Retail Therapy: The Full Kit, Iowa City, IA

I recently found myself in Iowa City for the night... on the way to Omaha. I'd never been in this city before (pretty sure), but lucked into a relatively cheap hotel room and paged through one of those "downtown" tourist magazines. I noticed a store that did some high-end gym shoes, and as any sneakerhead would do, I had to check it out the next morning. 

I arrived on a rainy Friday morning right at their opening time of 11AM, but the door was locked and no lights were on. Since I'd trudged out to the shop through the pedestrian mall in the rain, I didn't have a problem taking some exterior pics and waiting a few more minutes to see if someone showed. Plus, the storefront looked great and even if I had to wait a bit, I wanted to see inside.

As luck would have it, the proprietor arrived a few minutes later and let me right in. I was very glad I had waited. "Pretty little maids all in a row"...

They had a nice mix of product and brands from Nike, Levi's, Herchsel, Adidas, New Balance, Vans, Asics, Saucony, etc... including items like jackets, jeans, t-shirts, hats, etc. It seemed like the full price kicks had all the sizes for a size run still left, and kept the premium prices. The reduced price kicks got a break on the price, but were down to 1-3 sizes left in the size run, so you'd have to luck into your size. They also had a "skater" feel, which I would guess is how the store started, but now seems to be more of a men's fashion store with a casual or street vibe. You could still find a deck, trucks, etc. but that was alongside premium denim from Levi's skate collection (adding Cordura and Lycra), and other fashion accessories that a hardcore teenage skater wouldn't be interested in.

I don't know enough of the complexities to explain the levels of shoe store ranking for each shoe brand, but I believe this store is placed on a higher level than your local Foot Locker or Shoe Carnival. As such, they are given access to premium, exclusive, high-end products, that you can't find just anywhere. It makes the potential to be wearing a shoe almost no one else wears pretty high if you see it and buy it here. And sure, some of the shoes here are similar or the same models at larger stores.

As an example of this upper echelon product, below is a Premium series Vans shoe. High-quality, buttery leathers, and this one sports a zipped on/off option. I'd never seen one before. Pretty dang sweet, but not my size.

If you happen to be on the I-80 highway and would be driving by Iowa City anyways, I'd highly recommend you get off the highway for lunch and walk the ped mall. You can make this a quick stop and then get back on the road. I would also try-on in the store as they only offer in-store credit on returns.

Retail Therapy: Under Armour, Madison, WI

To keep a new string of posts going regarding US retail done well, I was pulled into the very local and new branch of the Under Armour brand (don't forget the "u" in the spelling of this US brand?). I tend to only visit their outlet mall offerings, which are pretty outlet mall-ish... but there was something about this crisp, clean, new and imposed facade smack dab in the middle of a relatively unimposing college town shopping area, known as State Street.

You should also probably know that Under Armour is the athletic sponsor of the University of Wisconsin (Madison), so it started to make sense as I walked in why this store as sprung up so quickly and right on the student avenue. Sorry, Adidas.

Let's start of with some team sprts stuff to get you pumped up!!! Go sports!

I love this kind of knowledge, so they had me from the jump.

PE = Player Edition. I don't know if these items are just for the athletes on the teams, but it looked cool to me. Do I need shin-high cleats for grocery shopping?

This is a two-story store, and the infrastructure alone was worth more than any place I've ever lived. Huge flat screen and lovely leather loungers to try shoes on... while you keep tabs on the game.

It was just crisp and clean with no caffeine. I liked it. I didn't buy anything and likely won't, but I'd go back just to see what else they're up to there.

They showcased their electronic offerings (connected scale, HR strap, watch, etc.), which I'm guessing do alright, but pale in comparison to Apple Watch's popularity/sales.

Finally, they kept tying it all back to the University and the surrounding area, which gave it a great personal, local feel without being too gushy. It was nice to see a global brand brought down to a local level. Well done, U.

Retail Therapy: Amazon Books, Chicago, IL

I'm a big fan of a memorable retail experience. Do you remember what you felt and thought the first time you saw an Apple Store? What about that neighborhood co-op that always has new stuff to interest you?

It's also now clear, if you read books like The Revenge Of Analog, that people like buying things in stores. We do. We're irrational consumers and, as the name implies, we buy things we don't always know to be rational. Companies, brands, and the retail stores know this too. We may have 90 million homes in the US with an Amazon Prime account, but there's no denying that we like seeing something new, researching online, shopping in person, landing that new item, buying it, and bringing it home. 

Amazon even knows this, which is why they have started their own chain of Amazon Books stores. I was lucky enough to "bump" into one in Chicago and I simply had to go in. 

Surprise, surprise, it looks a lot like the book stores you remember, but with a twist or two. 

Two price levels and you can pay in a few ways...

They also have their electronic devices on offer too, which makes sense as they're e-readers and other home-based items.

 Maybe you need some headphones with your e-reader?

And then it's just really nicely sorted and displayed books/magazines... plus a kids' section too.

You remember magazines, right?

And to top it all off, they have a chain coffee shop (Stumptown) set-up in a nice little wing inside the store, to handle low blood sugar issues while you get your shopping on...

This store is in the Southport neighborhood in Chicago and fit in really well to this pretty high-end retail block (or two). They kept everything inside crisp and clean and it showed well to all the folks browsing that day.