New Balance Middle East has achieved “exceedingly strong” growth since setting up subsidiary operations in the region, with a hybrid retail experience for consumers.
The sportswear giant debuted the region’s first flagship store in The Dubai Mall last month as the ink spot strategy for their omni-channel game plan, according to Stuart Henwood, general manager of New Balance – Middle East, Africa & India.
During the pandemic, while physical stores were shuttered, New Balance actioned five e-commerce streams in the GCC, through a franchise partnership model, serving customers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.
“Fast-tracking our NB.com rollout gave us another key channel and platform to engage with consumers and supply athletic products, when it was not possible at a bricks and mortar level due to Covid,” said Henwood.
A sportswear brand for well over a century, the Boston-headquartered company set up its regional operations two-and-a-half years ago as New Balance Middle East Sportswear Trading LLC.
According to Henwood: “The growth in the past two-and-a-half years has been exceedingly strong and, importantly, that growth is pan-regional. Our strong wholesale partnerships were coupled with the e-commerce rollout, and we really felt that the next phase was to open a store.”
A recent report from Checkout.com found that, during this year, approximately 83 percent of MENAP consumers will maintain or increase their current levels of e-commerce spending into 2022, compared to 47 percent in 2020. Yet Henwood and New Balance saw an opportunity based on demand from consumers returning to brick-and-mortar outlets.
“In this part of the world, brick-and-mortar retail is a way of life. So, our strategy is about reaching the potential that we have through online and partner sales, while also establishing a flagship location that can cater to the needs of customers keen to touch and feel the products once again, post pandemic.”
“We’ve already seen that customers want to talk to our staff, they want to understand more about our products. That service element, we felt, is really important and the early results have been extremely encouraging in sales and consumer feedback,” he added.
According to a report from Spanish investment firm Comprar Acciones, the value of the global activewear market was set to reach $353.5 billion in 2020 – and Henwood admitted there was plenty to be positive about within the region.
“The pace at which the region is developing its infrastructure is outstanding,” he said.
“If you look at what’s happening across the region and specifically in the UAE, there’s so much potential in the market – and especially within the sportswear industry. As a global brand we want to be in the right position to capture that growth and, in addition, increase our Africa-focused business, which we’ve started to serve from Dubai.”
The New Balance store is located on the second floor of The Dubai Mall.
Follow us on
