With consumers often opting to shop online for convenience - and bargains - retailers are having to adapt, exploring new ways to attract shoppers in store and giving them an experience that can't possibly be replicated in the digital world. The major sports brands are making some big bets in this area: at the tail end of last year (2016) both Nike and adidas opened major new stores in New York, and Under Armour has similar plans in the pipeline.
Old-fashioned transactions are not necessarily at the heart of what are effectively expensive bricks-and-mortar billboards. Adidas' Brand Flagship store on...