As American sportswear brand GANT arrives in Indonesia, DA MAN talks with CEO Patrik Söderström about becoming the new standard of sportswear nationwide.
Founded in Sweden but with roots firmly set in America, GANT has inspired sports connoisseurs all over the world through its innovative collections. And now, the brand has expanded to Indonesia, bringing with it a new, modern retail concept offering high-quality products that reflect the brand’s 75-year heritage.
In an exclusive interview with DA MAN, GANT’s CEO Patrik Söderström shares insights on why Indonesia is integral to the brand’s global expansion, shedding light on the strategic vision behind its arrival on our shores.
DAMAN: How do you plan to establish a strong presence in Indonesia and build brand loyalty?
Patrik Söderström: We are so happy to be here and opening our first doors in Indonesia. Opening one store is a good start, but most importantly, you must respect two things. First is local knowledge and second is local consumers. It’s never as easy as you would like it to be. You must be very serious about the business, get close to the market and understand consumer behavior here. And with the right partner, in this case MAP, we can see the best possible opportunity for GANT.
DA: How do you see the Jakarta store’s role in GANT’s overall expansion strategy in Southeast Asia?
PS: Choosing Jakarta as the first store gave us a very quick start. I saw the store and it looked amazing. It really reflects the brand’s DNA. When you apply that to the first store, the next one will be even easier. But you also need to see, analyze and test things out to see consumer reaction. When you understand the consumers a little more, opening the next door would become easier.
DA: You’ve been the CEO of GANT for four years and have worked with the brand since 2016. What excites you the most about working for GANT?
PS: It’s actually the same reason when I started at GANT. I was looking at the brand from the outside and I saw so many opportunities. We have been building the business over the last eight years since I’ve been around, and I have to say that we have experienced positive growth as we open stores in new countries—even ones where we previously have had no presence, like Indonesia. It’s always exciting when you find a new possibility into expand in a new country as we do today.
DA: How would you describe your leadership style and how has GANT has evolved under it?
PS: Building a company is like building a house. It would help if you have a clear strategy. All the leaders in the company, including me, need to be very agile and sometimes flexible. For me, situation-based leadership is crucial. When you build a global brand, you can’t approach every country in the same way, and it’s the same thing with people. It all depends on where we are in the world and our internal processes.
Building a company is like building a house. It would help if you have a clear strategy
DA: What do you see as GANT’s core values and mission?
PS: When we decided what values we should work with and stand by, we looked at our history and chose four Cs, which are Community, Courage, Curiosity and Creativity. Those Cs actually began in 1949 with Bernard Gant. When he started the company, he was a Ukrainian immigrant in the U.S. I’m not sure if he had a plan, but those four Cs became the core principles underlying the shirt factory he built at the time.
For instance, community. When he started his business, he had immigrants from all over the world working under him. During lunchtime, people working in the factory would bring food from their home countries and share with each other. Without a strong community, you clearly can’t do anything.
From a mission perspective, we want to be the future of American sportswear. We want to make sure that when the consumers are looking for products in our category, they start with GANT. We might not be the biggest company but, hopefully, we’ll be the company and the brand that consumers go to when they look for American sportswear.
DA: Can you walk us through how new collections are developed at GANT?
PS: There are a couple of major parts of that. First of all, we do a lot of analysis on sell-through. We look across all the countries where we operate; we take sales numbers in to ensure we’re not missing out on anything or doing something that is not selling for the next season. Then, we have a team in Stockholm that always looks at consumer insight before putting the task to our creative director, Christopher Bastin.
Eventually, there will always be a lot of discussions as gather input from our partners and subsidiaries to make sure that we adjust to local needs. In this case, we emphasize Asian Fit for our expansion in Indonesia. But, of course, the collections have to be young and represent us as an American sportswear label.
DA: What be your go-to piece from the latest collections that you would also recommend to local shoppers?
PS: The products available at the store work very well with our broad spectrum of consumers here. But I would start with the Ivy League-inspired products. If you are looking for a shirt, obviously you can always consider buying one from GANT. Always.
DA: Last but not least, what new opportunities do you see for GANT in the coming years, especially here?
PS: As we are set to open more stores in the coming years, brand awareness is the most important thing. It’s easy to sell a lot of products, but to live up to our consumer’s expectations is an entirely different matter. Quality, style and fit all need to be something that not anyone else has. I believe that the brand has those characteristics that eventually make customers come back to us.
TEXT Jessica Esther