PUMA had their offical global launch this week of their newest sport-fashion retail store in New York City's Meatpacking District. The store will exclusively carry the brand's sport-fashion collaborations, specifically 96 HOURS, nuala, Mihara, Starck and Dassler. The store opened its doors in late February 2005 and is a venue where PUMA will exhibit its cutting edge designs and collaborative projects.
The new PUMA store will act as a laboratory or incubator for the brand to experiment with new ideas and infuse the PUMA personality with the design sensibility of experts from various industries. Each collection in the store is created to stand-alone, however, they are being presented as a together under one roof for the first time with the opening of the new store.
“After embarking into the sport-fashion segment in the mid-1990's, we felt it was time to create a PUMA environment that showcases the inherent design of these products,” said Jochen Zeitz, CEO and Chairman of PUMA AG. “This store is a first in many respects. PUMA is the first to take the sport-fashion concept a step further by creating a multi-branded store environment. The Meatpacking District store will also provide a setting to connect directly with a cutting edge consumer.”
Two distinctive logos, the jumping cat and the formstrip, typically identify PUMA product to consumers. The existing PUMA Concept Stores utilize the jumping cat branding as its focal point for design direction. In contrast, the PUMA Store Meatpacking District takes its lead for interior design from the brand's signature formstrip. Intended to highlight the unique aspects of a multitude of collections in an inclusive space, the store also has a black interior that provides a neutral backdrop to focus consumers on the designs of each range. Each of the fixtures in the store is inspired by sport and it is designed to be a place where all of PUMA's sport-fashion brands can intersect and interact in a unique way. This is shown through new graphics that incorporate the individual logos of all of these collections.
