Volumtal'S Chief Marketing Officer Shared His First Retail Business Lesson: Cooperation With Young Kobe Made Me Understand The True Meaning Of Business And Life

As the chief marketing officer of Volumtal, Brent Hollowell has more than 30 years of marketing experience in the footwear field, and once led Foot Locker, adidas America and Fleet The marketing teams of shoe giants such as Feet have met many legends in the sports industry, from NFL Hall of Famers Joe Montana, Troy Ekman and Dion Saunders, to NBA idols Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan, to baseball immortals such as Hank Aaron and Ken Griffith, as well as track and field/running legends Carl Lewis Imon Coglan and Mab Kevlezzi. In his career, he learned a lot of common characteristics from these people. It is these characteristics that make them stand out from the outstanding people and become greater people. However, the person who taught him the most profound business and life lesson among these people was the one who initially doubted that he could not complete a professional season. He was Kobe Bryant Bryant)。

Listen to the story of Brent Hollowell, and you may get different inspiration from the first lesson of his shoes retail business. The following content comes from the author's self description:

It was 1996. As the head of adidas' marketing and communication department in the United States, I seriously questioned the bold decision of our sports marketing team: because they had just signed a contract with a thin 17-year-old high school student, who dared to skip college and directly announced his participation in the NBA draft. In order to recall Nike's successful strategy on Michael Jordan, we decided to give this unproven teenager a signature basketball shoe and a large-scale marketing campaign. He will become the core of our global basketball strategy.

You asked me the name of this teenager? Kobe Bryant.

The day when fate began to change

In order to learn more about Kobe and create a storyline for our marketing activities, our small team went to Philadelphia and met with Kobe and his family. We arranged a video shoot at Raul Merion High School, where Kobe Bryant just graduated. It was during this shoot that my skepticism disappeared.

What I witnessed that day not only changed my view of Kobe, but also gave me a deeper understanding of the potential that our sports marketing team saw in him. Later, his brilliant achievements in his basketball career fundamentally changed my view on the necessary conditions for great achievements, whether in sports or business.

Even after many years of cooperation with other famous NBA All Stars, what I saw on the court that day still shocked me. In the original arrangement that we thought was just a "video shooting", Kobe not only showed superb skills, but also unleashed unparalleled passion for competition. I feel that I can touch the "fire of enthusiasm" he exudes. At that time, his father, Joe, a former Philadelphia 76ers player "Jellybean" Bryant).

In the one-on-one training session, Joe - At that time, he was still much taller and stronger than his son (and he was a better garbage player). He accidentally cracked Kobe's lips, and blood dripped down his chin, but Kobe barely moved. He counterattacked with a more fierce attack, and finally defeated his father with an incredible spin backhand layup under the heavy confrontation. At that moment, everything was suddenly clear: the foundation of Kobe's legend, his perseverance - later witnessed by millions of people in the NBA's more than 20 years of career - had been forged in countless battles between him and his father long before the world knew his name.

Innovation and its challenges

This story between me and Kobe is also closely related to another important business lesson about innovation and failure. For Kobe's first pair of shoes, Top Ten 2000 and KB 8, adidas combines them with a The revolutionary concept of "Wear". This concept is simple but full of ambition: the performance of traditional sports shoes cannot be compared with that of human feet because of their flatter bottoms and more prominent edges.

The solution is to create shoes with more rounded soles to better imitate the natural shape and movement of human feet.

The preliminary results are encouraging. Athletes from several sports reported that their ability to turn and change direction had improved, and the pressure on their ankles was reduced when moving laterally, which was also confirmed by laboratory measurements. However, our shoe developers soon encountered unexpected consequences. We have received feedback that the adjusted ground force that was led away from the ankle may now be transferring upward along the power chain, thus affecting the knee. Due to worries about knee or muscle injuries, as well as other commercial reasons, we finally had to abandon the entire project. Although this particular innovation failed, in the next three years, adidas The United States has achieved tremendous growth, jumping from a very low share of the American footwear market to the second largest brand in terms of performance.

Business and Life: Lessons from the World

Looking back at the transformative period of my career, three lessons stood out. These lessons also apply to business, sports and life:

　　1. Keep subjective opinions: Although the first impression is strong, it may be deceptive. Whether evaluating a young athlete or a new business opportunity, it is important to collect and analyze all the facts before making a final judgment. Kobe (and his shoes) taught me that potential is not always visible at a glance.

2. Treat failure as progress: Innovation often leads to failure, but failure is not permanent - it is just another step to success. Our "Feet You The "Wear" technology did not succeed as planned, but the insights gained contributed to future innovation. Just as athletes must persevere in overcoming setbacks to achieve great achievements, enterprises must also regard failure as an opportunity to learn.

　　3. Advocate unremitting pursuit: On that day and throughout Kobe's career, what made him stand out was not only his talent - but also his unprecedented professional ethics and work intensity, even in simple photography or team training. In business, as in sports, success comes not only from talent or good ideas, but also from the commitment to pursue excellence in every action.

In retrospect, who better embodies these principles than Kobe Bryant himself? The skinny teenager who I once suspected could not complete a professional season, and later became one of the greatest players in NBA history, has proved that anything is possible with perseverance, determination and the indestructible "Mamba" spirit.

In today's business environment, young entrepreneurs and innovative ideas are often questioned, and these lessons are more relevant than ever. Success rarely follows a straight line, whether in sports or business. Our success is ultimately determined by our reaction to setbacks, our cautious judgment of opportunities and our relentless pursuit of excellence.

Summary:

As an innovative enterprise in the field of retail technology, Volumtal also faced many difficulties and challenges in product research and development and solutions, but its failure and persistence made the enterprise achieve a breakthrough, which is also consistent with Brent, the chief marketing officer Hollowell's personal experiences add radiance to each other. It is with such a team that Volumtal can provide innovative retail technology. Through 3D foot scanning, artificial intelligence (AI) and consumer big data matching, it can provide better user experience for shoe retail enterprises.

You can visit the official website or follow the official WeChat: VOLUMENTAL to learn more about shoe retail solutions.