Play any sport in the Philippines and there’s a good chance you’re playing with gear from Sonak. The sporting goods supplier and retailer, which also caters to the fashion and lifestyle market, has spent decades building a reputation as the nation’s go-to name in sports equipment – and more recently, sports medicine.
This kind of diversification combined with a healthy dose of digitization has given Sonak an advantage in today’s game, which incoming CEO Kabir Buxani believes is a winning edge.
“We’ve always had core competencies as an organization,” he tells The CEO Magazine. “Over time, as we’ve grown better and better, they have turned into new business opportunities.”
“We want to be able to let the customer have the best experience shopping with us. That’s ultimately what retail is about.”
It’s not simply a case of expanding the number of top brands on Sonak shelves, opening new stores or expanding in the world of ecommerce, although the company is making significant strides in each. Buxani, part of the family that founded Sonak, says it’s about pushing boundaries.
“Since my grandfather’s time, as a company we’ve always had that urge to innovate and improve,” he says. “As incoming CEO, I’ve overseen a lot of automation that’s streamlined and improved our operations by empowering our employees beyond manual tasks.”
The digital leg-up has allowed Sonak staff to concentrate on analytics, critical thinking and making better decisions.
“Besides that, we are always improving on our offerings,” Buxani says. “Any new initiative is something we aggressively push so that we can remain among the best of the retailers in the field.”
The making of a sports titan
The growth of Sonak, from a general merchandising enterprise in its early days to the sports, fashion and lifestyle titan of today, reflects the growth of the Philippines itself.
“We have our roots in this country,” Buxani explains. “But bringing on new brands and partnering with different real estate vendors, our growth is capitalizing on the growth of the Philippines.
“It’s one of the fastest-growing GDPs in Asia right now. The population is slowly getting wealthier and with that come different mega projects, different brands and companies setting up shop here.”
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Far from a challenge, Buxani says Sonak sees the development as an opportunity.
“When your country is prospering, you have a bigger base of customers to reach out to. It’s a chance for excellence.”
And with digital being the order of the day, there are all-new ways to take full advantage of that age-old opportunity. Buxani is tasked with making modern technology work wonders for Sonak and in that regard he’s making significant gains.
A partnership with Salesforce has already delivered a fantastic return on investment – Sonak’s ecommerce revenue is up 70 percent year on year thanks to its implementation of Salesforce’s Einstein 1 platform.
“We’ve invested quite a lot in connecting our software to make our own technology infrastructure,” he says. “Data gets to where it needs to be very quickly. If you register online, every single piece of your information is fully activated by the digital marketing team and customer service.”
Buxani believes the company’s digital strategy has futureproofed Sonak against any measure of potential growth.
“Technology used to be something that held us back,” he admits. “Now, it’s actually allowing us to accelerate our growth.”
Team effort
It’s a team effort, however, and Sonak’s teammates are heavy hitters.
“We always partner with the best. Always. We do our research and look for the right potential,” Buxani insists. “We don’t just look at what they’re offering; we look for a mentality that they’re keen to grow, that we share the same mindset of constant improvement.”
According to Buxani, collaborative partnership is a point of pride for the company too.
“Some of our partnerships go back to my granddad’s time. His integrity as a businessman still serves us well. There’s a lot of trust because of who we are and how we do business, and that’s a big strength for us,” he points out.
From left: Anil Buxani, Sonak’s outgoing CEO, with incoming CEO Kabir Buxani
“We always partner with the best. Always.”
Like the sports, fashion and lifestyle customers it caters to, Sonak is a company that’s never satisfied with the level it’s on – in the best possible way.
“There’s always a sense that we can be better at any process, and that’s allowed us to develop and expand our core competencies,” Buxani reflects.
“But it’s our attention to detail that’s made the difference. Whenever we have a physical inventory discrepancy, it represents room for improvement. It can be a single item; we’re not sitting on that. Let’s make it better, more efficient.”
That way of thinking has left Sonak with the ability to cater to any customer request.
“We want to be able to let the customer have the best experience shopping with us,” Buxani says. “That’s ultimately what retail is about.”
