Under Armour Brand House (Baltimore)
Door Performance That Helps Under Armour “Make a Statement”
Ellison Bronze custom balanced doors help companies “make a statement” – and this is particularly true for the Baltimore brand house location for Under Armour, Inc., the sports clothing and accessories company. Ellison doors mark the signature of performance for the brand house and help maintain a high-functioning entryway for decades to come.
“An Under Armour brand house is designed to represent the ‘best of the best,’” says Thomas Walsh, VP Global Stores Development for Under Armour, Inc. “Customers are treated to a total immersion of our brand with the highest ideals of quality and innovation at the forefront.”
The store features two single and two pair of 11 foot tall Ellison Bronze custom balanced doors made of extruded aluminum, painted. The doors and vestibule are part of a newly constructed entrance of about 15 feet into the store, allowing the location to become what Walsh calls a “bold corner” at 600 North Michigan Avenue.
The painted, extruded aluminum Ellison Bronze custom balanced doors are 12 feet tall. Walsh says they look big and powerful “but are so easy to use.”
The “oversized” doors were a challenge made easier by Ellison’s attention to detail and overall responsiveness, according to Michael Smoucha, Project Manager, Glass Solutions, Inc. of Elmhurst, IL. Glass Solutions handled the glazing and installation.
“Ellison set us up beautifully with very detailed instructions, specific tools to use with this installation, touch-up paint provided in advance if needed, and generally being immediately available if we had any questions,” Smoucha said. “These were enormous doors going into a repurposed space – Ellison provided excellent support when minute adjustments were necessary.”
The Baltimore brand house is located on South President Street in Baltimore’s Harbor East, Walsh says it’s “all about the street corner, big and bold.”
“The Ellison doors make the shopping experience as easy as possible,” Walsh says. “When you walk up to them, they seem to say, ‘We got you covered, don’t worry about a thing.’”
The Baltimore brand house includes a 7’ x 9’ video board, “hometown exclusives” (themed merchandise that celebrates individual city neighborhoods), and beta testing of the company’s latest merchandise.
Under Armour has had no negative issues with the doors and Walsh says, “they always provide optimum performance.”
The performance of Ellison balanced doors lies in their operation. Each door consists of heavy and robust components but can still be opened with ease. A balanced door features an inset pivot point at two-thirds the width of the door, creating a balance that distributes the weight so the door requires little force to open. The inset balancing point allows for enhanced performance and an easier open force, even against external wind and internal building stack pressure.
How important are these brand house locations?
The Baltimore Sun reported that, even with fast-growing online sales, 88 percent of Under Armour’s purchases occur in physical stores. A company executive is quoted: “We’re not going to be saying we will only do one type of store. We believe in a balanced portfolio.”
And, when Under Armour brand houses can look as impressive as the Baltimore location does, the company apparently also believes in custom balanced doors. In this case under the brand name of Ellison Bronze.
