Under Armour has been making a push to open more branded stores both in the U.S. and internationally.
It's a way for the Baltimore-based company to have more control and offer a broader selection of its sports apparel and footwear than at wholesale partners such as Dick's Sporting Goods and Foot Locker. Company executives have long talked about such "controlled" retail as an opportunity for the brand to tell its story and own the connection with customers and athletes.
Two new Under Armour Brand House stores -- the 15th and 16th in the U.S. -- will open next week, including one at the new World Trade Center retail complex in Lower Manhattan and another on Walnut Street in Philadelphia. Another will open this fall in Boston.
At Westfield World Trade Center in New York, Under Armour will be among 125 stores including Apple, Dior Cosmetics and Fossil. The store is opening Tuesday.
The store in Philadelphia will open Monday. Like other Brand House stores, it will be large and prominently located, spanning nearly 10,000 square feet. It will feature men's, women's and youth apparel, footwear and accessories and highlight "Connected Fitness" products and apps such as MapMyFitness, Endomondo and MyFithessPal.
To mark the opening, Philadelphia Union soccer players Keegan Rosenberry and Chris Pontius will stop in at noon on Monday. The store also is offering on-site customization for featured golf apparel during the day.
Longer term, Under Armour will create a flagship store in Manhattan, which will open in three years in the former FAO Schwarz space on Fifth Avenue.
Kevin Plank, Under Armour's founder and CEO, said last month that the Fifth Avenue store would be "the most breathtaking and exciting consumer experience ever conceived at retail."
lorraine.mirabella@baltsun.com