Living in the Olympic World - SPORTING CHANCE by Joaquin M. Henson

Last Saturday afternoon, the Alabang Town Center was transformed into a huge playground as cheerleaders, basketball players, and sports personalities paraded to the beat of the La Salle marching band in showing the way to the 750-square meter Olympic World at the newly-renovated cinema wing of the shopping complex.

It was like Pied Piper leading the pack as the band called out to promenaders and shoppers to join in celebrating Olympic World’s opening. La Salle star RenRen Ritualo played the Piper, holding a stylized torch which he handed to Power Up’s Joey Cuerdo at the end of the trail — the doorstep of Olympic World.

Cuerdo then scaled the 25 by 30 foot, blue-lit climbing wall in the store’s inner recess and at the top of "Mount Olympus," symbolically lit the eternal flame — an air-driven red cloth that resembled a burning light. It took a lot of imagination to conceptualize the enactment and guests applauded the drama.

That wasn’t all. Program emcees Anthony Suntay and Janelle So called on cheerdancers and taekwondo jins for exhibitions, interviewed guests, and welcomed shoppers to case the joint. Food and drinks completed the affair.

On hand to congratulate Olympic World’s head honcho Jay Gervasio were Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) players Noy Castillo, Dindo Pumaren, Chris Jackson, Mon Jose, Rey Evangelista, and Boyet Fernandez, La Salle coach Franz Pumaren, Archers Mike Cortez and Joe Edwards, talk show host Paolo Abrera, Sonny Nebres and Goody Custodio of Adidas, Auty Villarama and Relly San Agustin of Nike, creative advertising genius Ady Pena, business partner Rene Angeles, and lots more.

Olympic World is the 12th and latest store owned and operated by Gervasio’s Olympic Village Group of Companies. It’s the group’s flagship and showcase with over 20 banks of TV sets hanging from the ceiling, two large-screen overhead projectors, a ceiling exposing more than 35 feet of open space, a half-court for basketball (where shoppers can test shoes before checking in), and that imposing wall.

Gervasio spared no expense in creating an ambiance of interactive, trendy, and lively sports shopping. His brother Carlo, a prominent architect, converted the cavernous, echoing space of the old Town Center cinema into a fun sports center. Aesthetic details are evident in the treatment of brand and category signages. For instance, the swimming area is defined by the suspended form of a diver in motion.

The store has over 15,000 items on the shelves and carries brands like Nike, Adidas, Reebok, AND 1, Fila, Puma, New Balance, K-Swiss, Speedo, Dr. Martens, Billabong, Johnny Blaze, Fubu, Champion, and more. Merchandise includes footwear, diving, and kayaking, equipment like treadmills, billiard table sets, dumbbells, ab-rollers, and scuba gear, headwear, skateboards, roller blades, and scooters.

A special section is for the National Basketball Association (NBA) which licensed Gervasio’s Pro Star Sports to manufacture and sell authentic apparel like T-shirts, jackets, jerseys, and socks. Incidentally, Pro Star Sports’ NBA socks are made of higher cotton quality than the socks sold by the NBA Store in New York — that’s a fact and I can attest to it.

Gervasio said Cuerdo’s Power Up group has designated instructors to assist shoppers eager to test their limits when they’re not browsing. Pre-schoolers and even a 75-year-old man have conquered the wall. For sports nuts, there are trivia facts on posters around the store to keep them occupied.

Obviously, a lot of heart went into the making of Olympic World. It’s not surprising because sports has always been a major part of Gervasio’s life. He played varsity basketball for La Salle in the NCAA and has been involved in the footwear industry for the past 25 years, working for Dunhop Australia, Grosby-KP and Royal Sporting House. Aside from the Olympic Village Group and Pro Star Sports, Gervasio also heads Pro Star Marketing Corp. which is a sub-distributor of Nike products.

Gervasio inaugurated the first Olympic Village store in 1991. He hasn’t since taken a step back. When most businesses reeled from the effects of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, Gervasio remained upbeat and continued to expand Olympic Village, growing to 12 outlets in nine years as the country’s fastest growing chain of ath-leisure stores.

"Whereas businesses and corporations were downsizing, we went against the current and saw the opportunity for growth," said Gervasio. "With the renewed focus on health and fitness brought about by the changing lifestyles of the ’80s and ’90s, we saw the dearth of ath-leisure stores to cater to yuppies and active teens. We recognized that sports and fitness who no longer confined to schools and universities. Gen X was taking up swimming, volleyball, taekwondo, and supervised street fighting in their spare time. Yuppies were hitting the pavement, going to fitness centers and putting up home gym systems.

"Baby boomers and seniors were taking up running and mall-walking as a hobby. We saw the blurring of lines between activewear and streetwear. We were the first to recognize that the active person could still be fashionable. We also anticipated that time was precious for the person on the run, hence the need for a one-stop shop. With our stores, the active person could shop from head to toe with all the accessories, too."

Gervasio said his goal is to elevate local retailing to new heights of retail entertainment — that, he owes to Olympic Village’s loyal customers. Olympic World is proof that Gervasio has achieved his goal.