design & development of technical run commuting pack
travel
Baltimore, Maryland,
Under Armour WHQ
New York City, New York,
Nike NY HQ, adidas NY HQ
Munich, Germany,
ISPO,
PUMA WHQ
MUNICH, Germany
Through the University of Oregon, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Munich, Germany to attend ISPO. There, I was able to see how the outdoor industry works globally. I was completely immersed in what it takes to be a buyer. As a student, we were tasked with trying to find suppliers and potential inspiration. With those tasks, I gained experience in speaking with people that have many different backgrounds and learning as much as possible how a global expo like ISPO functions. We were able to make an awesome relationship with a manufacturer in Hyosung, China that ended up helping us supply the fabrics for our Salesman Samples.
We also had the amazing opportunity to visit the PUMA World Headquarters. This experience was incredible. We were taken on a tour on their skybridge (pictured below), that basically is a showcase for all the company's milestones since its new beginnings in 1948. It was awesome to be able to learn how much PUMA has impacted the world. We were also able to speak with two Team Sports Licensing PLM's. They sat down with us and explained to us what they do and what it's like. It's always incredible to be able to sit down with industry professionals and absorb as much information as possible.
New York City, New York
While visiting New York, our sole purpose was to experience the legendary scene that is New York Retail. We visited stores like KITH all the way to stores like Allbirds. We completely immersed ourselves in the Retail space and got a good look at how different Retail is in New York compared to other places around the United States. It's such a trend setting environment that the retail shops have to be unique.
We also had the amazing opportunity to visit the Nike NY Headquarters as well as the adidas NY Headquarters. While at both companies, they explained how essential it was for their brand to be in the heart of New York City. They stressed the importance of being immersed in the NYC culture and making sure they are appealing and contributing to the community. It's such a special place within the fashion/apparel industry and is so unbelievably influential, so they explained to us that you have to win in key cities to be a powerhouse brand.
Baltimore, Maryland
In Baltimore, we were able to visit the Under Armour World Headquarters. This was an awesome experience to tour the entire property and see what it's like to work at UA. My favorite part was being able to have two separate panels of four people each. The first panel was four Sports Product Management Alumni that now work at UA, and the second panel was four industry professionals ranging from Senior Leadership roles to entry level roles.
This experience was incredible because every person was so honest with us and gave us great information about what it's like to be at UA and what they do. The panel was easily one of my favorites that I've been able to participate in.
