New Balance London Flagship Site Selection
About the brand
New Balance is one of the world’s leading sports footwear brands. The brand has a strong reputation among serious sports enthusiasts, as well as those seeking fashionability. Although the company has been manufacturing in Cumbria for 30 years, current UK distribution is primarily through a wholesale network.
The Challenge/Task
Provide research to understand the catchment profiles and visitor composition at retail centres in Central London
Identify the optimum location in Central London for a flagship ‘Experience’ store
WHAT WE DID
Segmented and quantified customer demand using our unique FISH categorisation system
Provided detailed insight into key performance influencing factors including catchment populations and customer demographics
Profile key trading streets including competitor locations, existing channels of distribution and sub markets.
Identify by location, areas of competition from sports retailers and footwear retailers and provided turnover and density estimations to help grade the opportunity for the client. Other data provided included: number or stores, FISH and price positioning, Zone A rental levels, estimated floor space, nearby tube stations, and breakdown of residents, workers and tourists
The Result
Pragma submitted a list of recommendations based on the above intelligence. Ultimately this led to New Balance selecting 287-291 Oxford Street as the most appropriate location offering a combination of suitable footprint, strong retail adjacencies and substantial passing footfall