This is certainly a power move by the folks at Under Armour as they look to continue to build their brand’s dominance as of late. It has been reported that UA is set to open their second store in Manhattan. The first store is located down on Broadway in SoHo near the adidas flagship. To be more precise, the second store will be at FAO Schwarz former location housed on Fifth Avenue.
Taking to that location, Under Armour is expected to occupy about 53,000 square feet and this is scheduled to be open by Mid-2019. The FAO Schwarz location lines up Under Armour to contend with Nike who has a location just a block away. It is all about positioning yourself to compete and align the necessary opportunities for brand expansion.
According to Bloomberg.com Under Armour’s CEO, Kevin Plank they are looking to deliver “the single greatest retail store in the world”. He even had this to say during an earnings conference call:
“We know that’s a big statement with big company, but I think that that’s the opportunity we have, I think it’ll really position the brand again in the iconic place where we believe we belong.”
Like I mentioned before, this is certainly a power move. With competitors like Nike and adidas looking to continue opening up more and more retail locations, UA doesn’t want to fall behind. While their stock continues to rise opportunities like this will assure their resurgence, thanks to Steph will not go in vain.