25.04.09
Big plans for PUMA during the Boston stopover
PUMA® City opens at Fan Pier, Boston’s Volvo Ocean Race stopover village
Boston, Mass, April 25, 2009 – In celebration of the Volvo Ocean Race
2008-2009, PUMA® today opened PUMA City at Fan Pier, the world-class
waterfront destination in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed and
conceptualized by PUMA and international acclaimed architects, LOT-EK, the
award-winning PUMA City is a mobile retail, event space and bar that will
host activities, parties and festivities for Boston – free and open to the
public until May 16th. This is PUMA City’s second appearance since
debuting in Alicante, Spain for the start of the Volvo Ocean Race in
September 2008. Boston is the race’s seventh stopover city and will be
the only US appearance during the extreme sailing race. PUMA City was
officially opened today at 10:00 am, as the staff and city anxiously await
the arrival of the PUMA Ocean Racing onboard il mostro, as they approach
the finish of leg six.
“PUMA is proud to open the doors to PUMA City as it is a symbol of our
creativity, design aesthetic and our dedication to the PUMA Ocean Racing
team as they continue their crazy adventures during the Volvo Ocean Race,”
says Antonio Bertone, PUMA Chief Marketing Officer. “Opening PUMA City in
Boston, at Fan Pier is very special to us, as this is our home, and our
team’s home and we can’t wait to share it with all of Boston.”
Winner of the 2009 Travel + Leisure Design Award for Best Retail space,
PUMA City is a tour de force of architecture and design. The massive
11,000 square-foot structure is made from twenty-four, forty-foot long
steel shipping containers, each weighing in at eleven tons. PUMA City
consists of three levels of steel shipping containers stacked on top of
one another and then slightly shifted to create natural outdoor spaces
with large overhangs and wide open terraces, which will be utilized for
entertaining and in-port race viewing. A unique PUMA Store space on the
ground floor offers a selection of the PUMA apparel, footwear and
accessories collections, including the brand’s new sailing performance and
lifestyle collections. As the official supplier of Volvo Ocean Race
2008-2009, the retail space on the second floor features the entire Volvo
Ocean Race collection, which will be the only location where those
products can be purchased in the race village at Fan Pier. The upper
container is a long, open area containing a bar, lounge and event space
spilling out onto an oversized wooden deck. This area will be used for
parties, activities, DJ nights and other events where all Bostonians and
race goers are welcome.
PUMA City is the first container building of its size to be truly mobile
and ready to ship. A unique system of covering panels were designed to
fully seal all of the actual structures during travel, protecting each
unit from the elements while crossing the open ocean in a container ship.
It is also designed to respond to all of the architectural challenges;
meeting international building code, withstanding dramatic climate
changes, rapid on-site assembly, and handling day-to-day operations. PUMA
City began construction on April 7th and was assembled at Fan Pier in just
two weeks using union labor and Boston’s best local talent. It will be
open to the general public from today until May 16 when PUMA Ocean
Racing’s il mostro and the other Volvo Open 70 racing boats depart for
Galway, Ireland on the seventh leg of the nine month-long ocean race.
By joining the race, PUMA has entered a new premium category and is the
only Sportlifestyle company to participate in the Volvo Ocean Race
2008-09. PUMA has launched a full range of marine clothing and apparel,
from offshore sailing gear to onshore lifestyle fashion. The PUMA Sailing
Performance collection was developed and tested by the PUMA Ocean Racing
team itself, and is worn by the team throughout the race. The PUMA Sailing
Lifestyle collection takes inspiration from the sport and is widely
available at PUMA Stores and other premium retailers.
A full roster of events and activities free and open to the public are
scheduled at PUMA City during the three week stopover at Fan Pier. For
more information about the events at PUMA City, the race, team and the
PUMA Sailing collections, please visit www.pumaoceanracing.com
For more information on Puma Ocean Racing, please contact:
Bridgid Murphy or Kate Fairclough - PUMA Ocean Racing
Tel: +1 978 996 5155 or +44 7827 277 517
bridgid.murphy@puma.com or kate.fairclough@puma.com
For more information on PUMA in North America, and PUMA events taking
place in Boston, please contact:
Katie Sheptyck Heather Bouzan Meg Parker
PUMA North America PUMA North America PUMA
International
978-698-1295 978-698-1227 617-488-1019
katie.sheptyck@puma.com heather.bouzan@puma.com meg.parker@puma.com
PUMA
PUMA is one of the world’s leading sportlifestyle companies that designs
and develops footwear, apparel and accessories. It is committed to
working in ways that contribute to the world by supporting Creativity,
SAFE Sustainability and Peace, and by staying true to the values of being
Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative in decisions made and actions taken.
PUMA starts in Sport and ends in Fashion. Its Sport Performance and
Lifestyle labels include categories such as Football, Running,
Motorsports, Golf and Sailing. The Black label features collaborations
with renowned designers such as Alexander McQueen, Yasuhiro Mihara and
Sergio Rossi. The PUMA Group owns the brands PUMA, Tretorn and Hussein
Chalayan. The company, which was founded in 1948, distributes its
products in more than 120 countries, employs more than 9,000 people
worldwide and has headquarters in Herzogenaurach/Germany, Boston, London
and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.puma.com
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