adidas x Sports Direct Sustainable
adidas x SDI, Putting sustainability at the forefront of design
The launch of Sports Direct’s new-and-improved flagship concept in its Oxford Street store flooded LinkedIn, but what you may not know is that there is more to this exciting flagship transformation than just good looks…
Idea
Design plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of physical retail, and at d4r we envision a future where the only design for retail is sustainable design. Based on our in-depth insight, we set out to curate a design strategy for adidas which contributed to ensuring that over 95% of the materials used in its retail fixtures were sustainable.
Chosen materials included only those which had a low environmental impact and the ability to be repurposed, whilst also conforming to environmentally-friendly production methods.
It was also vital that the materials were fit for purpose and, of course, met the safety standards of the popular sports’ retailer.
We set out to incorporate materials such as cork, eco-board, and sustainable inks, among others, into the design rationale, as well as recycled ocean plastics as per adidas’ commitment to ensuring that none of its products contain virgin plastics from 2024 onwards. This initiative is part of the brand’s wider End Plastic Waste campaign which aims to raise awareness of the damage that we are doing to our oceans via our single-use plastic deposits.
“New & improved flagship concept”
Insight
As we embarked on this exciting project, the d4r team embraced its sustainable direction throughout the stages – from curating branding and digital content in the design studio, through to technically developing full engineering packs for accurate production, and managing the assembly collation and execution of all hardware articles within the Sports Direct re-fit programme.
Alongside ensuring that sustainability was at the forefront of design, d4r were briefed by adidas to curate a strong visual presence via introducing bold touchpoints consisting of product callouts and digital interactive tools throughout adidas’ product categories.
Realisation
Sampling, analysis, and pre-assembly was key to ensuring that adidas’ Sports Direct retail fixtures and displays were implemented to the highest possible quality and executed as per the sustainable design specifications approved in creative principle. Collaborating with the adidas Global market, d4r delivered several creative design solutions that perfectly align with the ambitions of adidas’ local sales and marketing teams for product sales and brand messaging, respectively. Working in line with the retailer’s 3.0 concept guidelines and new retail direction, we ensured that adidas’ overarching values stood-out via designs that both envelop and promote the brand’s powerful sustainability message.
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