Despite the challenges of a global pandemic, Under Armour unveiled its newest store in Sydney over the weekend.
The store is the business' fourth in Australia and forms part of the brand's direct-to-consumer strategy, Under Armour Australia and New Zealand MD Fernando Reani told Ragtrader.
"This is a really proud moment and milestone for the brand in Australia.
"The decision to grow our bricks-and-mortar business in Sydney was the next step to accelerate our direct-to-consumer expansion strategy to further build our brand and elevate our consumer experience in the region.
"The opening of our fourth brand house in Australia signals the demand athletes have for high-performance solutions and our commitment to make all athletes better," he said.
Similarly to many other fashion businesses during this time, there hasn't always been a cause for celebration, with the brand having to close its Australian stores in March - most of which have now reopened.
However, that shut down period proved how flexible the business could be, Reani said.
"From March we rolled out a work from home program to provide maximum flexibility for our teammates and it's been great to see all adapt to this new normal, remaining productive and engaged to our brand. I am really proud of the team.
"The evolving and unpredictable nature of COVID-19 has meant daily adjustments to our business including closing most of our global and local retail stores temporarily, while adjusting our future plans with retail partners and distributors in the region.
"Working from home became the new normal during this pandemic – transparent, open and regular communication to all our teammates has been key to keep our UA family productive and engaged during this period," he said.
And, like many activewear businesses, Under Armour saw an increase in digital traffic over the period.
Capitalising on this heightened interest, the business rolled out digital workouts through its channels and saw 103,600 people participate globally.
"We observed an increase in traffic to our online store with people wanting to remain fit and healthy whilst being locked down at home.
"We leveraged our digital channels to further support everyone’s physical and mental health during this time through our Healthy at Home initiative which was a series of online workout videos and fitness challenges via our MyFitnessPal and MapMyRun apps," he said.