Dive Brief:
- Champs Sports on Monday debuted a new store concept called “Champs Sports Homefield,” which it describes as the “true home for the modern athlete,” according to a company press release.
- At more than 35,000 square feet, the Pembroke Pines, Florida, location is the largest of any store across Foot Locker’s banners. It includes a basketball and multi-sport court, a virtual reality system, a try-on treadmill for running shoes, and will host events and programming.
- Champs Sports Homefield will offer a wide variety of apparel, footwear and equipment “for all athletic endeavors,” the company said.
Dive Insight:
Champs Sports is casting a wide net with its new Homefield concept.
The store’s assortment will include products for basketball, football, baseball, running, training, yoga and other categories, as well as items for nutrition and recovery. In the running space in particular, the brand is hoping to become a destination, stocking the location with more than 65 running styles.
The store concept is a recognition of the versatility of the athletics space. In addition to performance-focused athleticwear and equipment, the Homefield format will also sell lifestyle apparel. Guy Harkless, senior vice president and general manager of Champs Sports and Eastbay, called the concept the “Champs Sports of the future.”
“At Champs Sports, we are committed to listening to our consumers. We’ve been a part of athletes’ lives since inception and this new Homefield concept directly caters to their total needs,” Harkless said in a statement. “We know those needs are constantly changing and therefore, we are evolving with our consumers across all categories.”
Name brands like Nike, Adidas and Under Armour will be sold at the Champs Sports location, but so will some of Foot Locker’s private labels. CSG, Cozi and Eastbay Performance will all be available at the store. Foot Locker merged the Champs Sports and Eastbay brands in November, with the aim of bringing together the performance elements of Eastbay and the lifestyle focus of Champs.
The Champs Sports Homefield concept follows the lead of several other big-footprint formats in the athletics space in a number of ways. The focus on experiential services and events programming is reminiscent of Dick’s House of Sport locations or Lululemon’s megastores. Or, on a smaller scale, Wilson’s flagship store in New York, which features racket stringing and a central space for athletic events. And, like many of Nike’s store concepts, the Champs Sports Homefield location also attempts to forge a connection with the community it’s in.
In particular, the Homefield store will offer events aimed at “bringing the community together” and will honor community members who have made a positive contribution to local sports. At opening, that includes everyone from an Olympic gold medalist to a former WNBA player to a high school athletic director.
