Converse has opened its first flagship venue after operating for over 102 years on the U.S. market and having 53 shops across the country. The new concept store, opened last week in Boston, offers the whole range of apparel and footwear produced by the brand, including the limited-edition items, some of which are very hard (or even impossible) to find in other cities. The launch of the new venue comes as a proof of today’s marketing success of the company, which ten years ago declared bankruptcy and was purchased by Nike.
Image Courtesy: www.boston.com
Along with opening its first store, Converse presented its first full line of clothes. Previously brand developed ranges for Target and collaborated with designer John Varvatos to create high-end menswear clothing for, but, as Boston.com reports, it has never produced its own line. Now, the time has come—Converse presented collections of denim, tees, and jackets on the first floor of its shop, and took its footwear to the second one. Converse provides its shoppers with an opportunity to customize their T-shirts, bags and Chuck Taylors on-site with the help of a “Customization Maestro”—they choose the design or garments, and he puts it onto the item (the whole process takes 15 minutes or so).
Image Courtesy: www.boston.com
“There are about 2,000 stores around the world that say ‘Converse’ on them, and we have licensed partners everywhere. In the US we have 53 outlet stores, but they’re outlets for liquidation. The Newbury Street store is a launching point for us in a lot of ways. Nobody has seen this apparel before, and most of these shoe styles you can’t find anywhere else in the United States,” commented Dave Powers, vice president of global retail for Converse, North Andover.
Image Courtesy: www.boston.com
Opening of the Boston-based store will be followed by launching shops in other locations, including NYC (by the end of this year) and a few East Coast cities (in 2011). The first flagship venue is created all in the punk-inspired style, featuring sneaker canvas as curtains in the dressing rooms and brick walls as tribute to originality of the brand.