Are Brick-And-Mortar Stores The Next Step For Online Activewear Retailers?

LONDON, United Kingdom — British activewear retailer Active in Style has opened a brand new brick-and-mortar store in London, to support growth and drive sales back to its e-commerce site.

Featuring a selection of athleisure labels currently sold direct to consumers online, the store will allow the popular retailer to build on the success of its current boutique retail spaces located in a number of luxury fitness studios across London, including Xtend Barre and Third Space.

“Online and social has been a great sounding board to help us find our feet, and in turn, has put us in a position to launch a brick-and-mortar store,” said Founder, Caroline Lucey.

“However, the Active in Style concept store will allow us to bring our digital world to life, giving customers the opportunity to engage with our brand, our team, and to try the product.”

Launched online in 2013, Active in Style has brought some of the world’s most sought after and recognised activewear brands into the UK, adding a mix of style, function and performance to the growing athleisure movement. And they understand just how important experiential marketing is for wellness brands.

The brand’s thriving online business ships orders throughout regional England, Europe, and the UAE, but as the athleisure industry goes from strength to strength, Lucey says the business still has a lot of work to do, in order to inspire and encourage everyday women to see the value in investing in an active wardrobe.

The new store is an invaluable addition to the business, Lucey told Welltodo. Acting as a touch point that will help to build trust with customers, while allowing for real-time feedback, means the team can better judge which brands to stock and what is or isn’t working.

“This experience combined with the product feedback is invaluable in directing our online stock in terms of brands, styles and sizing,” she added.

Like Active in Style, many multi-brand athleisure retailers have decided to launch digitally, in order to keep overheads down and boost global reach. However, the success of Bandier in the US, has proven the model has legs when attached to a retail concept.

According to Business of Fashion, the American retailer averages 2.4 units per transaction and $1,400 per square foot (the average cost of an item is about $80), while sales are up 40 percent year over year.

Elsewhere, Kate Hudson’s e-commerce athleisure brand Fabletics is amidst an aggressive brick-and-mortar strategy. With plans to open 75 to 100 stores over the next three to five years, the company is working to improve its customer experience following a number of controversies regarding its business model.

Read more: Fabletics To Increase Offline Presence With 100 New Stores

According to Forbes, almost all of Fabletics’ $150 million in revenues in 2015 came from its e-commerce operation. However, Adam Goldenberg, cofounder and co-CEO of the brand’s parent company, JustFab, told the publication: “We want to completely mirror the stores to the online experience.”

Aside from fueling sales both in-store and online, Active in Style say their new store will allow them to hold regular events from yoga and run clubs to meditation and HIIT workouts, as well as  events in collaboration with influencers and big brands, which Lucey says is 100% conducive to the active living movement taking place in New York, LA and Sydney.

“Working closely with big brands on bespoke seasonal launches is really exciting, and the fact they can see the value in engaging directly with our consumer is invaluable; it allows us to introduce our customers to these brands directly while getting them involved physically and spiritually,” she argued.

But, Lucey is quick to add that opening a new brick and mortar site is more than just adding another sales channel.

“With activewear, touch is so important. It’s hard to tell the difference in fabric compositions from a one-dimensional image you see online, so being able to try on the garment, feel the fabric in the flesh, and see how it moves with your body, will in turn, give customers confidence when purchasing online down the track.”

In a digital era, where consumers are looking to regain control, while actively seeking ways to improve their sense of wellbeing, there’s something to be said for creating a space that allows them to do both.