Downtown Under Armour Goes Under

[Lowell]

Roast is toast, now Under Armour. My guess is that the pandemic-induced decline in downtown workers and visitors is continuing to take a toll. Too bad.

Downtown Detroit's Under Armour Inc. store is permanently closing

An Under Armour spokesperson said in a Wednesday afternoon statement confirming the closure, which is effective Jan. 15, that it was "not an easy decision" but that it "consistently [[evaluates its) store footprint and [[makes) decisions according to our retail strategy."

The Under Armour Brand House closure will put a hole in the lower Woodward Avenue corridor's street-level retail scene, which has attracted big names like Nike Inc. — its main competitor — Lululemon, Warby Parker, H&M, Madewell and others in recent years.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...se-permanently

[401don]

Not really surprising. The store never had the traffic Nike did. Nike is really an outlet store and is priced lower. Under Armour needed those office workers to support its pricing and I think its demographic is more upper middle class compared to Nike, which is successful with a wider customer base.

[Satiricalivory]

Yeah it seemed kinda pointless being there while Nike exists.

May be unlikely but I think this would be a perfect spot for something like an Eataly.

[Danny]

Horrible!!! what a way to waste their money. Opening up their store and then close sooner. Goodbye Under Armor and good riddance. Plan of a new retail will be filling your space in Gilbertown Detroit.

COVID is killing some businesses in Detroit. And rich folks are b---chin about their businesses going under and losing tons of money. It's time for plan b Dan Gilbert and Team Rocket.

[masterblaster]

I made it a point to buy all of my running shoes from the downtown Under Armour store.

Yeah it seemed kinda pointless being there while Nike exists.

May be unlikely but I think this would be a perfect spot for something like an Eataly.

It provided another name-brand, quality retail option to downtown. Why question that? Nike isn't the be-all and end-all of athletic wear. There can be quality alternatives. Should people only wear Nike? Why?

This is sad. The dream to re-create the lower Woodward shopping district has taken a blow. The store was pretty nicely laid out, with 2 levels. I always saw customers in there when I visited.

[Satiricalivory]

It provided another name-brand, quality retail option to downtown. Why question that? Nike isn't the be-all and end-all of athletic wear. There can be quality alternatives. Should people only wear Nike? Why?

Because downtown doesn't need half of an entire city retail block dedicated to sports clothing and accessories? It's unnecessary. Now something else can go here and offer better shopping variety. I'm sure it wont be long.

[401don]

Because downtown doesn't need half of an entire city retail block dedicated to sports clothing and accessories? It's unnecessary. Now something else can go here and offer better shopping variety. I'm sure it wont be long.

I think you should be pleased with pretty much any sort of downtown retail short of liquor, pot & dollar stores these days.
People wear sports clothing. Toronto has Nike, Under Armour, Puma, Adidas and Columbia stores downtown.

[stasu1213]

Two businesses goes under after the new council were put in place. Who is next

[stasu1213]

Detroit need to improve on its transit especially having express busses that will take shoppers and event goers from the nearby and further away exclusive suburbs to downtown Detroit so that they won't have to pay to park and save on expensive gas. These busses are only ridden by those whom have purchased passes to board them. That will keep the riff raff off of them

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

Sorry to hear that. I shopped there on my last visit and bought a couple of things.

[Henry Whalley]

There's plenty not to like about Under Armour. The company has been boycotted since its founder endorsed Maralago Mussolini, even while sourcing its flammable clothing from low wage countries. In Baltimore it covered historic murals by Hildreth Meière [1892–1961]. There are too many unsavory aspects to mention.

P.S. I don't like its militarist name.

Under Armour - Wikipedia

[401don]

There's plenty not to like about Under Armour. The company has been boycotted since its founder endorsed Maralago Mussolini, even while sourcing its flammable clothing from low wage countries. In Baltimore it covered historic murals by Hildreth Meière [1892–1961]. There are too many unsavory aspects to mention.

P.S. I don't like its militarist name.

Under Armour - Wikipedia

That's a little harsh. He took a chance on downtown before other national retailers, probably before the market was really ready, probably after strong nudging from Gilbert, and gave it 5 years. Nike and most national retailers hardly have a clean record for sourcing their clothing. And the name, seriously? You must really have a problem with Little Caesars.

[Henry Whalley]

...You must really have a problem with Little Caesars.

True, I prefer republics

[Danny]

Bring Louis Vuitton to Gilbertown Detroit.

[Henry Whalley]

Bring Louis Vuitton to Gilbertown Detroit.

