Puma's New HQ Embodies Sports Brand's 'Forever Faster' Mantra

Global sports apparel and footwear brand Puma is applying its “Forever Faster” mantra at its new North American headquarters in Somerville’s Assembly Row.

The 150K SF space, spread across five floors at 455 Grand Union Blvd., doesn’t have traditional offices, giving Puma’s basketball, running, sales and marketing teams quick and easy access to each other on a contemporary open floor plan. 

“I look at the business as kind of a relay race,” Puma North America President and CEO Bob Philion said. “Teams, they’re just going to be faster with those baton passes. So that’s what this building is going to allow us to do.”

The Germany-based Puma signed a long-term lease in 2019 with landlord Federal Realty Investment Trust and opened its doors in August after the coronavirus pandemic delayed a planned February launch. Today, 450 employees roam the halls of the building's seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th and 13th floors.

The Gensler-designed and Timberline Construction-built HQ, with a rooftop adorned by a bright Puma leaping cat logo, consolidates Puma’s operations from Westford, an approximate 40 minutes’ drive north, and a WeWork in Boston. The location sits in the center of gravity for Puma’s employees and saves workers up to 25 minutes driving to Somerville instead of farther south into Boston, Philion said.

The prominent Puma HQ, overlooking Assembly Row’s retail and entertainment corridor, fitness centers and MBTA Assembly station, gives Puma the sense of “playing in traffic,” Philion said. It’s a livelier environment than the Westford building, where Puma avoided signage to prevent its headquarters from being confused with a retail center. 

“We really liked this area for the creativity and the vibe and the energy,” he said. “Because of this location, and certainly design, we're getting a lot more visibility; it feels good.”

Red trim, Puma iconography, and images of athletes line the hallways. Employees can be found on their laptops at barstool perches, soundproof phone booths, floor pads, lounge chairs, and other workspaces with varying levels of privacy. Many spots include views of Boston's Back Bay, the Encore Boston Harbor casino, or the Mystic River between neighboring rising multifamily complexes. 

Every floor includes a kitchen, a highly requested feature, said Gillian Commander, Puma North America Vice President of Strategy and project lead for the HQ. Seven showrooms, named after Puma-sponsored athletes, are convertible with wall fixtures that can either display footwear and apparel or be stripped of shelving to open more space for meeting and presentation functions.

Office changes are being explored daily by Puma’s newly hired four-person experience team. These in-house employees handle community outreach and monitor workers’ evolving needs such as ensuring power cords are available at different seating areas, making audio upgrades in meeting rooms, fixing WiFi dead spots and more.

“It’s kind of like a new home,” Philion said. “You get into a new home and you’re constantly making some updates. And we continue to do that.”

Some of the collaborative, open-space inspiration came from Puma’s two years at temporary offices, including a WeWork at 33 Arch St. Remote work is difficult for a brand like Puma. Employees and customers need to touch and feel their athletic apparel and footwear products, Philion said. Feelings of being hemmed-in at past workspaces inspired the open floor plan and other amenities. 

A “treehouse” stairway with an incoming plant-lined, lounge-like space midway down takes visitors to the seventh floor. There, long rectangular space, with tables, a stage and a café in the corner, offer even more flexible space for Puma. The area can hold up to 500 people, Commander said, although Puma has kept occupancy limits down because of social distancing. 

The seventh floor includes a Sweetgreen Outpost for lunchtime salad deliveries and access to a 19K SF outdoor space. The area, yet to be fitted out, sits on top of the building’s parking garage and Puma has plans to add a basketball court. The expansive outdoor space also includes access to the office’s gym, with curated equipment, including Peloton bikes, facing sweeping views of Somerville.

“This is actually one of the parts of the building I’m most proud of because we involved our employee committee very heavily,” Commander said.

The now-sparse gym will continue to be fitted out as social distancing precautions ease. Above, the building’s 10th floor includes track-like flooring for shoe testing. Makerspaces, including a testing treadmill, material labs and color labs, line the 10th-floor hallways, and were barred from closer viewing to protect the confidentiality of future Puma products.

The 10th floor is also where Puma’s endorsed athletes test out equipment. The sports brand has been aggressive lately in its pursuit of both rising and established stars. The brand sponsors Usain Bolt and former Patriots star Julian Edelman; international soccer teams and players like American Christian Pulisic and Brazilian Neymar; the NBA’s DeAndre Ayton and LaMelo Ball; and 17-year-old basketball guard Mikey Williams, who just inked a historic endorsement deal with the company.

The investments are major moves as Puma positions itself in the sports world and in Boston, which rival brands Converse and New Balance also call home. 

“I think it’s really important, especially coming out of Covid, just to play offense and show that we’re making investments,” Philion said. “I think showing the employees our growth momentum and continued investment to accelerate the business is super-important.”