Opening just next Thursday in a central high-traffic area of Milan, which is both a capital of basketball and fashion, Basketball Central is the first of a series of concept stores that Champion Europe intends to operate in various parts of the continent, if the format works out well. A second store is planned in Bologna for next Spring, and the Italian-based company, which has the European rights for the Champion USA brand and for NBA apparel, is evaluating other locations in Italy, Spain, Greece and other countries.
The stores in Milan and Bologna will occupy the premises of former Giacomelli Sport multi-brand stores. Champion Europe acquired the financially distressed Italian specialty retail chain at the beginning of last year and is finalizing a new 3-year development program for its remaining 42 stores, which are going to be re-branded.
Located on Largo Argentina, in a building that once housed a cinema and a theater, the Basketball Central store in Milan has 700 square meters of retail space. Its store windows promote both the Champion and NBA brands. Inside, customers can choose from a vast selection of Champion branded products and from the largest assortment of NBA products in Europe.
An NBA corner of 250 sqm. showcases the entire range of on-court NBA replica clothing, for which the company has the exclusive rights in Europe, but it does not feature NBA footwear, which is licensed to Adidas. Conversely, the NBA concept shop recently opened by Adidas in Istanbul doesn’t offer Champion’s products.
Milan’s Basketball Central offers NBA balls licensed to Spalding and it may add other NBA products at a later stage. There is also an “event area” in the store, dedicated to new products, as well as a team uniforms area featuring customized athletic apparel for local teams and individuals. Text and visuals throughout the store provide information on the history of basketball and the NBA and on the latest NBA scores.
Champion Europe already has more than 150 company-owned and franchised Champion stores that sell its products in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, featuring also products that are not meant for basketball or other team sports. Nearly half of them are located in Italy, and six of them have a new larger format of 400-500 sqm. that has led to higher sales per square meter. Several new Champion stores are planned by next June in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Romania. The brand’s Czech licensee, Authentic Cult, is extending its territory to Slovakia from next Spring.
The launch of Champion Europe’s Basketball Central concept coincides with another new co-branding initiative in New York, where Foot Locker has teamed up with Nike for the opening last Nov. 19 of their first House of Hoops store. Located on 125th Street and Eighth Avenue in Harlem, the 4,000-square-foot store features exclusively basketball shoes, apparel and equipment under the Nike, Jordan and Converse brands. The duo is envisaging a total of 50 such stores throughout the USA over the next three years.
Meanwhile Champion Europe has promoted Chris Haggarty as its new direct of business development and as a member of the board. He will continue to be based in Dublin, where he has acted for the last six years as Champion’s general manager of licensed apparel. In this new position, Haggarty will be directly in charge of managing the previously reported exclusive deal recently struck between Champion Europe and JJB Sports for its 420 stores in the UK and Ireland.
The 5-year agreement with JJB will take effect from Jan. 1. It will focus on NBA replicas, women’s fitness and other categories of clothing, footwear and accessories. Some of the products will be specifically developed for JJB on a licensing basis, and others will come from Champion Europe’s range. The new set-up will take the place of Champion Europe’s existing Dublin-based sales operation, and it is expected to result in better margins and in an increase of at least 300 percent in the total sell-out for the UK and Ireland. Company officials indicated that this business model may be applied to other countries.
