Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood this fall will be the first in North America to get a Terrex-branded outdoor-apparel store.
Strength in the outdoor-apparel retail sector prompted German athletic retailer Adidas AG to create the spin-off Terrex store banner, and open a location in Munich in November 2021. Vancouver will be the company's second location.
Retail Insider owner Craig Patterson told BIV he thinks that Vancouver's reputation for being a city where residents love getting out into nature was part of the calculus behind Adidas choosing the city to launch North American operations.
His expectation is that the store will aim to compete with Vancouver-based outdoor-apparel companies such as Arc'Teryx and MEC. Vancouver-based Lululemon Athletica Inc. (Nasdaq:LULU) has also made some moves into outdoor apparel by launching a line of women's running shoes under its Blissfeel brand.
Patterson said he expects the Terrex store to be different from Adidas' self-branded Vancouver stores in that the Adidas locations have evolved to be "fashion" boutiques. Some Adidas renderings of its Terrex stores show reusable water bottles among outdoor accessories.
"We're really seeing a lot of these outdoor-focused brands be centered in the Kitsilano area, and particularly West 4th Avenue," Patterson said.
Adidas has said its 2,300-square-foot Terrex store will be on West 4th Avenue, but it has not yet provided an exact address. One cluster of outdoor apparel stores is around West 4th Avenue and Arbutus Street. Arc'Teryx has a store at 2033 West 4th Avenue, while Lululemon is at 2101 West 4th Avenue and Patagonia is at 1994 West 4th Avenue. Further east is the only remaining RYU store, at 1745 West 4th Avenue.
MEC does not have a presence on the street. Instead, during the pandemic, it opened a long-planned 60,000-square-foot flagship store at 111 West 2nd Street, near the Olympic Village neighbourhood.
Research firm Technavio released a study this spring in which it calculated that the global outdoor apparel market is set to increase in size by a compounded annual growth rate of five per cent until 2024.
"The market is fragmented," noted Technavio's report. "The degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Adidas AG, ASICS Corp., Columbia Sportswear Co., G-III Apparel Group Ltd., Hanesbrands Inc., Newell Brands Inc., Outdoor Research, Patagonia Inc., Under Armour Inc., and VF Corp. are some of the major market participants."
