New Balance, a global athletic brand operating as a subsidiary, has opened its first store in Abu Dhabi Mall on February 22nd. The opening was marked with a 'ribbon-cutting' ceremony attended by Stuart Henwood, the Regional General Manager for New Balance Middle East, North Africa, and India. The store, located in the heart of the capital, is part of the brand's strategy to expand its DTC footprint in the region and solidify its position in the performance and lifestyle category.
The Abu Dhabi Mall store is a reflection of the brand's expansion and growth across the UAE and wider region. New Balance sees retail as a constantly evolving platform for brand and product storytelling. The New Balance Metro Flex concept was designed and introduced to enable easy and frequent transformations of the retail space, allowing the brand to share this process with consumers through exposed structures, transparent materials, and visible service components. The aim is to provide consumers with best-in-class category experiences not only from a storytelling and product perspective but also from a consumer journey perspective.
The store launched with a lineup of product campaigns that include the 550 launch, the Fresh Foam X 1080 launch, and the much-anticipated FuelCell SC Elite v3. Stuart Henwood expressed his excitement, stating that "we are extremely proud and honored to open our first store in the nation’s capital & within Abu Dhabi Mall." He also mentioned that the opening of the store is a key milestone moment for the brand, and it represents part of the continued retail expansion across the UAE to meet the demand for the brand.
To mark the store's opening, New Balance is launching its Run Your Way campaign through an in-mall activation from the 24th to the 26th of February. The activation will celebrate consumers' take on running through morning running sessions hosted by the New Balance Run Club Abu Dhabi and a photo studio where consumers can showcase how they run and star in their very own New Balance Running campaign. In addition, influencer Hamad Al-Humaidhan will be hosting his BB550 Shoe Art activation on the 25th of February, while New Balance influencer DJ Bliss will perform live in-store on the same day.