House Of Hoops Is Unique Basketball Retail Experience
NIKE and Foot Locker have opened the doors to House of Hoops by Foot Locker on Harlem's 125th Street, a first-of-its-kind basketball retail experience with Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse exclusively under one roof.
“House of Hoops is a hub for all things basketball and a new home for consumers who live and breathe the game,” said Charlie Denson, President of the Nike Brand. "It's the ultimate basketball store. House of Hoops offers a stellar line-up of performance and basketball inspired footwear, apparel and equipment from the game's biggest names, meeting the needs of the every day player."
As the ultimate consumer experience, House of Hoops flagship stores will feature basketball product available nowhere else in the U.S., including coveted player exclusive footwear. These limited edition personalized performance shoes include the embellishments that All-Star players like Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd and rookie Kevin Durant have on the shoes they lace up on court each night. These styles will be made available for the first time at House of Hoops. At House of Hoops, the Hoops Essentials area gives players the chance to hook up their look from head to toe in the colors of their choice. The VIP Area allows them to read magazines, or check out commercials and behind the scenes interviews with top players-all from leather chairs in front of a 65-inch TV screen. House of Hoops also introduces the Scorer's Table, with special touches like customized t-
shirts and a specialized electronic community board with a ticker posting real-time scores from local high school basketball games, relevant basketball news, and information about upcoming store events.
Under Armour Opens First Retail Store
Under Armour, Inc. has opened its first full-line retail store built to enable consumers to immerse themselves in Under Armour's brand and performance products.
The 4,500 sq. ft. retail space at the Westfield Mall in Annapolis, Maryland, features an immense bronze statue of brand ambassador “Big E,” a “stadium tunnel” entryway, a 120-inch rear projection HD television screen, a 32-inch multi-media touch-screen kiosk containing branded interactive content and educational elements, and a look and feel that represents the collision of athletics, science, industry and performance. Once inside the tunnel entryway, visitors will be engaged by a state-of-the-art and bigger-than-life audio visual experience and will be able to shop a full range of Under Armour performance apparel and footwear.
The Annapolis store marks Under Armour's entry into the branded retail space. Located in close proximity to the Under Armour world headquarters in Baltimore, the new store will serve as a brand touch point with the performance athlete as well as a retail and merchandising pilot center for new brand campaigns to be rolled out to a larger retailer partner community.
“We want the consumer to experience what it feels like to be in an Under Armour commercial,” said Kevin Plank, CEO, Under Armour, Inc. “We’ve built the physical manifestation of the Under Armour Brand. From our perspective, we look to this store to make us a better retail partner, merchandiser and listener to our consumer. As for our consumers, we hope they see the store as an extraordinary and authentic Under Armour experience. It will be like nothing they’ve ever experienced.”
Under Armour selected PlayNetwork Inc., headquartered in Redmond, WA, as the provider of custom music, video and systems integration for the store. “We are thrilled to have PlayNetwork as the integrated media provider for the company’s first store,” said Christopher Hufnagel, Senior Director of Retail, Under Armour.
Ariat Displays Western Boots &Apparel
Ariat International, a leading manufacturer of equestrian and western boots, needed a flexible tower display that could accommodate multiple combinations of product within a small space.
Concept Designs, a Palo Alto, CA-based display firm, produced a central powder coated steel frame with custom slat grid panels attached to the front and back. The slat grid panels accommodate many of Ariat's existing branded display elements, including pegs, waterfalls, and shoe shelves.
The compact 2'x2' footprint display is strongly branded with a double sided wood header that combines a silk screened Ariat word mark with a dome label of their "shield" icon.
Reef Denim & Tee Stacker Display
This display was designed to offer a modular unit that blends the cool and casual attitude of the beach and lifestyle. The Reef brand provides authentic, surf inspired designed products.
This display served as a work-horse for the entire program, while occupying a small foot print. Clean lines and simple forms are the basis for the design. Natural materials provide warmth.
This Reef Denim/Tee Stacker display was created by the Carlson Group, Inc., a point-of-purchase display and fixture firm based in Portland, OR.
Two American Original Brands Unite To Release Jordan Levi’s Collection
Jordan Brand, a division of Nike, Inc. and Levi Strauss & Co., have jointly-developed the Jordan Levi’s Collection, which will unite classic style with urban design flair. The men’s only, specially designed, co-branded product will be named the 23/501 collection.
As part of the project, the two global icons created an exclusive collection pairing the Air Jordan Retro 1 style sneakers with a pair of exclusive, co-branded Levi’s Original 501 jeans and a signature tee shirt featuring graphic artwork taken from both brands.
Fran Boller, Business Director, Apparel for Jordan Brand. “This collaboration with Levi’s is an opportunity to offer this exclusive package to consumers looking for something original and authentic.” Doug Sweeny, Director, Brand Marketing, Levi’s Jeanswear added, “Both brands share a kinship given the role each play within their respective categories.”
Marv-o-lus Mfg. Co., Inc., offers the CapTower, its fashionable tower of caps, which attracts customers, and saves precious floor space. Customers can easily see the logos they’re looking for and can easily access caps. 12 cap shelves are spaced 5˝" apart. A weighted base prevents the tower from tipping over. The CapTower is available in a black finish with dimensions of 78"H x 10"W x 15-1/2" Deep. For more information, contact Mav-o-lus Mfg. Co., Inc., 220 North Wastenaw Ave., Chicago, IL 60612; (Tel) 800-236-0553, 773-826-1717, (Fax) 773-265-1800, (Web Site) www.marvolus.com.
eckoTV Engages Young Tech-Savvy Consumers
Channel M has joined with Marc Ecko Enterprises to roll out eckoTV, a new in-store entertainment network developed for the youth clothing and lifestyle brand.
eckoTV features user-created stunts and humorous programming that extends the experience of shopping at ecko unltd into an entertaining event. The network rolled out in ecko unltd. retail stores and branded shops in Macy's stores nationwide.
Marc Ecko, Chief Creative Officer of Ecko Enterprises, said, “The number of young consumers testing their abilities as producers has never been stronger. Through eckoTV, we are able to highlight the best of this new breed of talent, while also providing an excellent means of engaging today’s young, tech savvy consumer.”
Eric Hebel, COO of Channel M, said, “The goal of the eckoTV network is to provide consumers with a new way to engage with ecko”.
Back to Top
To See previous issues of Creative Fashion Merchandising click here
To See Previous Issues of Online Weekly in Creative's Archives, click here.
To See other Creative Online Newsletters click here
