Date:13/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/13/stories/2006051306010400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Adidas opens Sport Performance Centre

Special Correspondent

A wide range of athletic footwear, apparel and accessories are on display

Store occupies 9,000 sq. ft of space over two floors
Another store to be opened in Chennai this year

Footwear prices range from Rs. 1,250 to Rs. 12,500

FEET FASHION: Adidas India managing director Andreas Gellner at the Adidas Sport Performance Centre in Bangalore on Friday. — Photo: G.R.N. Somashekar

Bangalore: Close on the heels of Levi's opening it largest store in the Asia Pacific region in Bangalore, Adidas India on Friday launched its largest Sport Performance Centre in Asia next to Safina Plaza in Bangalore.

Spread across 9,000 sq. ft over two floors, the store showcases a wide range of Adidas athletic footwear, apparel and accessories.

Growing business

Adidas India Managing Director Andreas Gellner told presspersons that Bangalore accounted for nearly six per cent of the company's business in the country and it was growing. Chennai would be the next place where a Sport Performance Centre would come up this year.

The stores, he said, were on the same lines as the ones in Berlin, Singapore or any other place in the world.

Vibrant city

He described Bangalore, the fastest growing market for Adidas in India, "vibrant and dynamic."

The collection here is vast, and footwear prices range from Rs. 1,250, to Rs. 12,500 for "intelligent footwear," which Adidas recently launched.

The "intelligent footwear" adjusts itself to the terrain, giving a cushion effect to the person wearing it.

Infinera

Infinera is doubling the size of its facility in Bangalore, as the company moves aggressively to increase production and employment to meet growing market demand for the Infinera DTN (data transmission networks) digital optical networking solution. The facility is expected to grow to around 200 professionals.

It is also broadening its expertise, taking on more ASIC (application-specific integrated circuits) and hardware development and verification work in addition to the software development and system testing it has performed since the facility opened in 2002.

In addition, Infinera India plans to add a new customer testing facility to complement its existing system verification labs.

Increasing demand

"As a result of the high quality and on-time delivery of several major releases that are deployed and carry live traffic in several customer networks across the world, and the increasing demand for Infinera's products, we are adding to our world-class team of highly qualified and senior professionals to fulfil the company's growing needs," said Utkarsh Rai, managing director, Infinera India.