lbourne shopping centre, and carries Rebel’s largest range of sportswear brands, including industry giants like Nike, Adidas, Under Armour and Asics, as well as popular homegrown labels like Lorna Jane, PE Nation and Muscle Nation.  It also marks Rebel’s first foray into new categories, such as specialised apparel and footwear for racing and trail running, even as it bolsters the retailer’s existing positioning as the ‘home’ of football and basketball in Australia. “I think this really takes us to another level, especially being in the sporting capital of Australia,” Gary Williams, Rebel’s managing director, told Inside Retail. Focus on ‘her’  Williams initiated the RCX project shortly after joining Rebel in 2019. The first RCX store, designed in partnership with Sydney-based retail agency The General Store, opened at Westfield Doncaster shopping centre in March 2020. Since then, Rebel and The General Store have opened a further 18 RCX stores across the country, including the latest location at Emporium Melbourne. With each new RCX store, Rebel has incorporated lessons learned from previous iterations. For instance, the new Melbourne flagship has a much bigger focus on female customers, both in terms of the product offering and the store layout and design, which features timber flooring, curved fixtures, and updated lighting.  Stretching from the front entrance of the store to the back wall, women’s apparel takes up a significant amount of real estate, and notably, is directly adjacent to the kids’ section. This is based on Rebel’s understanding of how its female customers shop, which tends to be more focused on family members than themselves.  The retailer is hoping to inspire more women to consider Rebel for their sportswear needs by stocking the “right” brands and meeting their demands around fit. Mannequins in all shapes and sizes display mix-and-match looks from different brands, which is more in keeping with how real women dress, rather than wearing one brand from head to toe, while a Fresh Finds section spotlights the latest athleisure brands on offer.  Located at the back of the store, the Fit Studio, designed in collaboration with Nike, represents the biggest step forward in Rebel’s offering for women. Here, female shoppers can browse sports bras and leggings from a range of brands, making it easy to compare different styles and comfortably try on items in dedicated change rooms with adjustable lighting and 360-degree mirrors.  There is also a large communal space (still separate from the rest of the store) where customers can roll out yoga mats to check the fit and feel of items in front of a mirrored wall. With a modern couch and thoughtful styling, the space feels more like an upscale boutique than a national retail chain. “I think it will be very compelling for ‘her’ to consider us in a different light,” Williams said. “It’s not an easy nut to crack. She’s very habitual, and breaking the way she shops is not easy, so it’s a long play.”  A personal connection When it comes to Rebel’s core pillars – running, football, basketball, and performance – the new store is mostly focused on incremental improvements with a few standout customer experiences, such as the Stephen Curry Rooftop Court. Featuring a handpainted mural of the greatest shooter of all time by local artist Rory Lynch-Wells, the rooftop court was created in partnership with Under Armour and is intended to be used for store events, such as product launches and brand activations, as well as casual lunchtime shooting sessions. The court is open to the community, and is expected to be a major driver of foot traffic, since it’s the only rooftop basketball court in Melbourne.  “I think the basketball court will be a real signature for us. There’s a whole raft [of things] you can do up there,” Williams said. “I think it will become quite well known by the community.”  Beyond the court, the store features a running track with built-in sensors and 3D foot-scanning and shoe recommendation technology from SafeSize, which staff can use to help customers select the best pair of running or training shoes for them.  It also carries the retailer’s largest assortment of football boots, including expanded ranges from Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Asics and Puma, which has been exclusive to Rebel since the start of the year. As a special touch, customers can try them on while sitting in Recaro seats, just like their favourite professional soccer players.  Soccer, or football as much of the world calls it, is a major area of focus for Rebel. It sponsors the CommBank Matildas, the Australian women’s national soccer team, which co-hosted the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, alongside New Zealand, and captured the hearts of millions of Australians with its unexpected fourth-place finish.  As part of its sponsorship, Rebel has launched a number of initiatives aimed at increasing girls’ participation in grassroots soccer, a topic that is close to Williams’ heart. Prior to his corporate career, he was a professional soccer player in the South African Premier Division. “It’s deeply personal for me because I care so passionately about getting kids on the sports field,” he said.  “When you see the impact sport has on a kid, on their mental health and well being, it’s hard to argue [with the data] that kids need to participate in sport versus sitting on a computer screen all day. There is nothing that energises me more every day than our vision to inspire all Australians to chase their sporting dreams and passion. That is our aspiration.”  ‘Always invest for the long term’ Beyond the investment in physical customer experiences, the Melbourne flagship also marks the launch of Rebel’s first-ever customer loyalty program. The program gives customers access to members-only pricing and the ability to collect points for every dollar spent, which equates to roughly 5 per cent cashback on all purchases.  Williams expects it to have a significant impact on Rebel’s revenue as loyalty members begin to shift more of their sportswear spending to the retail chain. This will be key to make the economics of a store like RCX 2.0 work in the current environment.  “There is no question we are seeing headwinds in terms of discretionary spend,” Williams said. “Going into the festive season, we are very conscious that the market is going to be very competitive, very price sensitive. Things like our loyalty program will become even more pronounced.”  While Rebel’s like-for-like sales on Black Friday were flat to slightly up year on year, Williams believes the next few weeks are going to be a “hard slog”. Still, he doesn’t question the wisdom of opening a new flagship store right now.  “Always invest for the long term, don’t play the short term game. If it was [about the] short term, I wouldn’t be investing in Melbourne, I wouldn’t be investing in sport. I’d be just milking it. That’s not us.”