Community spirit

The participatory nature of sports should make it a key opportunity for brands and landlords looking to engage users with physical space. But with SportsDirect and Decathlon dominating the UK market, what are the ways in which sports could be used as a way to activate and monetise physical space?

Current UK market
SportsDirect boasted 769 UK locations in 2020 across a variety of UK city, town and retail park locations. Store sizes (and quality of fit out) vary and stretch up to the recently refurbished 50kft2 flagship store on Oxford St, which presents the new vision for how SportsDirect will ensure it remains the relevant place to connect sportswear brands and customers in locations across the UK. Increasingly, the stores can be found in combination with other brands in Mike Ashley’s stable – with SportsDirect and Flannels common – with dedicated instore areas for the likes of Game and in conjunction with SportsDirect branded gyms.

The development in the presentation of the SportsDirect offer is in part a response to the requirement of the brands, but also a response to the competition by Decathlon. Though store count is significantly smaller (47), stores are typically large footplates and have a focus on quality across a range of price points, serve a wide range of sports and pursuits, and aim to provide enhanced customer service and customer experience through product knowledge and use. An example of their more engaged offer is the full scale football pitch open to the public on the roof of their Surrey Quays store.

With SportsDirect offering a seemingly unbeatable provision of brand and price, and Decathlon offering a strong alternative unbranded but cost-effective product and excellent service, the opportunity for smaller players and independents appears limited. But within the sector, others are making a focus on sports work to their advantage.

Doing it differently
Fashion brands have historically utilised sport as a mainstay of brand identity. Lacoste was launched in the 1930’s by tennis player Rene Lacoste with the similarly tennis-inspired Fred Perry brand launched in the early 1950’s. Luxury watch brand Longines has been passionate about equestrian sport since 1878, with active event sponsorship in the sport since 1912, and these associations are something we see continuing to this day.

Alex Eagle Sporting Club will open in Soho in December and is an extension of the Alex Eagle fashion and lifestyle shop which sells her own brand label as well other designers, art, homeware and more. The Sporting Club will sell elevated leisurewear targeting the young and trendy, as well as host a range of classes from fencing and pilates to jujitsu and gardening.

Rapha opened their first store in 2010 but has since become much more than a premium brand for cycling gear. Their £70 per year cycling club (RCC) has over 20,000 members, with flagship stores acting as clubhouses for a true community feel. Club members have access to weekly group rides that are led by dedicated ride leaders, special cycling events and overseas trips, discounts on cycling gear and coffee from the ‘club houses’ (seen above), as well as bike hire of high-spec bikes for members who want to take advantage of the international network. The success of the RCC has been such that the club kit is widely recognised, meaning that the brand requires very little marketing and there is a genuine feeling of community building over product selling that some say is comparable to what Harley-Davidson achieved in the 1980s.

Ladies activewear brand Sweaty Betty was founded in 1998 and has since turned into a global lifestyle brand. In addition to their hugely popular fashion range, the brand offers free classes at local stores, as well as online inspiration for healthy recipes, inspirational blog and podcasts, as well as a foundation to empower women and girls to get active.

Future uses
The future uses of sport as a way to engage physically with space will be a mixture of what we have seen to date and new, more participatory uses. Under Armour is actively seeking space for its own flagship stores, following the model laid down by Nike and their Niketown stores. But more creative/alternative uses can be found.

Sixes Manchester aims to use cricket as a means to create a social hub. With its widespread appeal to a diverse (although still principally male) audience, such an offering could provide a compelling space to build an engaged sports-loving community of consumers. Alternatively, placing more niche sports activities in prime, visible space offers the opportunity to increase engagement and make a physical location the place to go to engage with said activity and like-minded people. Climb Funan Central places climbing walls through the prime atrium of a major shopping centre in Singapore. Creating a sense of engagement and theatre beyond the typical lay out of hiding leisure space in low footfall/unwanted parts of schemes.

Having the right physical locations – from the right catchment and adjacencies to the building itself – is key to enabling ambitious brands to build a community spirit to transform them from a sports retailer to a lifestyle brand that people identify with.

Christina Roseler