July 21, 2015
Dick’s new concept goes after Lululemon
Yoga pants are big business and Dick’s Sporting Goods wants in on it. The retailer, which operates 612 stores, has announced it will open two new specialty women’s fitness and lifestyle boutiques next month under its new Chelsea Collective concept.
"The line is continuously blurring between athletic wear and what every day causal clothing has become," Lauren Hobart, senior vice president at Dick’s Sporting Goods and general manager of the new Chelsea Collective concept, told Fortune. "This customer has replaced jeans with athleisure. I view this as a space that is only starting to explode."
The first two Chelsea Collective boutiques will open at Tysons Corner Center in Tysons Corner, VA and in Pittsburgh at the Ross Park Mall. The stores will feature leading athletic wear brands, including Nike and Calia by Carrie Underwood, as well as many other footwear and beauty brands.
As with rivals such as Lululemon, Chelsea Collective plans to focus on customer service as a means to profitably connect with consumers.
Source: Chelsea Collective
"We truly want these stores to have their own voice, their own local flavor," Ms Hobart said in a statement. "We’re hiring experts — associates who live for the latest fitness and fashion trends, who buy and use the products this store offers and who will be a sought after resource to the Chelsea Collective community."
As a Tribune-Review article points out, Dick’s is not new to operating concepts beyond its flagship business. The company currently runs Golf Galaxy and Field & Stream as standalone concepts among its portfolio of retail banners.
- Dick’s Sporting Goods Announces New Women’s Fitness And Lifestyle Specialty Store: Chelsea Collective – Dick’s Sporting Goods/PRNewswire
- Chelsea Collective
- Dick’s Sporting Goods dives into the ‘athleisure’ craze – Fortune
- Dick’s Sporting Goods is launching a competitor to Lululemon – Business Insider
- Dick’s Sporting Goods to open women’s fitness, lifestyle boutiques – Tribune-Review
- Is the activewear market oversaturated? – Fashionista
BrainTrust
Dick Seesel
Principal, Retailing In Focus LLC
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Do you see Chelsea Collective as a move by Dick’s into a growing market or into a business that is already nearing a point of saturation? What will be the keys to success for Chelsea Collective?
Poll
It would seem that reasonably sized stores (small) catering to niche sports and staffed by experienced staff from that arena are a viable alternative to the big box sporting goods stores. These have growth potential.
There’s no saturation here. Young people are ditching jeans for athleisure wear, whether they do yoga or run or work out, or not. Just look at the “athletic” section in any Old Navy.
The danger isn’t in over-saturating in athletic wear, it’s in assuming that denim is a must-have.
It’s a worthwhile experiment for Dick’s to try a small-format store dedicated to the growing “athleisure” business. There are plenty of customers for yoga and fitness apparel (whether for use at the gym or on the street) who would rather not shop for it in a big box store among the golf clubs, elliptical machines and so forth. It’s also a chance for Dick’s to take a high-margin concept to the mall or lifestyle center … although it will find plenty of competition between Lululemon, Athleta and others in the same space.
I keep thinking that yoga pants have reached their peak, and then they don’t. As Cathy notes, if the Millennials love it, we probably haven’t reached the end yet. I will say that if Dick’s can position Chelsea as somewhere between Old Navy and Lululemon, then there is probably a significant niche to carve out of there. But they do seem late to the game to me.
One of the keys to success will be keeping to their customer service marching orders. It is easy to say, but making it happen is going to be a challenge for Dick’s. The next question is how much time and money is Dick’s really willing to commit?
The key to success for this move might just be a miracle. I see this product category flooding even the flea markets as we speak.
This niche is totally over saturated and this isn’t a good move unless they can give it a new twist no one else has. This is huge craze — both retail and CPG, specialty and discount and even direct-to-consumer. Also, as another panelist mentioned, the pricing is all over the place — and from my experience, price doesn’t always equal quality. Even groups like Zulily are offering the high-end brands at a deep discount. This is a cure for no disease.
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It would seem that reasonably sized stores (small) catering to niche sports and staffed by experienced staff from that arena are a viable alternative to the big box sporting goods stores. These have growth potential.
There’s no saturation here. Young people are ditching jeans for athleisure wear, whether they do yoga or run or work out, or not. Just look at the “athletic” section in any Old Navy.
The danger isn’t in over-saturating in athletic wear, it’s in assuming that denim is a must-have.
It’s a worthwhile experiment for Dick’s to try a small-format store dedicated to the growing “athleisure” business. There are plenty of customers for yoga and fitness apparel (whether for use at the gym or on the street) who would rather not shop for it in a big box store among the golf clubs, elliptical machines and so forth. It’s also a chance for Dick’s to take a high-margin concept to the mall or lifestyle center … although it will find plenty of competition between Lululemon, Athleta and others in the same space.
I keep thinking that yoga pants have reached their peak, and then they don’t. As Cathy notes, if the Millennials love it, we probably haven’t reached the end yet. I will say that if Dick’s can position Chelsea as somewhere between Old Navy and Lululemon, then there is probably a significant niche to carve out of there. But they do seem late to the game to me.
One of the keys to success will be keeping to their customer service marching orders. It is easy to say, but making it happen is going to be a challenge for Dick’s. The next question is how much time and money is Dick’s really willing to commit?
The key to success for this move might just be a miracle. I see this product category flooding even the flea markets as we speak.
This niche is totally over saturated and this isn’t a good move unless they can give it a new twist no one else has. This is huge craze — both retail and CPG, specialty and discount and even direct-to-consumer. Also, as another panelist mentioned, the pricing is all over the place — and from my experience, price doesn’t always equal quality. Even groups like Zulily are offering the high-end brands at a deep discount. This is a cure for no disease.