Puma Unpacks Its "Store-in-a-Box" on Union Square

Puma's latest store opened its doors yesterday. Sadly, it is partly obscured by scaffolding, but the former Union Square Wines & Spirits has been transformed into the sneaker giant's latest retail concept called "Store-In-A-Box". The raw space is prepared and finished. A red shipping container filled with the fixtures and interior décor is sent to the location, and in about three days...Presto! The store is ready. The shipping container is then turned into the cashier booth. It's prefab retail! Anyone who has lived through the tedium of getting a new store ready will appreciate the efficiency of this method.

More after the jump

The Shophound had sort of defected to Adidas, but we may have to switch our sneaker loyalty back to fightin' cousin Puma. There's plenty to love here. While the city already has a Puma concept store in SoHo, and an exclusive Puma Black shop in the Meatpacking District, this location has a little bit from each division in its merchandise mix from performance shoes and classic basics like the Liga and the Roma (indoor soccer shoes are still hot right now) to the always appealing (and expensive) avant-garde Miharayasuhiro collection to the new Puma-Evisu denim collaboration. So far, no sighting of the harder-to-find Alexander McQueen collection.
Puma has designed the new concept to feel like a visit to their elaborate website in an effort to shake up the slick and polished image its stores have taken on in recent years. "The main idea is creating a fluid space in which all of Puma's ideas can be represented, so each store and each season will be different." Architect Paolo Luchetta of RetailDesign SRL told WWD, " Every store will be an interaction between the space and the products."
We are expecting plenty of interaction in this space. Puma's appeal continues to grow across the board, and this well placed shop should attract plenty of the ever increasing Union Square shopping traffic.

PUMA 33 Union Square West, Manhattan

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interior photo from PSFK