ADAY Take On British Retail Sector With A Pop-Up At Topshop

Following a successful partnership with Stella McCartney for adidas and news of an activewear label in collaboration with Beyonce (though yet to come to fruition), Topshop has reaffirmed its commitment to the athleisure market with an in-store pop-up from activewear label ADAY.

Launching yesterday at Topshop Oxford Circus, London, the pop-up will be the first in the UK for ADAY and will allow customers to touch and experience what the e-commerce brand has to offer.

Secured through Appear Here, an award-winning online platform for renting retail space, the pop-up is one of 20+ spaces on offer and it’s the first time that concession space within the flagship store has been available to book online.

Speaking to Welltodo, ADAY co-founder Nina Faulhaber, said: “We were approached by Topshop and Appear Here in August. In their words, they were looking for ‘brands of the moment’ to feature in Topshop’s flagship location. Even though we were preparing for a move of our HQ to New York, we knew it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up and started working on how to bring ADAY to life. It’s incredibly exciting that our first offline shop is in one of the largest retail stores in the world!”

In a store that receives over 400,000 visitors each week, the pop-up will allow ADAY to reach a new set of consumers, which has been the case with similar ventures from other brands including Active In Style and Style PB who have both had successful pop-ups in London this year, albeit without a giant retail brand like Topshop behind them.

Aside from the explosion of activewear pop-ups in London, the arrival of multi-brand retail boutiques like The Sports Edit, the opening of Nike’s dedicated womenswear store, rapid expansion for Lululemon, and the hugely successful Lorna Jane concession in House Of Fraser indicate that consumer demand for athleisure on the high street is very strong.

Emma Marlow, UK Brand Representative at Lorna Jane explained the decision to launch in House of Fraser as being a launch pad to bring it to a mass market.

“I had so many journalists and customers asking why I didn’t approach Net-a-Sporter or Harrods etc. and my answer was always the same: Lorna Jane is not a luxury brand that is for an exclusive clientele, it’s for every woman. I felt House of Fraser was the right department store to test with to see if my assumed demographic of customer would shop with us and to say we’ve been pleasantly surprised is an understatement,” said Marlow.

Building on Marlow’s thoughts on activewear being for every woman, Meg He, ADAY co-founder expressed her views about the transition of boutique fitness into the commercial sector by arguing:

“Fitness is no longer a boutique activity — being active is a part of everyone’s lives. That doesn’t have to mean working out everyday, it could just mean walking up the steps of the escalator in the tube. As a result, every global retailer is thinking seriously [about] activewear, beyond just the big brands (Nike, Adidas, etc). Activewear is the fastest growing segment of women’s fashion. As this category grows, consumers will need more choice, making the boutique brands important. From where we stand, the most interesting growth is in a new category, one that we are creating — what we think of as active daywear.

“We take everyday essentials and make them from fully active materials, so that the properties they have — from sweat-wicking to SPF 50 (active) or silk-feel, wrinkle-free (daywear) — fit into a modern day’s life. We have had a significant amount of wholesale interest and think this is due part because of our design approach, initial traction, material quality and technique, but also because what we do bridges their other daywear womenswear and big brand sportswear so well.”

The ADAY pop-up is now open in Topshop, Oxford Circus, London until Sunday 12th October.

To find out more about ADAY visit www.thisisaday.com