Dive Brief:

• Dick’s Sporting Goods Monday said it will be opening stores dedicated to women, dubbing the project “Chelsea Collective.”
• The first two stores will open next month in in Tysons Corner, VA, at Tysons Corner Center and in Pittsburgh, PA, at Ross Park Mall.
• The company calls the stores “fitness and lifestyle boutiques” that will focus on footwear, beauty products, and accessories, in addition to apparel and sports gear.

Dive Insight:

Dick’s has already taken on Lululemon with its own line of athleisure apparel, Calia by Carrie Underwood, and now it’s taking that a step further with its own boutique-style stores for women.  The company doesn’t say whether these stores would host yoga sessions as many Lululemon stores do, but its description of these stores as having “a focus on forming local partnerships that will benefit and reward loyal customers” suggests that they could become conduits for yoga classes or other locally based fitness or sports opportunities for its customers.

Then there are a few things that Lululemon can’t do — Dick’s is bringing on yoga-inspired brands like Spiritual Gangster, Lorna Jane, and ALALA. Meanwhile, the closest Lululemon has got to offering beauty products so far has been the messages on its bags, as when its advice “Sunscreen absorbed into the skin might be worse for you than sunshine. Get the right amount of sunshine” created a controversy among dermatologists.

Beyond the potential to best Lululemon, though, offering accessories and beauty products alongside Dick’s traditional sportswear looks like a good play. Beauty products are selling well, and offering them is a recognition of the athleisure trend’s lifestyle approach, which includes running around town in addition to running.

"As leaders in sporting goods and fitness apparel, we wanted to provide a destination for women who are on their own personal fitness journeys, a store where they can come in and feel part of a community that understands them and their needs," said Lauren Hobart, SVP and general manager for Dick’s Chelsea Collective, said in a statement. "We feel Chelsea Collective will meet and exceed this active woman's expectations."