Maybe stores, office buildings, shopping malls, churches, theatres, restaurants, casinos, i.e., most public spaces, are becoming extinct? I remember when Northland and Eastland opened, and the first time that downtown Detroit closed. Maybe life will become decentralized with shop from home, work from home, gamble from home, etc.?

[ShadowSoarer]

Hopefully they are going to be able to fill that space in the near future. Even the space where the Hard Rock Cafe used to be [[adjacent to Campus Martius) is still empty and that was pre-pandemic.

[Rocket]

Until just 2-3 years ago, I didn't know what their symbol was.

I thought it was an "H".

I'd see this big H on banners at sporting events, and had no idea what it meant.

Turned out that H was actually a U-A, and they make underwear.

[stasu1213]

I hope that another useless urbane store doesn't open in that spot. Columbia sports wear could easily fill that spot

[royce]

It's unfortunate that the store was forced to close. I liked its layout and its lack of presence at that corner will be felt. I wonder if a fitness or gym-type operation could work there. Too small for LA Fitness but a smaller out fit might do well there. There are a number of smaller fitness stores downtown at the present. Maybe one of them would like to have a presence on Woodward and move there.

[ShadowSoarer]

This is just a rumor but was listening to a Daily Detroit podcast and they are still confirming with sources, but there might be another retailer announcement soon on Woodward. Somerset south wing was the hint.

[Johnnny5]

With the rapid transition to online retail, rising labor costs and staffing shortages, the declining popularity of Under Amour in general and the reduced foot traffic downtown, I'm not really surprised by this. Unfortunately, this is probably a trend that's only going to pick up as storefronts and leases that no longer make financial sense expire.

I'm not a huge fan of their shirts or shoes, but Under Armour's Guide Series convertible pants [[And sometimes Crocs) are a staple of "could not care less" sense of style. I rotate through about 6 or 7 pairs of them all Summer long, and then again when I make it to Florida for the Winter. They dry fast, don't stain and wear like iron. I highly recommend them!

[Richard]

With the rapid transition to online retail, rising labor costs and staffing shortages, the declining popularity of Under Amour in general and the reduced foot traffic downtown, I'm not really surprised by this. Unfortunately, this is probably a trend that's only going to pick up as storefronts and leases that no longer make financial sense expire.

I'm not a huge fan of their shirts or shoes, but Under Armour's Guide Series convertible pants [[And sometimes Crocs) are a staple of "could not care less" sense of style. I rotate through about 6 or 7 pairs of them all Summer long, and then again when I make it to Florida for the Winter. They dry fast, don't stain and wear like iron. I highly recommend them!

High cotton content is the key for Fla,multiple layers now when it is freezing in the 50s.

Stores like this closing is indicative of why the whole save the planet thing is a Croc.

As a retailer brick and mortar,when they order 50 shirts it comes in a re-usable tote,when 50 people order online it becomes 50 separate packages,wrapped,boxed,shipped,trucked and delivered and then all of that packaging ends up in the land fills,ditches and waterways.

So it is not really convenient to save the planet,it’s just a nice revenue generator for a few with a shifting economy,we can see all the little small towns that dried up and retail became non existent,now apply that to big cities as people become social cacoons,that local retail market is a big economic driver and people are choosing to create billionaires for a few at the cost of a city.

In the UK commercial property is cheaper then residential which kinda helps some to hang in there better.

Cities are feeling it now as retail and offices vacate,people move out into the rural parts where if nobody was there before they would have never heard the tree fall in the woods,or get slammed by a tornado or fire.

People look at the here and now but 20 years down the road,what will be the point of a downtown,no reason to go there with no shopping or office work.

But wait,the country already got a taste of what that looks like when you could not give away a sky scraper in downtown Detroit,imagine that across the whole country.

[401don]

[QUOTE=Richard;620587]
As a retailer brick and mortar,when they order 50 shirts it comes in a re-usable tote,when 50 people order online it becomes 50 separate packages,wrapped,boxed,shipped,trucked and delivered and then all of that packaging ends up in the land fills,ditches and waterways.

As I mentioned on another thread, don't forget the 30% of returns to companies like Amazon that also ends up in landfills.

[Henry Whalley]

... don't forget the 30% of returns to companies like Amazon that also ends up in landfills.

The U.S. may have the best stocked landfills in the world. Maybe that's what we do best?

[Gistok]

As I mentioned on another thread, don't forget the 30% of returns to companies like Amazon that also ends up in landfills.

Heard you can get some nice designer handbags in the Atacoma desert in Chile.... some stitching required...