Lunch with BS: Dave Thomas

On a firm footing

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It has to be something Indian, my guest is quite sure, but deciding the venue for lunch is tough, he confesses when we meet at Dhaba, The Claridges, in New Delhi. Dave Thomas, the 45-year-old managing director of Adidas India, looking upbeat about a conversation over a meal, has reached before me and used the time to browse through a couple of “Lunch with BS” we had published earlier. 

The tall Australian, who has spent his working years across many parts of the globe — from Japan to Hong Kong, Germany to Dubai — jokes he was checking if he is suitably dressed for the occasion. He is — in a green, informal shirt, cotton trousers and yes, Adidas shoes, already enjoying the prospect of an Indian lunch.

Thomas’ first pick would have been Karim’s, the iconic Mughlai joint right in front of Jama Masjid, but he wants to save time on a working day. He has been in this country for two years now, but he has travelled to India before, and once, with his father when he was only three or four. It is his father, in fact, from whom he learnt about India, which he calls an exciting place. 

As we get talking about policies that govern business over a leisurely lunch that lasts much beyond the scheduled one hour, he says the biggest predictable thing about India is its unpredictability. And that’s the biggest challenge here for foreign companies. “There’s no warning, no time to react when policies change suddenly,” he says, citing the case of his own company when it had to apply twice for opening retail stores. In fact, he listed the unpredictability of India as part of a presentation in Dubai last week on 2020 challenges. 

We are the first to enter the restaurant and choose a corner where we can talk, though the Hindi film music of the 60s and 70s in the background is rather loud and we have to keep our pitch high. I ask the guest if he can relate to any of the Geeta Dutt or Kishore Kumar numbers that play on. “No,” he is honest, but adds, “my ears are good enough to know it’s old music.” He may not know Indian music, but he’s familiar with Bollywood names. “I watched Bajirao Mastani and really liked Ranveer Singh.” I ask him teasingly whether he likes Ranveer Singh or Deepika Padukone (the lead actress in the film). “That’s not an easy one.”

When it comes to food, he takes charge. “Do you like murgh malai,” he asks, surprising me with his accurate pronunciation. He orders for the both of us — mutton seekh kabab, chicken tikka for starters, then Balti meat and saag (spinach) chicken for the main course with butter naan and kulcha. We promise ourselves a good spread of dessert later.

Adidas’ headquarters at Herzogenau-rach (Germany) is becoming more optimistic about the group’s business in India. “We have been able to give them confidence with our success of the last two years after the ups and downs in the past 10 years.”' But India as a manufacturing hub for the world is still “a point of discussion”. The group has considered the option of manufacturing from India for some of the emerging markets (for instance, making sandals for Africa), but there’s nothing concrete yet. Thomas is hoping to talk with the group’s new CEO early next year about India’s Make In India initiative and if this country can be a location for manufacturing.

Talking of Make In India, has he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi? “I wrote to him recently and got a reply from his office.” The PM’s monthly radio talk show “Mann Ki Baat” prompted Thomas to contact him about encouraging non-cricket sports. “We are partners for Under-17 football and wanted to explore if we could do things together with the government here in India.” 

Although there hasn’t been much action on that front, Thomas feels this government is trying to do many constructive things. Even as big cities will remain the focus for a company like Adidas, his interest in tapping into smaller towns and rural India is quite clear.

We go on to discuss the Rio Olympics and the disappointment of India not winning more medals. “The government should be hungry about doing well in sports,” he says in all seriousness, and talks of Australia’s sporting crisis in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. “The Australian government did all it could and the sporting fortunes of the country changed after that.” But he remembers to mention Dipa Karmakar, who narrowly missed a medal in gymnastics at the Rio Games. “It was the best medal never won.”

We are in the middle of the meal and Thomas is enjoying the spicy food, having abandoned the fork and knife by now. “My wife (an American) doesn’t like spicy food.” The chilli in the spinach chicken is hot, and it gets stuck in his throat. He warns me not to write about the chilli bit as it would project him as a non-spicy person. We discuss food in Australia, where he spent his formative years. “There’s everything — from Italian to Mediterranean and Vietnamese. And Chinese food has been there from the Gold Rush days.” But he gives away the secret to his fondness for spicy curry — from the age of 10 he would order food from two Indian restaurants in Sydney.

Given a choice, where would he like his next posting to be? “Managing emerging markets while being based in Delhi.”

Thomas’ social life in Delhi is more an extension of his work and colleagues; there’s not much time for movies or late nights. His four-year-old daughter, who studies in the American Embassy School, is his energy, he says, and his only television time is with her. “She watches Chhota Bheem,” he laughs. “When I ask her if she understands what she’s watching, she nods knowledgeably. I don’t think that’s true!” He catches most of his movies on flights and his reading as well. And yes, he still loves the physical book and the idea of gifting books.

I ask him about Puma, the company that was set up as an offshoot of Adidas after rivalry between the two brothers, Adolf Dassler and Rudolf Dassler, who had started a shoe company in the 1920s. Thomas recalls how the bitterness was evident in 2002 when he first went to Germany. There was no mixing, even socially, of the two towns on either side of the River Aurach. On one side of the river is Adidas, on the other Puma. There’s been much crossing of the sides as far as poaching goes, though. 

Now we are talking about the business rivalry with Nike and how Adidas is raising its game. And Reebok, the controversy-hit brand that Adidas took over? The bad times are mostly in the past now, he claims.

Even as we talk of fitness, we order desserts with plenty of calories. Beetroot halwa is my guest’s recommendation and gulab jamun, too. I add rabri. As we wait for the three items to arrive, Thomas speaks about inconsistency in the service industry in India. He names a prominent hotel chain as slipping in service while another top brand maintaining its quality at all times. 

It was, however, a small hotel in Dehradun that delighted him in 2001. He recalls how the manager expressed his sorrow over Don Bradman’s death the day Thomas checked in. The manager knew from Thomas’ passport that he was Australian and his room was upgraded. “I was touched.”

As we finish dessert and head back to work on a hot October day, Dave says he is waiting to take his dad to Karim’s later this month as he comes visiting.