NEW YORK: Reebok launched a pop-up store on New York City's Bowery street in a move to boost its street cred. The store will be open November 15 to December 14 and is stocked with lifestyle-based footwear and apparel and limited edition styles inspired by the city.
“[A pop-up] puts us in a position to find a cool spot for a certain period of time and move on to do something new,” said Christian Stegmaier, VP, Reebok lifestyle products and head of its classics division.
In general, Stegmaier said Reebok's future plans include a focus on grassroots PR, social media, mobile marketing, and gaming. He added that there is also a digital initiative in the works.
"Traditional advertising is overcrowded,” he said. “We have to be where the consumer is [with] word of mouth, PR, and digital.”
He explained that in the 1980s and 1990s, Reebok's popularity became associated with women's fitness, basketball, and hip-hop culture. “[The hip-hop tie] is gone,” he said. “Now we're forced to work in sport brand lifestyle and use our sport heritage to be hip on the street.”
Reebok worked with its lifestyle AOR LaForce and Stevens on the promotion and planning for the pop-up store. Tactics included a launch event on November 19 for media and tastemakers, and outreach to lifestyle and urban publications and blogs such as Fashionweekdaily.com, Paper Magazine, and a variety of sneaker blogs, among others. The team also handed out save the date cards for the launch at Reebok's spring line preview a month ago. New York Magazine's fashion blog, The Cut, scored exclusive images of limited edition styles.
