adidas Stadium Flagship NYC: A store which became a landmark

Objective: Design the ultimate brand expression and sportswear retail destination to achieve market dominance.

adidas was the first truly global sportswear brand. A big brand calls for big plans, so we created a truly game-changing idea for their landmark Flagship store in the heart of New York. An experiential retail design concept that elevated their position in the USA, demonstrated the future of sports retail and cemented adidas as the  global sportwear authority.

This is the story behind one of the world’s most award-winning retail store concepts, EVER. A larger-than-life brand experience for adidas, that everyone, everywhere was talking about. One that drove record sales and market share whilst also catapulting #thefutureofsport to the No.1 trending hashtag in the USA. A creative brand experience design so good, it was rolled out to all adidas' retail environments and concept stores globally.

The future of retail is here: The store launch marked a new dawn for experiential retail design and drew crowds that queued around the block for a glimpse of the new adidas brand experience.
An authentic brand experience design: The stadium - but not as you know it. Our global retail design agency reimagined the codes of sport winning multiple global retail design awards.

adidas just opened a new kind of store – and Nike should be terrified.

Business Insider

The 'Stadium': a sportswear retail design concept like no other

adidas is a brand that understands community and regularly puts the fans – the creators – at the heart of their campaigns. We took the concept of ‘Stadium’ and thought bigger than just the energy of the players and sport - we thought about it from the fan's perspective. Anticipation in all its forms became central to the idea. This was about the human side of sport, the mental and physical preparation that gets us to race day, the excitement and build up to attending a sell-out game. These are the feelings that everyone can relate to, from local sports teams to sneakerheads, fans and athletes. Utilising awe-inspiring architectural design and shared experiences in-store, we reimagined adidas' Flagship brand experience with a truly customer-centric sportswear retail design concept.

Game day, everyday: adidas' largest retail store in the world, is a space to soak up the atmosphere. Visitors can join adidas to watch a game in-store or just take a seat (and a selfie) with founder Adi Dassler.
The language of sport: Stadium architecture, flood lights and court markings brought an authenticity to our sportswear retail design concept.
adidas 'stadium' Flagship NYC: Throwing down the gauntlet in global sportswear retail design.

Active participation over passive consumption

Inside adidas' Flagship store, we created a dynamic retail interior design language around our 'Stadium' concept - helping bring together different sports including basketball, running and football, under one universal design code. Everything we designed for this multi-award winning retail concept reflected the energy and emotion of sport - always beyond the field of play itself.

Here, tourists could enjoy the convenience of same-day hotel delivery services and experiential product testing, while locals could grab and go at the juice bar or book professional training consultations with experts in-store. Creating an experiential retail design that strengthened the bond between brand and consumer - whilst also taking their brand perception and market share to the next-level.

The beat of our own drum: Our experiential retail design concept launched with a party that included local sports teams as well as global influencers, media and athletes.
Experience the training ground: In-store 'The Turf' offered a unique test and try experience with personalised service and seamless transactions.
Sneaker fandom: Blending streetwear with sportswear, adidas Originals brand experience space in-store offered a more relaxed and creative retail interior design.

A powerhouse of experiential retail design

For this exciting endeavor, we collaborated with the visionary team at adidas and architect of record Gensler, to bring to life brand's largest Flagship store in the world on Fifth Avenue. We explored, reimagined and developed a multi-dimensional 'Stadium' concept to have maximum impact in New York - thinking about the needs of the local retail market as well as it's global media reach. We then worked with the brand to take the brand experience design beyond NYC, exploring how this award-winning sportswear retail design could be roll-outed, scaled down and adapted for local markets.

Designed for 'The Creator': The creativity fans and athletes bring to the world of sport is channeled in this landmark retail destination. A brand experience design like no other.

Adidas delivered record sales and double-digit growth in strategic markets.

adidas Group

Talk to us about award winning retail design

Looking for an award winning retail design agency to create your next experiential retail design, let's talk. You can also head over to our work page to check out other creative brand experience case studies. And, don't forget to take a look at our Wonder blog for the latest consumer trends and design inspiration.

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