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Puma, facing stiff competition in the metaverse from Nike and Adidas, has revealed the next stage in its Web3 strategy: a partnership with 10KTF, the narrative NFT project that includes a virtual Tokyo and digital clothing for profile picture avatars. (PFP) created by Wagmi-San, a fictional tailor who previously worked with Gucci.
It marks Puma’s most significant metaverse project yet, with digital products tied to physical goods on the horizon, says Puma brand director Adam Petrick in an exclusive interview with Vogue Business to announce its Web3 strategy.
“As an esports company, we need to think about engaging with people in the physical world and giving them the opportunity to bring physical products into the digital world,” says Petrick. Digital products open up new possibilities, he says: A digital basketball shoe can carry athletic skills into virtual worlds, for example. “Whether it’s utility or gamified access, it’s like a fourth dimension of the product experience,” he says.
We have to think about engaging with people in the physical world and giving them the opportunity to bring physical products to the digital world.”
Sneaker brands and sportswear giants have been early adopters of digital products, virtual worlds, and NFTs, as there is considerable overlap between gamers, sneaker fans, and the Web3 crowd. Rivals Adidas and Nike are already rushing to meet them: Nike announced it had acquired digital fashion company Rtfkt with a recent co-branding project that allows people to buy and customize sneakers like NFTs before physically producing them. Alternatively, Adidas landed hard in December with a collaboration that sold special access NFTs, though it’s been quieter since, and Ben Mayor White, who led its metaverse strategy, has left the company.
Puma, whose annual revenue of $7.7 billion in 2021 lags behind Nike’s $44.5 billion revenue and Adidas’s $25 billion for the same period, still sees room for them. “I am certainly aware of [the competition]Petrick says. “Right now our goals are to figure it out and try to be as authentic as possible and help people learn along the way. I am aware that the competition is making large investments and that is not necessarily something that we have done. For Puma, sources of income are the most important thing for any investment. There has to be “a comeback in whatever territory we explore because, at the end of the day, we’re in the business of intellectual property.” The ambition is “to learn and adapt while trying to be relevant, authentic and inclusive”.
With the 10KTF project, fans of the brand can look forward to customization and personalization elements, an emerging trend in digital sneakers and NFT collections. During the 10KTF event, Puma poked fun at this by giving away co-branded Puma and 10KTF t-shirts. “The metaverse, in general, is a great place to get rid of the boundaries that the physical world creates so you can think very progressively about design,” Petrick says, “and younger people who are more compliant or flexible in their way of thinking about personal expression is going to grow to be really progressive. They have an assumption that customization is part of the world we live in because it has been there since day one. [for them].”
Source: www.voguebusiness.com