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Nike Retail Marketing

Nike preps first women’s-only retail store in the UK

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By Seb Joseph, News editor

February 10, 2015 | 3 min read

Nike is set to open its first women’s-only store in the UK that will fire the starting gun on a more concerted push to drive sales from the segment nationwide.

NikeWomen-Product-2014

The sportswear maker will open the shop on the King’s Road, London in May, according to the Evening Standard. It will introduce a female-focused store layout that has already been trialled in the US and Shanghai, locations where shoppers can purchase running, training and sportswear products as well as attend events and fitness classes.

Nike’s limited rollout reflects a patient approach to gauging customer response to the targeted stores. Womenswear sales at Nike have been growing faster than the men’s business and now account for nearly 20 per cent of the company’s revenue. Brand chiefs have said the company expects its women’s business to be worth $7bn by the end of 2017.

Women’s apparel is hotly contested with Nike’s biggest rivals Adidas, Under Armour and Puma all dialling up their focus on an area that as yet remains untapped when it comes to branding.

Nike is taking an aggressive approach to finding new markets domestically and abroad, focusing on women and developing nations. A stronger retail offering can fulfil both objectives simultaneously with the business looking to generate more profits than it does through its deals with third party retailers.

Retail forms one part of Nike’s wider marketing push to make its athletic gear more appealing to women in the hope of encouraging them to incorporate its products into other parts of their lifestyle. Rather than focus on sports, the business wants its apparel to be seen as fashionable and capable of being used in other parts of women’s lifestyles.

A rise in the number of women participating in sport propelled the upswing, according to the company, pushing sales in the three months to November up 15 per cent year-on-year to $7.4bn.

Nike was unable to comment on plans for the UK launch of its women’s-only store by the time this article was published

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