design:retail - September 2017 - 43

043

INSPIRATION IS fueled by almost everything,"
describes Bevan Bloemendaal, vice president
of global environments and creative services at
The Timberland Co. "Whether it is nature and
watching how light and wind interact with natural
elements and humans, traveling the world to witness the similarities and nuances of cultures and
people, or the simplicity of human interaction-all
of this impacts the design process, how you approach storytelling, and how to create an overall
experience that touches all of the human senses."
Bloemendaal and his team work to enhance the
Timberland experience-how the products support
human interaction and a connection to the world
around us, whether in the city or in the country.
Growing up a preacher's son on a farm in the
Midwest, Bloemendaal has always had a love of
family and community, and a deep respect for
others and nature. As vice president, global environments and creative services for The Timberland
Co., he has spent the last 18 years working with an
organization that upholds those same values.
Bloemendaal's childhood was full of music and
creativity. He had a passion for creative arts and
spent his time designing environments out of hay
or building an out-of-the-norm tree house. He had
a musical family and still relishes the power of music to tell stories and evoke emotions.
"Music became an important part of my life, and
as a vocalist, pianist and organist, it was incredibly
rewarding creating emotional tensions through varied lyrics and genres of music," he says. "For me, it
was the ultimate form of storytelling, which I have
used my entire career to ensure the consumer is
being provided a 'story/experience' through all the
disciplines I now have the pleasure of working with."
He traveled Europe during college as a vocalist,
which introduced him to a global perspective. But
he soon realized he needed a more stable employment opportunity. Looking to the future, he used
this as way to fulfill his dream of leaving the farm
and heading to New York City.

Bloemendaal's path to success in the retail
industry began in a grassroots fashion as a sales associate with the Kinney Shoe Corp. After a rigorous
training program, he rose through the ranks-
sales manager, district manager then associate
creative director-learning the ropes along the way.
He worked with brands such as Kinney, Champs,
Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker
and Susie's Casuals, to name a few. Before he even
realized it, he had spent 21 years in the industry
and living in New York; he was exactly where he
wanted to be.
Sometimes, the best opportunities present
themselves when you least expect it. Bloemendaal
received a call from a recruiter regarding a position with a company in New Hampshire. His first
thought was that there was no way he was leaving
the city and going back to the country. It wasn't
until the company's name was revealed that he
knew he had to go. It was Timberland, and all of
his training and years in the footwear and apparel
industry had been preparing him for this position.

Distinguished.
Storyteller.
Communityfocused.
While Bloemendaal started with Timberland as
the director of visual merchandising, he quickly
was asked by the COO to tackle a bigger challenge:
managing seven departments. It was the beginning
of a transformation to what has now become an
internal agency that consists of three global disciplines: Environments Group, Creative Group and
Account Services Group. With the retail world constantly changing, it allows the company to react in
a frictionless way. "The role of myself and my teams
is to continuously innovate, surprise and delight
the consumer in this quickly changing digital/
retail landscape through environment design,
visual merchandising, advertising, graphic design,
digital design and storytelling, always exceeding
expectations with execution," he explains.

The team is innovating across platforms and
exploring new ways to engage customers. In Philadelphia, they recently launched the first Tree Lab. "This
has been an exciting opportunity to push ourselves
into the risk of thinking differently," Bloemendaal
describes. They have reduced the SKU count in the
store by more than 67 percent and are focusing on a
story called "Streetology" for a six- to eight-week
timeframe. They are examining the science and
knowledge of the city streets and how Timberland
supports that through its technology and style.
In addition, a new integrated store design was
launched in China and Malaysia, with a presentation that explores human connection and the
theater of the environment through the introduction of a "social hub" in the front window area
of the stores. Bloemendaal also is excited about
the next new store opening in Stanford, Calif.,
which features updated design elements throughout with the Boot Room being an important
destination point.
When it comes to the future of retail,
Bloemendaal doesn't even try to predict what will
happen in this quickly evolving industry. But what
he knows is that brick-and-mortar solutions need
to provide an experience that can't be replicated
online. "Up to 78 percent of Millennials prefer to
spend on experiences rather than product, so it's
a wonderful time of innovation and thinking differently," Bloemendaal says. "Product relevance
will continue to be king, but consumers are not
interested in transactional retail any longer, and
are asking for it to be more unique and personalized. These factors have created this opportunity
for a new wave of retail to happen-making it fun,
shareable, but most of all memorable."
Winning numerous honors and awards throughout the years, Bloemendaal has been humbled by
each one and is grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many amazing people along the
way. He is particularly grateful for Leon Banister,
who he credits for first believing in him and starting him on this journey. He also is thankful for his
husband, Tony, who has provided him the ultimate
support in all things.
As he continues his journey, he maintains perspective with a quote by Maya Angelou: "I have
learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never
forget how you made them feel."

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of design:retail - September 2017