Following the recent fire which engulfed its Dubai store and warehouse, Wolfi’s has moved fast to ensure it is, as much as possible, ‘business as usual’.
The pioneer of cycling in the UAE for 23 years, Wolfi’s has been built in the image of its positive and passionate founder, Wolfgang ‘Wolfi’ Hohmann. Spend even a few minutes chatting with Wolfi, and it’s clear he’s determined to make the best of even this tough situation.
In the face of a devastating fire, it would be easy to be significantly less than upbeat, yet, despite admitting that there is a real sense of loss, Wolfi is doing what he and his team do best: Being positive and upbeat. Looking for the opportunity.
Timing is everything (and it’s amazing what positive energy can achieve).
Cyclists on-road and off-road will know that Skoda has a long partnership with the sport, and it’s here that the brand is about to find a new way to connect with people.
The new Wolfi’s pop-up store on Sheikh Zayed Road, though not formally an extension of existing commercial partnerships, certainly keeps the theme of these front and centre.
Call it store-in-store, or a pop-up – Wolfi’s X Škoda Ali & Sons – this shared space is entirely in keeping with current sponsorship, for an automaker that started out making bicycles.
Call it good luck, call it good fortune, call it whatever you want, but when you find yourself opening a pop-up store in a car dealership, only to be visited by heads of business for the car brand and its parent company, who happen to be in the region for other business – sometimes things just work out right.
Sponsorship and brand activation on another level
Is the Wolfi’s pop-up a glimpse at a different future for cycling sponsorship?
Let’s look at it this way. When D2C brands initially looked to get closer to customers, events played a significant role. As the landscape changed further, D2C businesses started looking for ways to partner with retailers to deliver the brand experience IRL. Customer experience is omnichannel. Interacting with the brand across online and offline means working with people who deeply understand the brand and know how to deliver that quality and level of experience.
Did Wolfi’s and Skoda meet by chance? Definitely.
Could the automaker wish for a better cycling retail partner? Unlikely.
Will we see more Wolfi’s X Skoda shared retail spaces? I can’t say for certain, but if you are a car brand and long-term cycling sponsor, why would you not want to have Wolfi’s energy bringing that online sponsorship visibility into the offline world? Hospitality values meet retail service, delivering one hell of a customer experience.
Wolfi’s pop-up gives a whole new dimension to the Skoda and cycling relationship. How better to bring the partnership alive 24/7 365 than in a shared space?
Big picture thinking, small detail measuring, impact
As we chat, its immediately clear that Wolfi is a man who’ll comfortably move between cycling conversations around the sport, around running events, talking about community engagement, about teaching young girls to ride bikes, about playing a part in shaping a different view of daily life – encouraging a shift towards outdoors and active – in line with goals the region is increasingly promoting and funding.
Wolfi sees the bigger societal picture. ‘Healthy lifestyle’ – recreational activity, not just sport – is something he is actively playing a part in promoting and facilitating. That’s something which is easy to overlook when looking at the bikes and the apparel, and the store with the famous name. But overlooking this would, it seems, be a big mistake.
People do business with people
Enthusiasm. Energy. A positive vibe. After only a few minutes of conversation, I’m also wearing a smile. 20 minutes in and it’s as clear as day why Wolfi’s – the business – is what it is. A business made in the image of the 55-year-old businessman whose zest for the job that is his life is as strong as any I’ve met in my travels, within and beyond the cycling industry.
And, the funniest part of all of this, Wolfi had no idea I was about to walk through the front door of the store, just as I had no idea he would be in the store when I dropped in.
Some people make impressions that last.
Customer experience is all about this.
What an experience.
