings. Have a nice weekend!

Julia Zellner
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Creative ideas from NEO: how to connect with consumers

Creative ideas from NEO: how to connect with consumers

Whilst the first ever German adidas NEO label store will open for the public in Hamburg tomorrow, there is a media pre-opening already today. I think it is only fair to give you a little sneak-preview, too. That’s why I met with Anil Ramjiani, Senior Manager NEO and responsible for strategy and planning, to show me around in the store and to explain the store concept to you and me. Man, these guys think about a lot of things to make the stores an extraordinary experience and to connect with consumers! Did you for example ever hear of a social mirror or of sending text messages to a light? Well, I didn’t until I met Anil. Crazy world…

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Julia Zellner
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”Retail turns me on!” – Michael Stanier on NEO (Video)

”Retail turns me on!” – Michael Stanier on NEO (Video)

With the opening of NEO stores in Germany as of February, adidas is stepping into the world of fast fashion retailers to be closer to the next generation consumer. The young consumer today is constantly looking for stores to regularly refresh their wardrobes with stylish products at accessible price points. This is exactly what NEO offers them. Claire Midwood, Vice President NEO at adidas, wrote last week a very interesting post to introduce you to what NEO is all about. If you haven’t read it yet, check it out now!

However, in the end of last year I met our Chief Sales Officer Consumer-Direct Markets Michael Stanier in one of the new stores to talk about his expectations and why he thinks it is important for adidas to enter this new playing field. This interview was originally for our internal employee e-magazine “Inside” but we thought that you will be interested in this interview, too.

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