Leading retailer in sporting equipment, clothing, and footwear, rebel, has opened the doors to its first Sydney rebel Customer Experience (rcx) concept store at Westfield Parramatta – a major renovation of the existing store that first opened 30 years ago.
A ribbon cutting ceremony with Parramatta Eels players and Matt De Groot as MC was held last week for media and the general public to unveil the store which has been designed to inspire all Australians to chase their sporting dreams and passions.
rebel rcx Parramatta is the second Australian rcx concept store, after Doncaster in Victoria was opened in March 2020, with plans for a national roll out. The layout delivers a seamless and interactive shopping experience with sporting zones, integrated virtual gaming, animated screens, and dynamic displays using state-of-the-art technology.
The Home of Basketball invites customers to shoot hoops against the backdrop of street art murals painted by western Sydney artist, Shannon Boyd, while the Home of Football allows shoppers to ‘try before they buy’ the latest boots, balls and equipment, and play rebel’s football smash game.
A unique Innovation Room showcases game-changing products from global sporting and tech brands. At the launch, the focus was on Lebron products, with anyone purchasing select items such as Lebron 18 basketball shoes able to customise their own tee in-store.
In a first for the rebel store network, the rcx concept incorporates exclusive athleisure and performance clothing and equipment such as Nike Air Max 270 and Nike Zoom Vaporfly Next % footwear, LURV and Nimble women’s wear, and Lebron Xvii Low and Lebron Xviii basketball footwear.
rebel managing director, Gary Williams explained that previously, customers would buy their football boots at rebel but needed to go elsewhere to buy their fashion statement sneaker
“We knew we had to fix this, and we are excited for what else is to come,” he said.
“If I am spending $350 on a pair of football boots, I want to get an appropriate lifestyle sneaker, which is a different segment that goes through different channels. rebel never had an assortment (of lifestyle sneakers) so we worked extremely closely with our trade partners to enhance the store experience, while unlocking new value and potential.”
Women’s apparel takes centre stage at the store with ranges from smaller Australian brands including P.E. Nation and Jaggad, alongside global favourites, and ongoing collaborations with Australian influencers such as Steph Claire Smith. The female changing rooms have interchangeable light settings to enable customers to choose from dim to natural outdoor lighting.
The front of house team at rebel rcx Parramatta is made up of passionate experts across sports including training, running, football and basketball. The team also includes a dedicated rebel Performance Stylist who will create a personalised look for customers based on their performance needs and personal style.
Inclusive of all sporting activities, abilities, and ages, rebel rcx Parramatta carries at-home gym equipment, tech, clothing and footwear for running, fitness and training, football, basketball and children’s sports, as well as cricket, tennis, netball, swimming and yoga.
“Through COVID-19, fitness equipment sales have doubled, or even tripled, as health and wellbeing becomes more important than ever. We have created an entire health and wellbeing zone with live treadmills, workout machines, punching bags and more. We are looking forward to taking this to a whole new territory and expand beyond products, so watch this space,” Williams said.