French Powerhouse Opening Up Shop on 5th Ave

PSG to NYC

Earlier this week, French Ligue 1 and European powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has announced the opening of a new flagship store on the world-famous 5th Avenue in New York City.

Now for a bit of background for those of you who don’t know, a flagship store is the lead store for a brand / retail chain. It acts as a retail showcase for the brand; simply the cream of the crop of any brand. Additionally, 5th Avenue is known for its massive brand boutiques and flagship stores, many of which are some of the world’s biggest luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Prada, Armani, and so much more.

PSG is known in the football and fashion world for its unique collaborations with Nike’s Jordan brand and Stüssy, but this isn’t the first non-french retail location for the famous French team. PSG also has boutiques in Japan, Seoul, Doha, and one in Los Angeles, but the new flagship store will be the largest PSG retail location outside of Paris.

The store will stay true to its roots and include a wide variety of soccer apparel and accessories from its Nike and Jordan partnership, but notably will include one-of-a-kind collections, NYC-inspired designs, and lifestyle collections.

This store is big news, as over 10 years ago, PSG was nowhere on the global sports radar. Now, PSG is the first team to open an official store in NYC and will help PSG continue to grow as a major sports brand worldwide.

PSG Brand Director Fabian Allègre stated that “the club is now the #4 sports club in the world on social media,” with the PSG fanbase continuously growing in the US and globally for that matter. With over 160 million fans worldwide, PSG in NYC is a big deal.

This may seem like just another store opening up in New York City, but for the sports world, it's a major stepping stone for the future of sports brands. Iconic teams and brands such as Manchester United, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Chicago Bulls, for example, have yet to take such a large step outside of the regular football territory. Almost every single team in the professional system has brand-specific stores in their stomping grounds and some even internationally, but nothing of this calibre. PSG are known for their fashion and footballing success across the globe, with their Jordan and Stüssy collaborations selling millions worldwide.

Maybe this is the future of sports branding and fashion combining together to dominate multiple industries. Will this tempt more collaborations amongst the top brands? I guess we’ll find out, but for now, we’re just going to keep an eye out for that surely immense line outside the PSG store on the official opening date - March 18th, 2022: the start of a new era. 

Published: March 11, 2022 - Issue 29 of The Sport Marketeer