The Under Armour Pop-Up Store: Conquering the French Market

Designed as an experiential space dedicated to training in all its forms, Under Armour hosted the Savly x Under Armour Pop-Up Store in Paris for three days. The pop-up store brought an immersive and connected experience to workout aficionados and loyal customers.

This authentic space – found on Storefront – featured the collaboration of Savly, the fashion and lifestyle platform, and Under Armour, all in a Parisian setting. Storefront spoke to the team in charge of the pop-up operation.

 

• A pop-up store to meet customers and build buzz

“This pop-up store makes it possible for people to discover our brand and products, to meet potential and existing customers, and to test the market before we decided to open more permanent showrooms and shops”.

The project came from from the desire to discover Under Armour’s products and brand in France, where the brand is still under-represented compared to its competitors. We expect this Pop Up Store to gain visibility for Under Armour in the French market, and the possibility for Myprotein, the partner of this event, to test its new products directly to the general public.

 

• Choosing the perfect space

“The main criteria for us was the location being in the center of Paris, in Châtelet opposite the metro exit n ° 1 and rue Rivoli, one of the busiest streets in Paris. The space is modern and appropriately sized for what we are looking for to present the Savly x Under Armor collaboration. The first floor presents the Under Armour collections and the history of the #IWILLchallenge campaign. Two challengers who were selected via a competition were coached for two months by influencers Justine Gallice and Thibault Geoffray with a dedicated fitness and nutrition program.”

“The basement will host our sports challenge where people can win a gift if they win! The owner of the space, Ben Solms, is passionate about this concept: he has hosted several Pop-Up Stores with different brands. In addition, the walls have a history with Coco Chanel and Louis XIV who played in the courtyard as a child … ”

 

• Why Under Armour Chose To Open in September

“We chose to open our first Pop-Up store for three days in late September just before Fashion Week, because of the back-to-school theme and the Fall being the perfect time to make good resolutions. We timed it during the weekend to attract the most people.”

 

 

• A Physical vs. Online Shop

“The idea behind this physical store was to make the brand more easily accessible to the public and to meet our customers, since both Under Armour and our partner Myprotein don’t have a physical store in France just yet. Right now, Under Armour is only available online and in some Go Sport stores and outlets in Paris (BHV, Citadium, for example).”

“The interest [of a pop-up store] is that people can try the products, touch the materials and get a true brand experience. Visitors are able to test and discover the training range of the Under Armour brand and the trendy world of Savly, plus the products we’re offering by Myprotein. Unlike a conventional pop-up store, there was no physical purchase on site, you have to order via tablets. The idea was to dedicate the space to the discovery and exploration of the training, and let visitors experience our brand on our website Savly.fr. ”

 

Under Armour’s Tips For a Successful Launch and Communication:

1. “Online communication: For us, what helped attract a lot of people to Savly x Under Armour was an online communication plan on our own channels (website, social networks), as well as on the channels of our partners and influencers who participated in the campaign, with consistent messaging throughout.
2. Offline communication is also important. We hosted a launch event exclusively for the press, and had a series of interactive games and gifts in the shop which created more buzz and more foot traffic into the store.
3. Collaboration is key: there was good cooperation between the 3 brands. By having clear goals and a common style and communication guidelines, we were able to speak with one voice to customers and get them to discover both our sport and lifestyle world. “

Open up your own pop-up shop today!