Under Armour’s Skin

Under Armour Inc. (Baltimore), maker of performance athletic apparel, has opened its first retail store, at the Westfield Mall in Annapolis, Md.

The company calls the 4500-square-foot space “a 100 percent unfiltered brand experience built to enable consumers to immerse themselves in Under Armour's brand and performance products.”

The store features an immense bronze statue of brand ambassador “Big E”, a groundbreaking tunnel entryway, a 120-inch rear projection HD television screen and what it calls “a look and feel that represents the collision of athletics, science, industry and performance.”

The company says the new store will serve as a “brand touch point” with the performance athlete as well as a retail and merchandising pilot center for new brand campaigns to be rolled out to a larger retailer partner community.

“We want the consumer to experience what it feels it to be in an Under Armour commercial,” said Under Armour chairman and ceo Kevin Plank. “We've built the physical manifestation of the Under Armour brand. From our perspective, we look to this store to make us a better retail partner, merchandiser and listener to our consumer. As for our consumers, we hope they see the store as an extraordinary and authentic Under Armour experience. It will be like nothing they've ever experienced.”