Retail Congress: About Commercial Chief Conversations Sustainability, Switzerland and wholesale

The Morajero World Congress this week saw two engines and agitators in world sports on stage along with the JD Sports CEO, Regis Schultz, interviewing the commercial director Britt Olsen.

I was talking about sustainability, growth and why wholesale partners like JD are still important, despite the great impulse of ON to open their own stores.

“We never wanted to swing only in one form,” he explained, referring to the retail debate in front of the wholesaler and perhaps even underlining why Nike was wrong in recent years, since he minimized wholesale. “As a young and growing brand we would not be where we are today without [other retailers]. Wholesale partners are incredible and continue to authenticate and connect to consumers to which we cannot reach. ”

That was something that a relaxed and cheerful Schultz was with all my heart!

Olsen emphasized that the undeniable success of ON was due to a combination of factors. “Seeing a growing brand that was dominated by great players in the market is never reduced to a single thing,” he explained. “Upon entering a giant industry, it was an advantage to be the helpless. Our success is also due to naivety and blind optimism. We also have a strong focus on innovation.”

But as he celebrates 15 years in existence, his success (underlined by Olsen/upon receiving the 'fastest. Faster. More fast' in the event) has its disadvantages.

“Now we are at a time when our mistakes are not by closed doors! While we celebrate our 15th birthday as a company, bromeo that we are like a 15 -year -old human. Like a teenager, we love all the technology in evolution around AI, but it is a matter of what to pursue and what not to persecute,” he said.

He added that while Switzerland is not exactly a giant player in the space of the shoe dominated by the great American or German names, his nationality has some advantages.

To begin with, he said that the Swiss flag in the company's products was important for his American audience and marked a “cousin” associated with the superstar of Switzerland and tennis Roger Federer, who was one of the first investors in the company.

“Our Swiss flag is a symbol of the principles we have as an organization. Design, impact and sustainability are key to us,” he said.

And it means that sustainability is baked in everything it does. As a American, at first it was quite surprised by the automatic assumption of its Swiss colleagues that a sustainable approach was normal and not negotiable.

“We want to be sustainable because it is a key value,” he said. “We care and make sure to invest in sustainability, which is very Swiss. However, how we talk about sustainability is a constant point of discussion for us.”

And being a Swiss also means that it has to be externally: “We are also disruptors. We have to be. Being a Switzerland, you have to leave Switzerland.” This is because the country has a population of less than 10 million people. “We had to plan to grow worldwide. If I think of Asia, we are interrupting the space a lot and, in the United States, we are seeing hyper growth. If you think of us as a 15 -year -old teenager, this is very exciting!”