Johannesburg - World renowned fitness brand Under Armour has opened its doors in Rosebank, Johannesburg, just in time for the festive season.
Managing Director at Under Armour SA Darren Cooke. said that the new Brand House features 109 sq metres of retail space, and delivers “a fully immersive brand experience, putting consumer satisfaction and elevated product assortment at the hub of its proficient offering.”
“With the focused performer as a key target consumer, it’s important that when they are investing in products to support their performance, they get the best possible advice to ensure that they are making the correct choice for their needs,” he said.
The Rosebank store, which is the third in South Africa, will be the brand’s first full BHCC EVO concept featuring a unique footwear wall as well as a LED screen outside.
Cooke added that the latest Under Armour Brand House evolution of space is an actualised example of their commitment to being best-in-class.
“Continuously adapting their brand touch points to meet the consumer in an environment that pays homage to the essence of grit, tenacity and strength.”
Cooke said that over the years, Under Armour had cemented its position as a leader in the sport performance market, dedicated to helping athletes, both pro and amateur, to continuously assess and improve their performance.
The brand also recently completed a vigorous test-and-learn journey to evaluate its brand, and how the consumer perceives the shopping experience in its brand houses globally.
Cooke said that a crucial component of the exercise was answering the question of whether the brand was effectively communicating its purpose, ‘to make athletes better’, in its stores.
“The brand found that the move to digitisation of stores would create further facilitation to athletes in making better purchase decisions by understanding the technology and its benefits that can be found in all the Under Armour products.”
“With the focused performer as a key target consumer, it’s important that when they are investing in products to support their performance, they get the best possible advice to ensure that they are making the correct choice for their needs.”
Brent Venter, Head of Retail at Under Armour South Africa, added that choosing Rosebank as their new home was a conscious decision.
“In recent years, Rosebank has emerged as the new trendy spot in Johannesburg, it has become increasingly popular with tenants due to its urban, pedestrian-friendly community and the precinct is now winning the race for tenants against Sandton,” he said.
“Conveniently located between different key city nodes - Rosebank’s scale supports both corporate and residential buildings, making for a unique and enriching lifestyle mix.”
Venter added that Rosebank was also a stop on the Gautrain route and that 50% of buyers in the suburb in the last year were between 18 to 35 years, indicating that it was becoming the next “it” spot among young professionals and first-home buyers “providing broad access to the right customers, an influx of local & international businesses, embassies, new restaurants and hotels.”
“2022 has been a remarkable year for Under Armour SA and we are aggressively focused on expanding our footprint in key locations while upgrading existing stores and looking for new sustainable locations,” Venter said.
“We are thrilled to have launched in Rosebank and managed to secure a prime location on the cusp of the street which is quite appealing when you consider the precinct’s pedestrian friendly culture.”
The new Under Armour store at the Zone in Rosebank is located at Shop SH14 and will be open from Monday – Sunday from 9am to 7pm. For more information about Under Armour, visit www.underarmour.co.za