Dragana Krstic is the General Manager of Kvantum Sport, the official distributor of Under Armor in the Balkans, and is in charge of Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria. Her career path has been “carved” by the sporting goods industry, containing both retail and online channels, and covering the entire business cycle. Being driven by passion for sporting goods and multiculturalism, leading a business regionally allows her to combine and create the synergy required during the “new normal” and constantly adapt to new challenges. Originating from the Republic of Serbia, Dragana lives in Romania since 1999. Fluent in six languages (including Romanian), she is a very adaptable person. Her education included countries such as Greece and UK, having a BA in Economics from the University of Sheffield and a MS in Management from LSE (London School of Economics). In addition to her daily activities, Dragana is passionate about traveling, cooking and is a great animal lover.

How were the sales in Romania in 2021 and what is the forecast for this year?

After a year full of challenges and uncertainties, we hoped that 2021 would be “lighter”, which did not happen. For many it was even more difficult and even more complex than 2020, and Kvantum Sport was no exception. The fusion of online and offline, the old and the new “normality” have brought unexpected challenges in terms of adapting the business to market requirements. The status of uncertainty pushed us to have a multilateral thinking, quick reactions to market stimuli and a sense of continuous adaptability. The new trends have imposed a much more agile professional development at the team level, which has contributed to maintaining sales control and growing the business. All these factors brought us to a satisfactory sales level in 2021, resulting in a 40% increase over the previous year’s sales. For 2022, we intend to continue the growth at the same pace, bringing in new sales channels, but also stabilizing the projects started in 2021. At the same time, we will continue to adapt the business to the new reality. We still expect pandemic challenges, but we hope that things will soon get back to ”normal” (whatever this normal would be).

What are the main strengths of the Under Armor brand?

Under Armor debuted in 1996 and is one of the world leaders in the production of sports equipment. The brand was created in Baltimore, USA, by Kevin Plank, a former American football player, with the aim of producing sports equipment for professional or amateur athletes who want to improve their performance. From the very beginning, Under Armor invested in development of new technologies that quickly established themselves among athletes and became essential during training or competitions. Under Armor focuses on all stages of an athlete’s life: training, competition and post-effort recovery. Thus, the equipment incorporates materials with special properties, which increase the strength and accelerate the recovery process, a crucial step in improving performance. The brand is loyal to its mission that helped it establish itself: “make all athletes better through passion, design, and the relentless pursuit of innovation” and continues to revolutionize the sports equipment market with “Our vision is to inspire with performance solutions you never knew you needed and can’t imagine living without”.

How have you adapted your business to the pandemic challenges and the constraints imposed by the health crisis? What is the share of online sales?

The context of 2021 pushed us to develop and adapt the main sales channels. Given the situation generated by the pandemic, one of the focuses of Kvantum Sport was to develop and increase the sales on the online channel. The main control and improvement levers were focused on targeting the customers with personalized offers, improving customer service, fast deliveries, and continuous adaptation to the requirements of the sports retail market. We also strengthened and expanded our existing partnerships in 2021, which helped us strengthen our market position and increase brand awareness for Under Armor products. In addition, we focused on growing the Wholesale customer base by providing continuous support for online businesses. In 2021, the share of online sales was 17% of total retail sales channel. For 2022 we aim to maintain the same growth trend. Speed and accessibility are the two components that put the company in a favorable position in the market in uncertain times. Therefore, the focus on results, proactivity and shorter-term planning can bring desired results. Recognizing the changes, the developments, and predicting future trends are the basis for a successful future in this business. An “omnichannel” approach is definitely a reality that we have and will have to deal with in our daily life.

How many stores does the Romanian network have and what are the development plans for the next period?

At present, after almost 5 years in business, Kvantum Sport Romania has six physical stores in its portfolio, of which five Brand House and one Factory Outlet, the focus being on the main cities in the country. This strategy is in line with the Under Armor strategy of covering most major cities through Monobrand stores. The rest of the market is covered and targeted by Wholesale customers with whom we already have stable and successful partnerships, as well as by our online channel. The balance of the market is one of the key points for the company, which is very important to avoid cannibalism among the big players in the sports retail industry. To cover another major city in the country, in February 2022 Kvantum Sport brings a new store in its portfolio in CityPark Shopping Center in Constanța. In the future, we expect to expand the network of stores in other cities in Romania, taking into account market needs and customer requirements.

What important trends do you see on the local retail market today and what is the profile of the Romanian sports equipment buyer?

The current circumstances have led to a change in the profile of the classic consumer. As a main trend, we noticed the tendency of customers to become more aware of their options in terms of the sales channels that are available for them. This greatly influenced the ways of buying, but also the importance of the comfort in the process. In the same direction, customer choices and preferences have changed and adapted to the new trends. What is important for retailers is to keep adjusting and improving. It is also very important to provide variety and choice for our customers by establishing and adapting to the new trends. What we have learned from the past two years is that facilitating the access to products, simple and fast, brings our customer closer. Fast delivery, easy and fast access to all retail products, as well as improved communication have led to a new customer convenience. This new trend among consumers, of having everything at hand, will probably become a new standard in retail and sports products market. The customer of a sports retailer wants diversity in products, quality, as well as a fast-buying process – (“from store to home”, “end to end buying”). Sports retailers` success will be ensured by anticipating such new needs and by constantly communicating with their customers. From the correct purchases to the final delivery, the customer is and will be the main focus in the future.

Interview by Ioan Dornescu

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