Puma launches custom shoe design program!

Started on December 9th, customers now have a chance to put their creative savvy to work at the PUMA Store, Linking Road, Mumbai and build their very own sneakers from an assortment of materials and fabrics to make a one-of-a kind pair of PUMA Creative Factory sneakers. This will subsequently be taken to the PUMA Stores at South Extension (New Delhi) and Garuda Mall (Bangalore). PUMA will provide all the needed tools to let consumers be the designer, including fabrics, materials and use of an Apple iPad for rendering the final design. Customers start by choosing a footwear style ' either the Basket or First Round ' and then mix and match colors and fabrics to create a truly one-of-a-kind kick.

Together with zooom productions, kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners, Spies & Assassins unit and Viget Labs, PUMA has created a new tool for shoe customization using an old-fashioned workbench with an assortment of materials and fabrics together with an Apple iPad for rendering the final design on a custom-built application. Beginning in December, customers will have a chance to use their creative savvy to craft a pair of one-of-a-kind sneakers in selected stores in locations such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Cape Town, Dubai, Bucharest and Moscow.

"Shoe creation is inherently a tactile, hands-on experience. If you look at the desks of PUMA designers, they're covered with books of material and sketches, but then they use various digital technologies to bring the shoe to life. That's what we wanted to bring to our customers," said Antonio Bertone, Chief Marketing Officer, PUMA AG. "Providing the raw materials combined with taking full advantage of cutting edge technology will give people a truly fun and authentic shoe-making experience."

The in-store workbench fixture, designed by zoom productions and produced by adpl solutions, was inspired by the old look of a shoemaking studio, while the iPad application created by Spies & Assassins reminds you that the year is still 2010 and enables consumers to visualize billions of possible material and color combinations.

PUMA Creative Factory will become a permanent fixture at select PUMA Concept stores starting in December 2010, with an online launch planned for early 2011 in selected markets.

Once customers finalize their design on the iPad and pay for their creation, the order is sent to a production facility where the product is assembled. Approximately 6 weeks after the order is placed, customers will be notified by email that they can pick up theirone-of-a-kind pair of shoes in the PUMA Store.